AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bauer chuckled. “Don’t have to use her words from tonight. The evidence speaks for itself. Besides – she hasn’t asked for a lawyer.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Demetria put a hand on my shoulder.
“At the restaurant, where your thugs snatched my client away from her friends with a baseless arrest, Chloe McKenna informed the arresting officers that she’d be contacting Mrs. Stuart’s attorney.Me.She didn’t need to ask, because her legal representation was already on the way, and you should have waited. But… you never were one for taking your time, were you?” she asked, in a tone that definitely spoke to history between her and Bauer, but I wasn’t worried aboutthatright now.
I wanted to know how she was going to get me out of here.
“Now, gentleman, I think we can all agree that you’ve egregiously overplayed your hand here. The simple fact that my client isn’t even in handcuffs right now speaks directly to the fact that you don’t believe she did this. Please tell me you don’t think this woman brutally murdered her husband, wrote a message implicating herself, and left a bloody knife covered in her fingerprints, all in the condo thatshepays for, and then went to have dinner with her friends. There’s no possible way you don’t see that this is a setup,” Demetria said, her expression stern as she looked back and forth between the detectives.
“It’s not as if your client has been forthcoming with her whereabouts from this morning,” Crowley challenged, as if they’d even bothered to ask.
“I was… visiting someone,” I piped up. “Almost two hours out of the city, and the same distance back!”
He scoffed. “Can your “someone” corroborate that?”
“I…” I pushed out a sigh. “No.”
He shook his head. “You got some proof? Let me guess – no, you don’t, because you’re lying, and we’regoingto prove it.”
“Okay you’re done,” Demetria interrupted. “I need to talk to my client, and I hope I don’t need to remind you that our conversation is privileged.”
“Don’t worry about us snooping,” Crowley said as he stood, and Bauer moved away from the mirror, toward the door. “We’re about to go have a conversation with the boy toy. We’ll make sure he knows you’re lawyered up, Mrs. Stuart.”
My lips parted. “What? You know who he is? You have himhere? How?!”
Bauer laughed. “Oh, did lover boy not tell you he was still in town?”
“Enough! Out!” Demetria demanded, before I could ask any more questions. When she turned back to me, she was wearing the same scowl she’d been giving the detectives. “Why thehellwould you talk to them?!”
I pulled my head back, surprised at the question. “Why wouldn’t I? My husband is dead, and they think I did it!”
“They don’t. They just want it to have been you, so they can wrap this case up. You’re lucky I got here when I did – they would’ve had you confessing in another hour.”
I frowned. “No, because I didn’t do anything. And girl… I don’t evenknowyou.”
“But Chloe does, which is a good thing for you – trust me. I’m going to ask you a few questions that I need you to answer for me as honestly as possible – no bullshit. We’re going to fix this, but I need you to be straight with me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Where were you this morning, between ten and noon?”
“At my father’s grave. I stopped for lunch on the way back, but I didn’t keep the receipt.”
Demetria shook her head. “That’s fine. Your Mercedes has GPS. They’re going to pull it, and it’s going to prove where you were. Next question – the message on Kellen’s chest. Beyond the obvious, does it mean anything to you?”
I pushed out a sigh, then swiped a hand over my face. “Um… it’s a nail polish name that I came up with. My upcoming holiday collection… Wicked Widow,” I explained as my stomach flipped. “All of the names are plays on fidelity, wedding vows… killing a husband.By Death We Partis a black matte polish. And um… the card, that came with the roses I got after the break-in.Partaking all Others.It’s a deep crimson, like the flowers were.”
“Partaking, instead offorsaking. It’s a creative concept, I love it.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Just… pretty unfortunate timing.”
“Who are you telling?” I asked, letting out a dry chuckle. “So… what happens next?”
“Well, I’m going to get you out of here, so you can get some rest. I have a feeling they already got back that GPS report, traffic cameras, EZ pass, something, to show that you weren’t anywhere near Kellen when he was murdered. Otherwise, they’d already have you booked. They’re just trying to get information out of you. Like the “boy toy” they referred to. Who the hell is that? Chloe didn’t say anything about you having a side piece.”
“That’s because I don’t! At least… notreally.”
“Monica, no bullshit. Tell what the deal is.”
“It’s just this guy that I met online, like five years ago. We’ve never met in person, I don’t even know his name, and he doesn’t know mine. There’s no way he did this.”
