Leave Me Love (Call Me Cat Trilogy #2)(27)

Ash closed the door behind him and we stared at the pictures, not wanting to touch anything and contaminate it with our prints. "What is this?" I asked. “I don't understand.”

"I don't either." Ash circled the room, stepping over trash on the floor to examine the different photos. "Bridgette and I didn't spend that much time together. Whoever took these worked hard to catch every moment I was ever around her."

I looked at the clothes and bags on the bed. "Ash, some of this is my stuff, things Bridgette bought me when she dragged me shopping. The rest looks new, but it's all in my size and style."

Before we could ponder what that might mean, Detective Gray walked in, weapon drawn. I backed into Ash, who caught me around the waist and held me. Other officers crowded into the room, making me feel claustrophobic and anxious.

"Watch them. Don't let them leave." Gray pointed at us, and an officer nodded.

Ash stepped in front of me. "This isn't Catelyn's room, Detective. I hired a private investigator to help find Bridgette. He discovered she rented this room out under Catelyn's name. The owner confirmed it. Then the owner called you."

Gray chewed on his lip. "Wait in the hallway."

Ash escorted me outside and we sat on the porch near the door, a burly officer standing beside us with his hand on his holster.

I put my head between my legs, breathing slowly as Ash rubbed my back. I pulled an anti-anxiety pill out of my purse and popped it without water.

I lost track of time. When Gray finally came out, he had a self-satisfied expression on his face. "Catelyn Travis, you're under arrest for the kidnapping and disappearance of Bridgette Beaumont. You have the right to remain silent…"

The handcuffs gripped my wrists and Ash stood, looking helpless, jaw set in an angry line. "Don't say anything. Maxwell will meet you at the police station. Don't say a word until he gets there. I love you." He kissed me on the lips. "I love you and I will protect you."





Chapter Twenty Three


Fear and Betrayal


"WE KNOW YOU forced her to buy you expensive gifts, clothes, purses. Give you cash. You made her check out the room for you." Detective Gray sat across from me. My chair was uncomfortable. The room was empty except for a large mirror on the wall.

I said nothing, clenching my fists.

Gray continued, "We found your fingerprints all over the place."

"Impossible." I clasped a hand to my mouth. Shit. Don't say anything. Don’t say anything.

He grinned. "Look, I get it. Your best friend was seeing your boyfriend behind your back. You had to follow them, take a few photos to make sure. Cheating is a hard thing to deal with—trust me, I know. I mean, what a bitch. She was screwing your guy one minute, visiting you in the hospital the next. Playing BFF the whole time. I mean, the f*cking bitch needed to be taught a lesson, right?"

I didn't respond. They couldn't have any fingerprints. They wouldn't have had enough time to test for any, right?

Someone knocked on the door. Gray stood up, talked to an officer outside, stepped back in. "You're free to go."

As I passed him, he whispered in my ear. "We have her diary, Miss Travis. Confess now. Make it easier on all of us."

I didn't face him as the uniformed officer escorted me out. Ash waited for me in the lobby and held me against his chest when he saw me. "I got you out as fast as I could. It was easier with your medical condition."

The police had given me my medication, but lying on a cot in a cold cell followed by an interrogation wasn't exactly the ideal place for my body to heal. Maxwell stood behind Ash, and I thanked him once Ash let me go. "I couldn't stand another minute in there," I said.

Maxwell squeezed my hand. "You didn't say anything, did you?"

"No, nothing. I did as you said.”

He nodded. "Good. I'll come by later so we can strategize but, first, you've got an appointment with your therapist. She helped us get you out faster, contingent on you meeting with her as soon as bail was posted."

I just wanted to go home, take a long bath and curl up on the couch with Ash while we listened to music and read books, but I guess this was better than staying in jail.

Lauren looked composed and beautiful as always in an expensive suit skirt and blouse in neutral tones. Ash waited outside for me, kissing my forehead before Lauren closed her door and I sat in my customary chair.

She sat across from me, a notebook posed on her knee, the scent of her unique perfume filling the room. "How are you?"

I was going to say "fine," but instead I burst into tears that turned to body heaving sobs that left my ribs sore and my eyes swollen. Lauren handed me a box of Kleenex and waited until my breathing slowed and I could talk again.

"I'm scared," I said.

"That's understandable." She handed me a glass of water and I drank deeply. "What scares you most?" she asked.

"That I'm being framed for Bridgette's kidnapping. That they will convict me of murder and I'll spend my life behind bars. That I'm going crazy and imagining things, even though I know I'm not. Honestly, I'm terrified of everything right now. The whole world seems out to get me and I know that makes me sound paranoid but what other explanation is there?" I dabbed at my eyes. "Maybe not the whole world, but certainly someone. I'm sure it's my parents' killer. He wants me to suffer, though I can't imagine why. And that means he has Bridgette and who knows what he's doing to her and setting me up for." My whole body shook as I talked and I had to forcibly calm myself to maintain composure.