No in Between (Inside Out #4)(15)

“When she failed, she held you at gunpoint?” he presses.

I nod. “That’s right.”

“And she ordered you into the car?”

“Yes.”

“So she had the chance to shoot you, but she didn’t.”

It’s not a question and my anger is sharp and instant. “She intended to kill me.” I lean in closer. “She tried to kill me with the car. And if not for Chris risking his own life to disarm her, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Chris’s fingers slide under my hair to my neck, an act he normally reserves for those intimate moments when he is in control. The effect is jolting, and I realize instantly that’s his intent. As I focus on him my anger levels off, and I inhale a calming breath. Chris’s hand slowly slides from my neck, settling back on my leg.

After a short count of ten, I open my eyes. The two detectives have turned away, heads lowered as they whisper between themselves. They straighten and Detective Miller takes over the conversation.

“I’m sure everyone here is aware that Ms. Perez retracted her confession to the murder of Rebecca Mason. It’s difficult to secure an indictment in a murder charge without a body, and we are going to temporarily drop those charges to build a case. We have until Friday morning to decide if we’re going to proceed with the attempted murder charges.”

Abruptly, David scoots his chair to the head of the table, firmly grabbing both sides and smiling. “Damn, I’m good.” He motions to Chris and me. “Aren’t I good? Go ahead. Say it.”

“That’s why I hired you,” Chris assures him.

Detective Miller grimaces. “Please, David. Tell us why you’re gloating. We can’t wait to hear.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” David says, looking as pleased as he sounds. “I knew you were going to bluff on the attempted murder charges. It’s all part of your head game to get information they’ll willingly give you anyway. And it’s really as low as it gets, considering the defendant tried to kill Sara.”

“Innocent until proven guilty,” Detective Miller comments.

My anger returns like a swish of a now-sharpened blade. “She tried to run me down with a car. It was smashed into the tree when the police got there. How much more proof do you need?”

“And what about the four witnesses?” David asks. “Should I count them out?” He raises a finger. “One.” Then another finger. “Two. Should I continue the demonstration?”

“We can count,” Detective Miller snaps.

David scoffs. “Apparently not, because you keeping ‘forgetting.’ Let me be clear. Ms. Perez is a danger to my clients and to society. If you and your people aren’t good enough to convince a judge she needs to stay behind bars, protection orders for Chris and Sara must be in place before that woman leaves custody. And she’d better have a leg monitor that’s watched nonstop. You don’t want to know how deep I’ll cut if anything happens to one of my clients.”

“It’s not as simple as you make it, Counselor,” Detective Grant says tightly. “There are complicated relationships involved in this case and the ever-changing stories have given me whiplash.”

“We haven’t changed our stories,” David points out. “If Ms. Perez has, that makes her look even more unstable, and unstable is dangerous.”

“We aren’t at liberty to say more at this point,” Detective Miller informs him. “We’d like to continue our questioning and go from there.”

David leans back in his chair and taps his pen on the table a few times before he agrees. “Five minutes. Make the time count.”

Detective Miller immediately turns to me. “Who’s Ella Ferguson?”

“My neighbor and friend, who bought Rebecca’s storage unit. She eloped and left me with the unit.”

“And she’s where now?”

“You know she filed a missing person’s report,” David answers irritably. “Get to the point or we’re done here.”

“Her point,” Detective Grant says tightly, “is clear. We want to know where Ella is.”

They’ve hit a raw nerve, and I say heatedly, “So do I. Where is she? I’ve filed a report here, and in France, but no one seems to be looking for her. Just like no one seemed to care about Rebecca, even after I started looking for her.”

“And when exactly did you start looking for Ella?” Detective Miller asks, ignoring my inquiries.

“It’s all in the reports,” David says irritably.

“I want to hear it again,” Detective Miller counters.

I jump in, ready to get out of this tiny cage of a room. “Ella handed me the key to the unit the night she eloped, along with the journals. I started reading them and got concerned for Rebecca’s safety. I decided to try to find her. When I was told she was on extended vacation it heightened my concern, so I went to the gallery.”

Detective Grant tilts his head. “And then ended up taking her job.”

“Temporarily. I was off for the summer, and since I have an art degree I thought I’d look for Rebecca and earn extra income.”

“You basically started living her life.” His tone is pure accusation.

I make a disgusted sound, fed up with their lack of action, which they blame on everyone else. “That job, and the connection reading those journals gave me to Rebecca, is what drove me to look for her. I’m the only reason anyone was looking for her.” Chris squeezes my hand in silent support. “I couldn’t save her, but I can at least see justice done for her. Ava has to be stopped before she hurts someone else.”