Slave: The Ghost of Cambria - Book Two

Chapter Five

Tony felt tremendously better as he walked through the Sheriff's station parking lot towards his parked truck. The midday breeze swept through his hair, soothing Tony's nerves and relaxing his stride. He felt each step settle the remaining adrenaline from his system.

The man couldn't believe he'd confirmed the detective's question about how he and Kristen had hooked up. Tony could've simply said nothing, but he even went as far as to tell the woman how Kristen would be upset if the story got out. He was beyond annoyed with himself and prayed his loose lips didn't get back to his boss.

Tony had thankfully managed not to bring up his conversation with Ryan at the gym. At least I didn't have to fucking explain that, he thought shaking his head. At first, Tony didn't understand why the detective had asked him those questions, but he soon recognized that she was looking for a reason to connect him with Ryan's death. It couldn't have been a heart attack, he realized. They think someone killed him, he mused, and he and I didn't get along.

Well, that wasn't right, not really. After all, the two men never had fought, not really. Though Tony would've liked to give the fucker a shot in the mouth. Anyone in that shower would say the two of them were just being friendly to each other, even when Ryan was acting like a fucking asshole. Especially when Ryan was acting like an asshole. They all probably thought the guy was funny.

Maybe she killed him? Perhaps the fucker got out of hand, and she fought back? The entire thing didn't make much sense to Tony.

Checking his phone, he saw Kristen had messaged him.

'Where are you and Penelope?' it read.

Tony tapped back a simple response, 'Leaving SLO now to get her. She's at my workshop. Bring her to you?'

Tony set the phone on the magnetic charger in his truck and started the engine. He was soon on the road to Los Osos.

***

Kristen didn't believe what Hernandez had said of Tony. Every fiber of her soul confirmed that the young man couldn't have committed such acts. But the logic centers of her mind had been lit by the detective, and once again Kristen questioned herself. A month ago, the very notion of a supernatural intervention being attributed to ...well, anything... would have infuriated Kristen, and the psychologist would have discredited it without a moment's hesitation. However, that was before she'd experienced a series of events she could no longer account for.

Still, scientific logic insisted that a ghost couldn't be the answer, and Hernandez had offered the simplest hypothesis: Tony was the only man they knew of who could have committed the crimes. Tony was in the house with her father. Tony had a key to the front door and could have readily been waiting when she and Ryan had come home last night. But Tony wasn't in the bathroom; surely, Kristen would've seen him? Thoughts of being heavily intoxicated haunted her as she attempted to disregard the fact. The hangover still pounded dully through Kristen's exhausted head fifteen hours later.

When the woman arrived at Tony's workshop, she navigated her sedan behind the series of tall, silver storage structures to where the wood-work studio was located in the back. The fluorescent orange garage door was closed, and only the refurbished bus he lived in was parked nearby. Kristen pulled up right in front of the garish door and switched her engine off.

She needed to stand up. Kristen felt her circulation catch in her legs and stood up from the car to stretch them. She was exhausted from the morning's events, but her heart-rate remained elevated. Looking at the storage door, she saw the padlock. If Penny were inside his studio, as his message claimed, Kristen couldn't get to her until Tony arrived.