Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel by Charisma Chloe Page B

to do.”
    “I understand sir,” she said. “Please try to remember as much as you can; this is very important.”
    “I remember him coming to us saying that he didn’t believe that her death was natural and that he suspected murder because he wasn’t aware of her illness or something like that. We told him that without any witnesses, evidence or motive it was nothing he could do.”
    Jason frowned and said, “But there was a witness by the name of Mrs. Pruitt that saw someone at the victim’s home. What about her?”
    “Yes, she and Mr. Crawford’s suspicions are what made us launch the investigation in the first place. We never found anyone matching the description that she had given us of this “supposed” person’s face.” His lips formed a slight smirk. “Mrs. Pruitt isn’t exactly the most reliable witness. She thinks everyone in town is up to no good. If you would’ve heard some of the outrageous accusations she made when she would call us at the station, you wouldn’t take any information she gave you with a grain salt. She still to this day calls the station with her crazy conspiracy theories according to the officers there. I wouldn’t trust anything she says if I were you, she’s as loony as a toon.”
    “Is there anything else that you remember about the case Mr. Riley?” Jason asked while leaning forward.
    “There is one thing.” He paused for a few seconds and tapped his index finger on his temple. “That Crawford guy did seem kind of weird.”
    Jason cocked and eyebrow. “Why is that?”
    “Well, after we’d gathered all the evidence and my partner questioned Mrs. Pruitt, he insisted that we also question all the immediate neighbors in the area but we didn’t. That went on for days, but then all of a sudden he was gone.”
    “Why is that weird?”
    “Because usually when someone makes such a stink about something like that, they don’t just give up that easily. The fact that he did just that led us to believe that he was either off his rocker or stricken with grief. Either way, he wasn’t all there at the time.”
    “Why wouldn’t you question anybody else?” Jason asked suspiciously.
    “There was no need. Her death was public knowledge because it was briefly on the evening news and in the paper. If anyone else had any information about it, I’m sure they would’ve come forward with it.”
    “Some people don’t like to get involved in things like this even if they know what happened. Sometimes you have to approach them to get them to talk. Being cops, surely you guys knew that.”
    Riley was clearly not happy with the derisive tone in Jason’s voice. “Yeah, and we did question a few of them, but nothing materialized out of it so we didn’t see the need to continue.”
    “You said your partner questioned Mrs. Pruitt?”
    Riley frowned, clearly wondering were Jason was going with this. “That’s right.”
    “You didn’t talk to her yourself?”
    “No, I was examining the crime scene while he was questioning her. He also talked to the M.E.” His brown eyes lowered in confusion as he looked at Jason. “Why?”
    “Just trying to make sense of it all.”
    “Well I’m afraid I don’t have any more information to give you.” He abruptly stood, walked to the door and opened it. It was evident that he was not answering anymore of their questions. “Now if you would excuse me, it’s time for my nap.”
    The two of them rose up from the sofa and walked towards the door. “No problem,” Jason said. “Thanks for your help.”
    “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any more to you,” Riley said through a yawn.
    “You’ve been plenty. Thank you.” The look on Jason’s face and the tone in his voice let Amour know that he didn’t entirely trust this man. Whatever the reason was, she wasn’t sure, but the look in his eyes also told her that he was now just as determined to get to the bottom of this mystery as she was and for that, she was grateful.
     
    The ride