Beach Blanket Homicide (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 1)

utt a favor. You said no one was pressin’ charges so draggin’ me down here today is total crap.”

“What about your fingerprints on the doorknob at the rec center?” Travis asks.

“Didn’t know it was a crime to touch a door.”

“It isn’t. But it is a crime to trespass into a city building after hours.”

“Look. I told you already. I took the dog because Abby asked me to. She gave me a couple of hundred bucks for my trouble, which I appreciated, you know? You try living on social security. But that was it. End of story. I probably touched the doorknob during that big…what was it? Celebration? Yeah, that’s when it must have happened.”

“You were at the opening day celebration?” Rusty asks.

“Sure. I promised Abby I’d meet her, but she never showed so I went home.”

This is such a big lie that I can hardly catch a breath.

“Okay,” says Travis.

“So I can go home now?”

“Yeah.”

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor makes Cindy snap off the intercom button. “I think they’re coming out now,” she whispers.

A minute later, Derrick Delgado emerges from the hallway, followed by Rusty and Travis. Paco goes wild barking. I scoop him up in my arms.

The look on Derrick’s face when he spots me is priceless. Like I’m some pesky wad of gum he’s tossed out the window that’s come back to hit him in the face. “What are you doing here?”

“This is a public building. I have every right to be here.”

Paco bares his teeth at Derrick.

“Keep that mongrel away from me. Or I’ll have animal control put him down.”

This is entirely the wrong thing to say to me.

“Funny how he seems not to like you. Oh, wait. I guess that since you dognapped him, he’s a little sensitive around you. Deborah Van Dyke might not have wanted to press charges before, but when I tell her that you’ve also been arrested for assault, she just might change her mind. She might consider it her civic duty to put you away.”

“Can’t you make her shut up?” Derrick says to Travis.

“Lucy,” Travis warns. “Leave it alone.”

“How many times are you going to let this guy get away with who knows what?” I ask. “He wasn’t at the rec center celebration, that’s for sure. Oh, and ask him about his alibi! He might have been playing cards till two in the morning, but it was two in the morning eastern time. Which means he had plenty of time to drive over here, get inside the building, and—”

“And what?” Derrick sneers. He turns to Travis. “Are you gonna let her talk to me like this? I’m a grieving brother, and this crazy lady is harassing me.”

“He’s right, Lucy. You need to cut it out.”

“But he was lying about how his fingerprints got on the doorknob! He was never at the rec center celebration. And if he’s lying about that, then he could be lying about everything else too.”

Travis frowns. “How do you know he told us he was at the rec center celebration?”

Oops. I can’t very well tell Travis how I know that without getting Cindy into trouble.

“It was a lucky guess.”

Everyone is looking at me like I’ve gone bananas. Except Cindy who won’t meet my gaze.

Derrick jabs a finger at me. “I want her arrested and that damn dog put down! He’s a menace. Look at him! She’s probably trained him to attack me!”