“Okay ...” Stanek sighed, running his chubby fingers through his hair. Then he scratched the roots of his hair near his right temple, seemingly thinking. “So, you’re saying Winston Donovan’s wife found out he was planning to divorce her and marry you?”
“Yes.”
“How, exactly, did she find out?”
I opened my mouth to reply, then clammed up. I couldn’t tell him the truth, so I stuck with the same rehearsed lie I’d used before, when he hadn’t listened. “Um, Winston said his lawyers were handling thedivorce with her lawyers, which meant that she knew. He said they’d been talking separation for a while, that it wasn’t something new to her. I asked, because I was feeling bad for, um—”
Colton’s hand clasped my forearm. “That’s enough, Olivia.”
But I didn’t look at him. I was looking at Detective Stanek, who seemed a little intrigued by my statement.
“Ah, if Winston said it, then it must be true.” His voice was only slightly sarcastic. “Was there a prenup?”
“My client should not answer this question,” Colton said, giving me a warning glance.
“Ask her,” I replied, afraid of what opening the Claire can of worms would mean.
Was I right, sending Stanek to poke Claire? Or was I making a huge mistake? What if the detective found out about the ransom? It seemed like a risk I had to take, considering I had no other way to save my life than make the jaded, stubborn detective see Claire Donovan for the cold-blooded killer that she was.
“We’re leaving,” Colton said, grabbing my shoulder just like Stanek had done on the day of my arrest.
I stood, unwilling to wrestle with him. “Ask her,” I said again, not breaking eye contact with the detective, while my stomach twisted into a painful knot. “See what she says.”
“Yeah, okay,” Stanek replied as we were walking out the door. He sounded eager to be rid of me, not at all committed to uncover the truth. Because, in his mind, he had Winston’s killer pegged.
I couldn’t let that misconception seal my fate.
“Which mall?” I suddenly shouted over my shoulder, because Colton was keen on dragging me out of there. “Claire Donovan’s alibi—which mall was it?” I stopped and waited for the answer, ignoring Colton’s disapproval.
Breathing heavily, Detective Stanek caught up with us in a few heavy steps.
“Miracle Mile.”
40
A Mistake
The ride home was tense, but I hoped I’d planted enough doubt in Detective Stanek’s mind. I wanted to investigate Claire’s alibi myself, but first, I needed to see all the evidence.
After a few minutes spent in silence, I glanced at Colton. His jaw was firmly clenched. His hands, gripping the steering wheel, were white knuckled.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “For being there for me today and—”
“You made a huge mistake!” His voice, shouting inside the confines of the car, made me jolt, startled. He slammed a hand against the steering wheel, weaving aggressively through dense interstate traffic. “You don’t even understand the damage you’ve done.” When he looked at me, I saw the raw fear in his eyes.
My heart sank. I hated being so deeply and impossibly in the dark. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t trust me one bit, do you?” He glanced at me quickly. “It’s either that, or you think I’m an idiot.”
“What? No! How could you say that? I’d be rotting in jail if it weren’t for you.”
He exhaled angrily, cursing under his breath as he took the off ramp.
“Don’t you think I noticed the missing fingerprints on the door handle?” he demanded. “It was stated in the report that they found other prints, not yours. If you’d only bothered to read. Well, I did!”
“And why didn’t you say something?” My head spun ... I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“To whom? To you? Didn’t I say I believe you’re innocent? What more do you want?”
