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Willa takes me by the elbow and pulls me over to our crumpled slip-covered couch and scoots in beside me. “First, take a deep breath. You’re going to hyperventilate.” Willa practices yoga daily and preaches every trick in the book to help someone relax. Most of the time it works, but now, I’m not sure if anything will be able to calm me down. “Good, now one more.” She breathes along with me, guiding me to try and hold the air in my lungs a bit longer than I would and to release it slowly. “I thought you were just going to meet Liam for ice cream. When did all of this come about?”
I inhale through my nose once more before answering. “While I was there, my phone was buzzing like crazy. This person just kept sending message after message. I left the wharf feeling freaked out. Then with a split-second decision, I told a news crew on site that I had information about the missing baby. I thought?—”
“What? Haley…why would you do that?”
“To clear my name? The monster they are accusing me of being wouldn’t go in front of a reporter and give their side of the story, right?”
Willa’s face contorts with a combination of concern and confusion. “Yeah, a monster probably would.” She waves her hands in front of her face. “We’re getting off topic and you still need to calm down. I’m sorry if I’m upsetting you more. I’m just worried about you. You shouldn’t take part in any interviews without an attorney by your side.”
Shame weighs heavily on my head and I rest my elbows on my thighs to lean forward.
“I found some information on the Smiths,” Willa utters.
I swallow hard like I’m forcing a marble down my throat.
“What did you find?”
Willa runs her hand in circles along my back, between my shoulder blades, which is making me more nervous for whatevershe’s about to say. “Lara came into her fortune before marrying Corbin, but as money typically goes, it caused some kind of big feud between her and her family that erupted at a fundraiser. She was arrested for disorderly conduct. The article isn’t too detailed but it’s clear Lara has had a troubled past.”
I contemplate her words, unease gnawing at me. “But I don’t know if her fortune has anything to do with a missing child,” I say, my voice reflecting my uncertainty. “Do you?”
Willa’s downcast expression tells me she’s as puzzled as I am. “No, I guess not, but this just makes me feel like an attorney is crucial. We need someone to defend your innocence.”
With the Smiths continuing to blame me, it’s becoming clearer by the minute that unless I fall into a pile of money soon, I’m going to be taken down without a chance to protect myself.
My shoulders slouch forward, the heaviness of our discussion anchors me to the sofa as I lose sight of hope. “Did you find any other information?”
Willa inhales sharply and her eyebrows lift with a hint of hope. “I did. There’s a public deposition summary on file with the Newport County Court. It’s about thirty pages and it’s going to take a bit to get through. Maybe we can find something in there.” Willa takes her laptop from the side arm of the couch and lifts the screen, and the glow illuminates her slight expression of optimism. “I’ll download it and we can print it at the library.”
I forgot to remove my phone from my back pocket when I sat down, but the incessant buzzing commences, reminding me I’m sitting on top of it.Too bad I didn’t just break the thing.I lean to the side and tear it out before tossing it onto the coffee table where it continues to buzz.
Willa freezes, her fingertips still pinching the laptop screen. “Is that whoever?—”
“No one else texts me this much,” I grumble.
Willa places her laptop down beside her and leans forward to take my phone. “Hales, you have thirty unread messages.”
“I don’t know what to say or if I should say anything. I shouldn’t, right?”
A look of concern flickers across Willa’s face as her eyebrows furrow. “Uh—okay. Here, I’m going to download an app onto your phone that will help us trace the unknown number.” Willa never fails to think on her feet unlike me who succumbs to the paralysis of fear.
“Okay.” If we find a name associated with the contact, I can report it to the police, but it’s hard to think the police will help me when I’m still a person of interest.
“I’m reading through the messages too,” she says, leaning back into the couch. She props her foot up on the coffee table and swipes her finger up and down the display on my phone.
Her silence is much louder than she must intend, and my anxiety is riveting through me like I’ve been injected with caffeine.
“Liam wants to make sure you made it home safely,” she says, her words calming me for a moment as I think of the distraction he offered, the one I wish I could have back now. “That’s sweet of him.”
Liam is sweet and thoughtful, and I should check onhimafter what happened at the wharf, the poor guy.
Willa places my phone down. “Oh…”
“What?” I question, eager to know what’s popped into her head.
“Did you say there was something in Lara’s list of online searches that mentioned a marital mediator or something?”
“Yeah, but they seemed like any other couple while leaving their house for the gala last night.”
