Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

T he gravel parking lot of the Drunken Moose was sparsely populated, and most of the cars were parked close to the entrance except one. A dark-blue sedan sat in the back near the woods. Kevin squatted beside the right front tire, his head tilted to look underneath the car.

“Anything stand out, Kevin?” Sam asked as they approached.

Kevin straightened. “No signs of struggle that I can see. It’s locked up tight. I jimmied the door to take a look inside but didn’t want to mess with it too much before the tow truck gets here.”

Jo walked around to the passenger side, shining her flashlight beam across the interior. “He kept it real neat in here, just like his apartment.”

“Yeah, kinda weirdly clean for a twenty-something guy,” Kevin said.

Lucy circled the car, nose to the ground. She completed two full laps then sat down near Sam, looking up at him and whining softly.

“I guess Lucy’s not catching any interesting scents either,” Sam said, scratching the dog behind her ears. “Good girl, Luce. You did your best.”

Jo peered upward, surveying the vehicle’s position beneath the towering pines. “Why park all the way out here, though? The only lights are up closer to the building, and it must get dark back here at night.”

Sam nodded. “Maybe the lot was full last night when he got here.”

“Or he didn’t want anyone to see his car,” Kevin added.

“Could have been meeting someone secretively,” Jo said.

Sam crossed his arms. “Or doing something he shouldn’t have been.”

Tires crunched on gravel, and all three turned to see the tow truck rolling up.

“I’ll talk to the lab about giving the car a thorough going-over back at the impound lot,” Kevin said.

“Okay.” Sam looked at Jo. “Let’s go inside. Maybe someone will know what Alex was up to in here last night.

Sam pushed open the heavy wooden door, the familiar smells of stale beer and fried food washing over him as he stepped inside the Drunken Moose. Jo and Lucy followed close behind, Lucy’s nose twitching as she took in the new scents.

The interior was dimly lit, with a long wooden bar running most of the length of the room. A few patrons sat on barstools, nursing beers or watching a basketball game on the TVs mounted above the liquor shelves. In the back corner, the steady clack of pool balls could be heard from the game room.

Sam scanned the space until his eyes landed on the bartender, a burly man in his forties with a bushy beard. “Hey, Pete,” Sam called out with a wave.

Pete looked up from the glass he was wiping and nodded in greeting. “Chief Mason, Sergeant Harris. What brings you in today?”

Jo leaned against the bar. “We just have a few questions about someone who was in here last night—Alex Sheridan. Did you happen to see him?”

“Yeah, I remember Alex coming in,” Pete replied, setting down his rag. “Nice kid. He’d come in sometimes with his grandpa, get food and chat. Real shame what happened.”

Sam nodded solemnly. “So Alex was definitely here last night? What time did he arrive?”

Pete furrowed his brow, thinking. “Must’ve been around eight or so. I didn’t notice him come in, but later on, I saw him sitting in a back booth with a couple of other guys.”

“Back booth, huh?” Jo asked. “Any idea who he was with?”

Shaking his head, Pete said, “Nah, I didn’t recognize ’em. It was busy.”

“How’d he seem?” Sam asked. “Anything off about his behavior?”

“Well, he got pretty lit,” Pete said with a chuckle. “His buddies practically had to help him stand.”

Jo and Sam shared a look.

“Did he leave with them? When did they leave?” Jo asked.

Pete shook his head. “I didn’t see him leave. Place was packed last night. I barely remember even seeing Alex, let alone some random guys. When I saw the car here this morning, I was glad he’d gotten a ride home with someone. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but I had my hands full here behind the bar.”

“No problem. Thanks for the help,” Sam said. “Anything else comes to mind, give me a call.”

“You got it, Chief.”

Sam turned and headed for the exit, Jo and Lucy on his heels. Pushing out into the crisp afternoon air, Sam paused outside the front door. “So Alex was here getting drunk with some mystery pals,” he mused. “And then what happened?”

“Good question,” Jo added grimly.

Sam looked up at the small camera over the door. “We need to figure out who those ‘friends’ were ASAP, and I think I might know how we can do it.”

“We’d better stop for donuts,” Jo said as they got into the Tahoe. “This case is going to require some brain food.”

Sam started the engine. “Can’t argue with that logic. Brewed Awakening it is.”

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Jo brought up the mystery surrounding Alex’s presence at the bar. “So do you think someone lured Alex to the Drunken Moose, or did he go there to meet up with people?”

“Hard to say at this point,” Sam replied, turning onto Main Street. “Could’ve been a planned meetup or just a chance encounter.”

Jo nodded. “Yeah, no way to know yet. We gotta find the guys he was drinking with.”

“Agreed. Pete didn’t recognize them, so likely not regulars.” Sam slowed for a stop sign. “You think they slipped Alex something?”

“Maybe,” said Jo. “No drugs turned up at his place, so if they did dose him, it was probably just for that night, to incapacitate him.”

Sam turned left toward Brewed Awakening. “Incapacitate him in order to drown him in the lake, make it look accidental.”

“Right.”

Sam pulled up to the window and turned to Jo. “The usual?”

“Yep.”

Lucy poked her head between the two seats as if to say she wanted “the usual” as well.

“Morning, Chief, Jo,” the teenage girl greeted them cheerfully from the drive-thru window.

“Hey, Emily,” Sam replied.

Lucy popped her head further into view and gave a little woof.

“Well, hi there, Lucy!” Emily grinned, leaning down to get a better look at the police dog. “Here for a snack too?”

Lucy’s tail thumped against the seat in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Emily laughed. She turned her attention back to Sam and Jo. “So what’ll it be today? The usual dozen with two coffees?”

“You got it,” Sam confirmed.

Jo leaned across Sam. “Can we get three jelly?”

“Of course!” Emily headed off to grab their order.

A minute later, she returned with a large paper bag and two steaming cups of coffee. “Here’s your dozen assorted with three jellies, two black coffees, and...” She held up a small paper bag. “Two donut holes for Lucy.”

Lucy gave an approving woof and wagged her tail excitedly.

“Thanks, Emily,” said Sam, passing her cash through the window.

“No problem. Enjoy!”

“Will do,” Jo replied, grabbing the bag. “I need some brain fuel.”

They pulled away from the drive-thru window and continued toward the station. Jo opened the bag, and the sweet scent of baked goods filled the SUV. She fished out a jelly donut and took a big bite, getting raspberry filling on her cheek.

“Mmm, that hits the spot,” she mumbled through a mouthful.

Sam chuckled and grabbed a napkin, handing it to her. “Try not to get jelly in the police car.”

Lucy let out an impatient huff, eyeing the bag with the donut holes.

“All right, all right, here you go.” Sam passed one back, and Lucy gobbled it up.

“So what’s our next move?” Jo crumpled up her napkin, having polished off the first donut.

“We need to figure out if the money had anything to do with Alex’s death. Who knew he had it? Was he spending more than usual?”

“Good call,” said Jo, nodding. “And we should...” She trailed off, looking back at Lucy.

The dog had sat up and was whimpering softly, claws scratching the window as they drove past a long dirt road.

Sam glanced in the rearview mirror. “Lucy okay back there?”

“She’s scratching at the window, looking down that dirt road to Fish Cove,” said Jo. She watched the dog, whose amber gaze was fixated on the road.

Sam slowed the Tahoe. “Huh, weird. She doesn’t usually react like that.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Jo agreed. “Isn’t that the road that Thorne Industries is building that storage facility on?”

Sam nodded. “Sure is.”

Jo leaned back in her seat. “We should check that out. Why does everything always seem to lead to Thorne?”