Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
He nodded. “She worked a double yesterday.”
“What time did she leave here?”
He tensed up and shook his head. “Why do you want to know?”
The little dickhead was getting on my nerves.
I picked up my beer and took a long drink before setting it back down. “What time do you close on Sundays?”
“Ten,” he replied.
The back door opened, and my gaze swung to see who was walking through. It was an older man with a bald head and a large belly. He was headed in this direction.
“Shawn, there are two more carts with glasses to get out before the lunch hour hits. Speed it up.”
The guy in front of me nodded then went back to unloading glasses.
I turned my attention to the older man. “You the manager?” I asked.
He nodded and smiled. “Tom Abernathy. I own the place. How can I help you?”
“Does Liberty still work here?” I asked.
The way his brows drew together instantly seemed as if he didn’t like me asking questions either. “She’s been working here for five years,” he said in a less than friendly tone.
Five years? Selena had said she kept losing her jobs. Did the man have her confused with another employee? I doubted she’d been here long enough for him to remember who she was.
“You sure about that?”
The man’s shoulders snapped back as he tried to make himself appear taller. “Liberty Dillard has been working for me for five years. Of course I am sure. I’m the one who signs her paychecks. What business do you have with her?”
I took another drink, studying the man. Would he lie for her? Did that hot body of hers in the tiny shorts and tight tank she wore here have him drooling over her? Men could easily be led by their dicks.
“I’m friends with her sister. Checking to see if she’s where she says she is—that’s all. Her sister has reason to be worried about her.”
The man’s face turned red, and his eyes widened. “The same sister who kicked out a sick girl in the middle of the night? That sister? The same one who can’t be bothered to give her a ride home so she has to walk to the damn bus station two miles away? Why don’t you tell that sister she can go to hell for me, yeah?” he said angrily, then swung his gaze to the bartender. “Let him finish his beer and then make sure he leaves.”
The other guy glanced at me nervously and then nodded. I got one more glare from Tom Abernathy before he stalked away. I waited until he was gone before asking the bartender anything else. I wasn’t leaving until I had some answers. Liberty was good at playing the helpless-female-in-need act. I’d fallen for it myself.
Sounded like Liberty had called in sick and blamed Selena for it, lying about getting kicked out. Ole horny Tom had believed her completely.
“How long you been working here, Shawn?” I asked.
He tensed and looked over at me. “Three years, and Liberty has been here since before me,” he replied, seeming to already know what I was going to ask next.
Two witnesses to back up Liberty. Why would Selena lie about something like that? But then maybe she didn’t know. If Liberty never called her and hadn’t gone to their mother’s funeral, Selena might have assumed she was still not keeping a job. That wasn’t a big reach. I couldn’t blame her for that.
Fine. So, Liberty wasn’t a flake when it came to a job. That didn’t wipe out all her other transgressions. The reason I was here had nothing to do with her work ethic anyway. I wanted to be sure she wasn’t about to bring any danger to Selena’s door if she was messed up with some lowlife druggie.
“Do you know if she’s seeing anyone? Maybe hitting the party scene after work?”
Shawn was putting another glass up when a smirk touched his lips. He didn’t look at me. “Liberty broke up with her boyfriend a couple of months ago. She doesn’t party at all. Works too damn much.” He cut his eyes to me. “I don’t know what her sister has told you, but these questions don’t fit her. The only thing Liberty is guilty of is being too damn stubborn to let someone take her home after work.”
She’d had no problem letting a stranger almost twenty years older than her give her a ride after work on his Harley, but I didn’t say that. Whatever life she did live, she kept it out of the workplace. I had to give her props for that. I wished the girls who worked for me could do the same thing. They loved bringing drama to work with them.
I finished my beer and laid a twenty on the bar, then stood up.
“Thanks,” I told him and headed for the door.