She wilted. “They’ll hide the truth…just like before.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “We won’t let them hide anything this time.”
Scottsboro Police Department
South Broad Street
Scottsboro, 9:00 p.m.
Fowler had questionedher extensively, and every word had dripped with accusation.
He saw her as his prime suspect.
Rory wanted to scream. It had been after eight before she was brought here. Chance had been allowed to drive his car, but one of the deputies who showed up at Shane’s trailer had brought her in. She’d expected to be taken to the sheriff’s department, but she’d been brought to Fowler’s office instead. He’d explained that the homicide was part of his ongoing investigation.
His first words to Rory had been: “Do you really think you can murder your way out of this?”
He obviously truly believed she was guilty. That she had murdered her husband and was now desperately trying to prove her innocence by whatever means necessary. Unbelievable.
Maybe there was a way to find out if Rick Hill had called Shane or someone else. The thought was a foolish one. Still, she knew better than most how some prisoners managed to get their hands on burner phones. No one would ever know if and to whom he might have made that call. The realization that Rick Hill was the only remaining witness who could prove what really happened in the cottage that night terrified her.
If he ended up dead…she would never be able to prove she was telling the truth.
She glanced at the doors that led down the corridor where Fowler’s office was. Once he’d taken Chance back for questioning, she had been sequestered to the lobby. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere unless she wanted to walk in thedark. There was no one for her to call. All her friends had abandoned her. Austin was in Nashville, and she wasn’t ready to call him yet. There was nothing he could do anyway.
Besides, she wasn’t going anywhere until Fowler was finished questioning Chance.
Rory drew in a big breath and slumped in her chair. She was so tired of butting this brick wall. She closed her eyes. If not for Chance and the Colby Agency, she would likely be charged with Shane’s murder already. Chance was the only reason she had gotten this far. She worried that at this point, it would take a miracle to ever make anyone see she had not killed her husband.
“Rory.”
Her eyes flew open, and she peered up at the voice. Anthony Harris stood over her. For a moment, she felt so disoriented she couldn’t speak.
Where had he come from? What was he doing here? Why was he talking to her? The man had turned his back on her just as his wife had…just as nearly everyone else had.
“I just heard about Shane.”
She blinked. The idea that she was not hallucinating finally sank in. She moistened her lips, found her voice. “He was murdered.” A sharp intake of air made her realize she’d stopped breathing the moment he said her name. “Stabbed…like Pete.”
“We need to talk.” Anthony glanced around the nearly deserted lobby. “Can you spare a few minutes?”
Somehow she levered herself to her feet. “Of course. What would you like to talk about?” Dumb question but a necessary one.
“Let’s step outside.” He looked around again, his gaze hesitating on the officer at the desk and a couple of other uniforms nearby.
“All right.”
She moved into step next to him as they crossed the lobby. He held the door for her to go outside ahead of him. Once they were clear of the entrance, he gestured to his vehicle.
“We can sit in my SUV.”
It was the same big, black SUV he’d owned when she and Pete met. One of the most expensive models.
Once they were inside the vehicle, it was as if the world had gone silent. The luxurious SUV was nearly soundproof.
Anthony sat facing forward, his hands braced on the steering wheel. Rory waited for him to speak. She had no clue what he wanted to say, but she wasn’t about to shatter the moment by speaking. One wrong word from her could suddenly stop his abrupt about-face.
She wondered if Eudora knew he was here.
