Free Falafel Jones - Max Fried 02 - Payback's a Beach by Falafel Jones

question. From her spot in the back, it was possible Kimberly could have been unable to see Officer Colletti. It was even possible that she was there during that two-hour slot Colletti said he was away from the shop. On the other hand, it was still possible she was lying. I couldn’t think of anything else to ask her so I thanked her for her time and we left.
    As we walked back to the car, Mariel said, “Well, I guess Barker’s alibi checks out after all.”
    I frowned. “Not really. Barker never mentioned Kimberly.”
    “Probably because Kimberly told him not to mention they were dating.”
    “Possibly.”
    “OK, tell me. What’s the problem with his alibi?”
    “I made a mistake.”
    Mariel started rummaging in her purse. “Oh, wait a minute.”
    I stopped walking. “What are you looking for?”
    “My pocket calendar. I want to mark down the date you made a mistake.”
    “Funny woman. Look. Kimberly said she was at the coffee shop after I already told her that was Barker’s alibi. That makes her less credible. If I suspected she was going to help him, I should have first asked her where she was. I screwed up.”
    “Maybe we can still rule him out?”
    “How?”
    “Well, does he have a boat?”
    “Does it matter? Scrawny little Floyd reached the Amante on his paddle board. Barker could have done the same or used a small kayak. Heck, a muscular guy like Barker could probably have swum out to the boat.” I pointed east. “His shop is right down the block from the river.”
    “So, now what?”
    “So, he’s still on my list.” I paused a moment as a new idea came to me. “Hey, wait a minute. Where’s your coffee cup?”
    “In the car, why?”
    “I tossed mine in the park but if we still have yours, maybe we’ve got Barker’s fingerprints on it?”
    Mariel got excited. “And maybe they will match one found on the boat.”
    “We won’t know until it’s tested but either way, there’s something off about her story. We also have to consider that maybe Barker told the truth and maybe it’s Kimberly who has a phony alibi.”
    “You mean?”
    “Yeah, maybe she’s not covering for him. Maybe she’s using him to cover for herself. Let’s visit Scott Barker again on our way to the police station.” When we got back in the car, Mariel used a napkin to place her coffee cup back in the brown paper bag we got at Thanx a latte. As I drove back to the coffee shop, I looked at my odometer and my gas gauge. I drove more today than I did all last week. If this kept up, I might even have to buy gas this month.
    Scott looked up as we entered his store.

CHAPTER TEN  

    Scott put a lid on a coffee cup, stood still, and watched me approach. I knew he was thinking, “Oh no, not him again.” It’s not that I can read minds. It’s just that I’ve seen that look enough to recognize it when I see it. A skinny, twitchy guy stood on line in front of us fidgeting while he waited for his coffee. He looked at Scott, abruptly turned toward me and said, “I get 15 minutes twice a day for my break. Sometimes, I think my S.O.B. of a boss spends his whole day following me around with a watch. Anyway, I get a break, I run outta the office and zip down the block to Thanks a latte. After six months on this job, that name still cracks me up.” He took a moment to chuckle at the thought and went on. “So, I get to the shop in three minutes. My man, Scottie, makes my mocha cappuccino, puts a lid on it, takes my money and I’m outta here fully caffeinated.”
    The guy looked down at his shoes and shook his head. “But not today.” The guy looked up at me and pointed to Scottie behind the counter. Scott had stopped serving the guy and stood staring at me with his hands flat on the counter. “Look at him. Scottie’s got his hands flat on the counter like he told me they taught him in that anger management class the court made him go to.”
    Scott said to me. “You again? Now what?”
    The twitchy guy looked at his