Then she turned and walked back into the room without waiting for an answer. The door shut behind her with a thud.
I turned to Dylan.
He was staring at me. His shoulders slumped, and his lips started to tremble. Whatever strength he’d held onto in that room was gone. The strong young man who’d sat across from his mother was gone. And what stood in front of me was a hurting boy.
Then he broke. The sound came first. A rough inhale that turned into a sob. Then another. His body folded in on itself as tears poured down his cheeks. He cried and cried, shoulders shaking, face pressed into my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him and held on tightly.
“I know,” I said. “I know.”
Chapter 30
Nicole
“You sure you don’t wanna come in?” Dylan asked as we sat in the car outside Amanda’s. “Ethan and Lila would love to see you.”
I looked out the window, staring at Amanda’s multimillion-dollar home. A mix of modern and colonial. Clean white siding and large stone steps. It screamed money in every inch of its perfect landscaping.
“I’d love to, but it’s better if I don’t come in.”
I expected a “Why?” but, instead, Dylan’s eyes dropped for just a second before he nodded.
He knew. He was too smart and observant not to. I was Lacey’s fighter. The one who never stopped. And to Amanda, Lacey might still be Zach’s murderer.
“Go now, before the little monsters see me. And kiss them for me.”
Dylan leaned over and hugged me. I held him a second longer than usual. Then he pulled away and got out, his schoolbag slung over one shoulder.
I watched him walk up the path. Amanda had already opened the door. She welcomed him with a quick hug, one hand firm on his shoulder. He disappeared into the house.
She stayed in the doorway, staring at me. Her face was sad. Conflicted. Like she wanted to say something but didn’t trust herself. Then she turned and closed the door.
I put the car in Drive and drove home.
My thoughts wouldn’t slow down.
Dylan. Then Lila. Brian. Nolan. Myers. But mostly Lacey.
She looked horrible.
The image wouldn’t leave me. Her skin was so pale. Her eyes sunken and dull. Time was running out. Tomorrow, I’d meet with the public defender Nolan had recommended to see if there was any way to get her out on bail because of her cancer. She was barely a flight risk, dying like this. Anyone with eyes could see it.
But the DA. That prick. He’d do anything to see her die in jail. He would bend the law into whatever shape he could to deny her bail.
At this point, there was no doubt left in me that Myers had killed Zach. Lacey’s reaction alone said it all. The way her body changed when I mentioned the man with the scar. She remembered him. She couldn’t say it. The trauma was still running too deep to push past it.
Did he make her watch the murder?
My hands balled into fists as I remembered the police report. She’d urinated all over herself. Her clothes were torn. Maybe from a rape attempt. Who knew.
Damn this world. All of it.
I pulled into the driveway and noticed the reporters were still gone. That was great news.
I parked and saw the neighbors, Anne and George, pulling in with their kids. The moment they spotted me, their movements changed. Quicker. Tense. They rushed the kids inside like I was Jack the Ripper.
Then Mr. Warner walked past me on the sidewalk with Ginny, the huge Doberman. The moment she saw me, she pulled my way. She must have remembered the treats I usually kept in my pocket for her.
For a second, I worried he wouldn’t let her come close. But quietly, without a word, he did.
