Sink or Swim

Chapter 5

That previous night had been long. Sleep didn't come and Skye's thoughts had swarmed her mind. Her mind played through everything from flashbacks of the accident taking place to Craig telling her he could feel her emotions. What he'd told her hadn't really sunk in. How could a human have such a superpower? If you could call it that. It didn't seem like a very good superpower to be able to feel other people's pain and suffering. She hoped that at the very least it would be a distraction from his own.

When Craig had said he'd help, he meant it. He'd come round the day after to help with Skye's suspect list. She still hadn't heard anything from the police and was getting ever more frustrated.

He'd brought coffees with him and the two of them sat cosily on the sofa. Skye had been doing a bit of reading in her spare time so there was a pile of Lisa Jewell books on the coffee table with various bookmarks and other items that were being used as bookmarks. She thought that reading a bit of a thriller or mystery might help her figure out her own problems. So far it hadn't.

"Do you think it was an accident? You don't think it was one of your bitter competitors trying to get revenge?"

Skye laughed for a moment before realising it was worth a thought. "I had never thought of that," she breathed out loud. A lot of her competitors were bitter and over-competitive. She'd only ever focused on herself but the more she thought about it, the more she remembered the whispers as she walked past them. Skye had never been particularly friendly with any of them. She'd decided from a young age that she would never get anywhere if she blurred the lines between competitors and friendships.

Craig's hand on her knee made her fall out of her daydream. "I was joking, Skye. I think."

"Oh. Yes. Of course, but it's an option that I hadn't thought of. Although, my gut is telling me that it's somebody who lives locally who had been driving when they shouldn't have been." She paused and rubbed her lips together. "Cass told me she was with him that night, but I can't get Freddie's name out of my head. I have no idea why."

"He does sell drugs in his club. Not that it means anything related, but I'm sure he drives home from there every night."

Skye widened her mouth in shock. "How on earth do you know that?"

Craig sighed and replied, "Alana bought some one time. Not long before she passed away."

"Alana? Drugs?" she spat out. Skye didn't know Alana very well but every time she'd seen the woman, she always looked like she had her life together. She looked so elegant and immaculate. Perfect golden hair, nothing like the scruffy bun on Skye's head and eyes a brighter shade of blue than Skye's. Every word that Alana had every spoken was perfectly articulate, perfectly formed.

Craig shrugged. "She never really explained it, I only know that it was a one-off."

"I went to his bar the week I moved to Riverwell Bay. He asked me out after a couple of conversations but I didn't like the way he looked at me like I was a piece of meat. He didn't much like it when I declined either." Skye could feel goosebumps on her arms and ran her hand over them. "I'm glad Cass is happy, I really am, but there's always been something off about him."

"If anybody can put him in his place, it's her."

Skye nodded knowing Craig was right. "Don't suppose you know anybody with a green car?"

"There was one parked down by the beach about a month ago, that's the last time I remember seeing one but I don't exactly look out for green cars.

"Where was it?"

"The car park by the beach, just down from the food kiosks."

Skye's interest faded quickly, and her frustration grew. "It could be anyone. I just need the cops to find that damn car. It must have a huge dent in it. It has be somewhere," she signed.