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

watch. “I burned half my break time and still haven’t had my first sip yet. Scottie, ring me up man.”
    I said, “Hi, Scott, you’ll never guess who we met appliance shopping. Well, she wasn’t shopping, we were. Actually, we were shopping but not for appliances.”
    Scott lifted a hand and slammed it down on the counter. “Enough,” he says in a loud voice. “What do you want?”
    The twitchy guy shrugged and said, “So much for anger management.”
    I said, “I thought you’d like to know that Kimberly confirmed your alibi. She said she was here between nine and ten Friday night.” I pointed to the table directly in front of the counter. “She said she spent an hour at that table with her laptop updating the Best Appliances website.”
    Twitchy guy started fishing in his pocket and pulled out some money. He said, “The smallest bill I got is a twenty. I’d leave it but I’m not paying no twenty bucks for a cup of coffee.”
    Scott ignored him and said to me, “So? I told you I was here. Now, do want to buy something or are you on your way out?”
    Twitchy said, “I’m getting desperate here now. Can I just walk out and pay you next time?”
    I said, “We’re on our way.” As I reached for the door I heard Twitchy say, “Man, some people are so damn rude.”
     
    Back in the car, Mariel held up the bag containing her empty coffee cup. “Still want to go to the police station?”
    “Yeah, but not yet. Kimberly said she was with Scott eight to ten working on his books in the back. I told Scott she said she was there nine to ten in the front working on her website. He didn’t dispute anything I said.”
    “So, you think her story is bogus?”
    “I think they’re both lying but I don’t know why. Let’s take another shot at Kimberly.”
    We drove back to Best Appliances but when we entered the store this time, Art, the salesman, ignored us. Mariel roamed between the tall refrigerators looking for Kimberly. I wandered around to the back of the store where I entered a hallway and saw an open door leading into an office. I peeked inside and saw Kimberly sitting at a desk facing away from me. I knocked on the doorframe and called out, “Kimberly?”
    She turned, saw me, and came out into the hall. She closed the door behind her and said. “You can’t be back here. This area is closed to customers.”
    Mariel finished roaming the store in search of Kimberly and joined us. I said, “That’s OK, I’m not a customer. I want to talk about Friday night.”
    “What about Friday night?”
    “We just visited Scott. You weren’t at his shop Friday night. Where were you?”
    “I don’t want to talk to you, especially about where I was.”
    I shrugged. “OK. We’re on our way to see Detective Torres about Scott. Torres can always follow up with you himself.”
    “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    That sounded to me like her resolve was starting to crumble so I stared at her and waited. Mariel placed a comforting hand on Kimberly’s back.
    Kimberly took a deep breath and said, “Oh, all right but you need to keep this quiet.”
    I said, “I’ll do what I can but if it’s relevant to Fisher’s death or Brenda’s disappearance…”
    Kimberly nodded. “I was in Miami Beach until 6:30 p.m. and it took me four hours to drive home.”
    “What were you doing in Miami Beach?”
    “I had a job interview. That’s why I couldn’t tell anyone. My parents would be very upset.”
    “Because you were leaving the family business? Lots of kids do that.”
    “No, because I’d be working for the competition. Big Box Appliances is opening a new branch office in Miami Beach and they need a district manager.”
    “That’s a big outfit.”
    “And their local store is our toughest competitor, but they can offer advancement opportunities way beyond what I could have if I stayed here. Please don’t tell my parents.”
    “They’ll find out eventually.”
    “Only if I get the job. If I don’t get it,