Willing to Die (Alvarez & Pescoli)

A heavy clump of snow fell off the roof and the baby started in her arms.

She heard the lock engage.

Great. She’d blown that argument. “Come on,” she said to Tucker as she made her way down the steps. “Let’s just hope your brother gets smart when it comes to girls.”

And what were the chances of that? she wondered as she stepped inside and started peeling off her jacket.

Pretty damned close to zero.

Chapter 24

God, her aunts were morons. Well, maybe not the cop. She was pretty sharp, but Collette and Sarina were so predictable, so emotional, and, Ivy thought, so able to be tricked. She didn’t like the word “manipulated,” but she knew with the right display of emotion, she could wrap Sarina around her little finger.

Standing a step behind Aunt Regan in the Missoula airport, she watched Sarina, with the strap of an overnight bag slung over her shoulder, come scurrying from the terminal where they were waiting, idling in Regan’s Jeep.

They both got out and Sarina let out a little cry, dropped her bag, and surrounded Ivy in a bear hug. “Thank God you’re okay!” her aunt’s voice cracked. “We were so worried. Oh, honey, I’m so, so sorry about your Mom and Paul.” And then the waterworks started gushing as Sarina burst into tears of... relief? Grief? Joy? Worry? Who knew and who cared. Ivy put up with the hug, being rocked back and forth as Sarina held fast as if she’d never let go.

“I can’t park here all day,” Regan said, and Sarina finally released her niece.

“I know. It’s just that I was so worried.”

“I’m fine,” Ivy lied.

“Oh, honey, how could you be?” Sarina gave her a hang-dog, I-know-your-pain look, which was ridiculous. No one knew how she felt. No one ever could.

Regan said, “We’ve got to meet Detectives Paterno and Tanaka in a couple of hours. Are you hungry?”

“Starved, but what else is new. I’ve been counting calories again . . . I hate it.”

Ivy crawled into the backseat while Sarina took shotgun and Regan drove. During the trip, Ivy suffered through at least a thousand questions from Sarina.

“Why didn’t you call?”

“Where have you been?”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Why did you go to New Mexico? What’s there?”

Sarina finished with, “I heard about that awful attack; it was on the news. I’m so glad you were able to get away! Did you know him? The man who assaulted you? Oh, dear, he has a record, you know that? So don’t worry about him lying about you. The police will sort it all out, I’m sure.” Then a questioning look at her sister. “Won’t they, Regan?”

Ivy, who’d been answering in nearly monosyllabic words just to get the woman off her back, was thankful that Regan had to take over. “Yes, the police will figure out what’s going on. We always do,” said Regan.

Well, that sure sent a chill through Ivy’s soul. They couldn’t find out the truth, at least not all of it, or she would be in deep shit. Swallowing back her fear, Ivy thought about the phone call she’d have to make.

“Give her a break, Sarina,” Regan advised as the road veered along the course of the river. “She’s going to have to go through all this and more once we get to the station.”

“Oh, I know, but they’ll see she’s telling the truth and release her. And then I’ll take her home. Get her settled in. Back to school.”

“No,” Ivy said, cutting in. Is that what the plan was? To dump her back with Sarina to San Francisco? To live with her ridiculous cousins, Ryan and Zach? Were they serious? No way. She had her own plans.

Sarina twisted in the front seat, half turning to look at her. “You have to finish your senior year and I’ve got room now.” Her smile faded at that thought, but she kept going. “And we’ll worry about college later. I know you’ve taken your SATs and Brindel had said something about . . . about . . . Oh, God, I’m sorry.” She’d started crying again.

“All this can be sorted out later,” Regan said firmly.

“I’m not going back.” Ivy thought they should know at least that much.

“But, honey,” Sarina said, her voice cajoling.