My heartbeat was up in my throat. Jack was fighting with the officer holding me, arguing and threatening. AG Belmonttalked over him. The camera in the corner was recording as if all of this was just a TV show.
And in the middle of it, Lacey.
In all that noise, she moved her head.
Just a little.
Her chin lifted first. Then her gaze came up from her lap, inch by inch. But she didn’t look at the photo. She looked straight at Kara Belmont.
The room went dead silent.
Everyone stared at her. Watching. Waiting.
For the first time in over a week, Lacey’s lips moved.
Her mouth parted.
Belmont looked as shocked as the rest of us. As if her iron spine went soft. Quickly, she pointed at the picture again. Didn’t want to lose the moment.
“Lacey, look at him,” Belmont pressed. “His blood was all over you, Lacey. And your DNA was found on him.”
“Of course her DNA was on him,” Jack objected. “They knew each other and were in close contact.”
She ignored him.
“Tell me why you did it,” she pressed, “and I swear I’ll make sure this is done quietly, so your family and kids won’t be the center of a murder trial.”
Silence again.
Then Lacey’s gaze slowly moved from Belmont to the photo. Her pupils widened. Her lower lip trembled. She looked like a little girl for a split second, lost in a place nobody could reach.
“Sweetheart, no.” The words ripped out of me.
But it was too late.
Lacey’s eyes flew wide open. All white around the brown. Her whole face changed in front of us. Something tore loose inher, and her mouth opened, and the sound that came out didn’t sound like her at all. Or human.
A high-pitched scream blasted out of her as if hell itself had opened a door under the table.
“Make her stop!” Belmont shouted as her hands covered her ears.
Lacey’s scream intensified. The sound split the air. It wasn’t just loud; it hurt. It drilled straight through the top of my skull and dug down into my spine. Like something from an exorcism movie.
“Lacey!” I twisted out of the officer’s grip. He released me with a curse, and I lurched toward her.
The scream kept coming in jagged bursts. Lacey didn’t blink. Her whole body shook as if possessed. She sucked in a ragged, choking breath before screaming again. And again. And again.
It was the worst moment of my life.
My ears rang. My heart pounded so hard my ribs ached.
“Get her out of here,” the deputy AG yelled. “Now!”
The two officers moved quickly, as if they had finally woken up. Cold cuffs snapped around Lacey’s wrists. She didn’t fight. She only kept screaming. They dragged her up from the chair, out of the interrogation room, and into the hallway.
“Let her go!” I shouted after them. I tried to grab her, but Jack caught me. His arm wrapped around me and held me tightly across my stomach.
“Let me go,” I begged him. My throat burned. My chest burned. Tears blurred the hallway, where every door along it was now open wide. Officers stood there, curious, with wide eyes. Everyone watched as they hauled Lacey down the hall.
