“That’s a lie,” I growled, hearing a noise behind me and seeing Sadie watching me worriedly, her hair still damp from the shower she’d just taken. “I never made any contact with her outside of Rebels, and the few occasions I bumped into her in the store or parking lot. I’ll even give you access to my phone records to prove it.”
“Oh, we know. The dates she’s put in the letter coincide with dates when you weren’t even here.”
“What? Why would she be that stupid to accuse me of something but put dates when it was well known that I wasn’t even in Gonzales County?”
“We think it’s so we’ll get you back here to question you, leaving Sadie either alone wherever you are or alone here. There’s also the prospect that the person who wrote it didn’t know that you weren’t in the area on those dates—”
“Because he’s not from around here,” I finished, tilting my head back to glare at the ceiling. “But he’d know that I’d never leave Sadie alone regardless of where I was.”
“I think he’s banking on you coming back with her because he doesn’t know where you are in the country. This is the only area he does know, so he wants you to bring her to relatively familiar territory for him.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“We’ve discussed it, and Sarasota PD is going to set up a video link in a room so that we can question you. At this point, it’s a formality, but I still need to warn you that there’s a possibility that we’ll find evidence against you, Elijah. If we do, they’ll arrest you, and you’ll be transferred back here and to our PD.”
“When do I have to go in?” I ground out, wondering how the hell something like this could happen.
“This afternoon at fourteen hundred. There’s enough here that you aren’t a chief suspect, but without any other information or leads, we still have to question you.” Connor sounded apologetic, and I didn’t blame him for the situation. I just fucking hated that it was happening.
After agreeing to go in, I hung up and dialed my brother, Webb, who was staying at my parent’s house with Dobby, to get him to come and look after Sadie while I was gone. Then, I filled her in on what had happened and what was about to happen.
“I can’t believe she’s dead. I mean, she was a bitch, but no one deserves that.” She was pacing around the room as she spoke like her legs weren’t able to stop moving. “And why would she arrange for someone to kill her that way? I know suicide doesn’t stick to a set outline, but wouldn’t she just do it herself if she felt she had no way out? Involving someone sets them up to take the fall for it if they’re found out, so it doesn’t make sense.”
That was a valid point and was something I hadn’t considered.
“And why accuse you of doing stuff on days that you weren’t there, and multiple people can confirm you weren’t there?”
“Because it was someone who didn’t know that I didn’t live there who wrote the note?”
That stopped her pacing in its tracks. “Orson.”
Nodding grimly, I pulled her into my chest, breathing in her scent. How did we go from such a high to rock bottom so quickly? We should still be celebrating our engagement and news. “Webb’s going to come and stay with you, and he’s bringing Dobby, too.”
Burying her face in my t-shirt, she mumbled, “I’m more worried about you, Elijah.”
“Well, I’m more worried about you and our daughter, so can you do me a favor and do whatever Webb tells you to do. I need to know that both of you are safe,” I begged. “I don’t like not being able to see it with my own eyes.”
Tilting her head back, Sadie grinned up at me. “We’ll be fine. And if anyone comes near, I’ll have Dobby to back me up.”
There weren’t enough words in the world to describe how much I loved this woman. It was like all of the gravity in the universe pulled me toward her, making the bond between us airtight.
Now someone was fucking with it from the grave.
And from wherever that fucker Riley was right now.Chapter TwentySadieIt’s funny, I’d been scared of this man and let him rule my life for over ten years, but facing him now, all I could see was a pathetic piece of shit.
Walking around where he was tied to a chair, I glanced at Webb, Jackson, Marcus, and Jesse, seeing the same confused expression on all of their faces.
“This is the guy who has Elijah so worried?” Webb muttered, scratching his head. The action wasn’t dramatic or sarcastic, he was genuinely perplexed.Roughly three hours ago, he’d driven up with a pissed off Dobby growling in a carrier beside him. It seemed that he was tired of being caged up and driven around, so he’d done a dirty protest while they were stuck in traffic. Poor Webb had suffered for over an hour, knowing Elijah couldn’t be late to the police station interview, and I couldn’t be left alone.