Page 69

It was so many assurances that Sloane doubted their veracity. Cocking her head to one side, Sloane looked at her as she would any puzzle that needed solving. It had been Arwyn’s idea to pretend the kiss never happened. Why did she look so glum about it now?

“I’ve got to get ready for a suppression hearing this morning, but I’d planned to work on Dominguez after lunch.

I have to meet with Chin,” Sloane stopped herself. “I have to meet with Chad and Ralph tomorrow morning to make sure I’ve got final approval on the trial strategy, make sure I didn’t leave anything out of discovery, and all that jazz. Do you want to work together later today since we’re all cool now?” Sloane meant it as a joke, but whether it had landed like that was unknown.

“I can’t believe trial is just a few days away,” she decided, looking down at her opus with her hands propped on her hips. “It’s like I’ve been living with him for years.”

Sloane nodded. “I owe you.”

She smiled. “I’m sure you’ll pay it forward.”

With a tight smile, Sloane hoped she was right. No one had ever accused of her being generous or reciprocal, but as she walked out of the library, she decided maybe it was time to change that. After all, the way she used to be landed her living back at home and sleeping with the cold truth that all

her relationships had been woefully superficial. A fact she only learned when life got hard and the people she thought cared about her ghosted her quick. Maybe being a little less selfish might feel better than loneliness. It certainly didn’t look like it could make things any worse than they already were.

CHAPTER 27

AFTER FINISHING her own work in the o ce and having dinner with her parents, Ari pushed open the door to her apartment with her foot, since her hands were full of half a dozen plastic food containers. She’d told her mom that a week’s worth of meals wasn’t necessary, but the woman could not be stopped.

Stacking the containers in her nearly empty fridge, Ari was grateful. Her parents didn’t have a lot, but they never let it show. She hoped to work hard enough and make the right connections to be appointed a judgeship in ten years. That way her job would still be justice, but she’d have the financial freedom to supplement her parents’ income.

Ari hung up her suit and showered before pulling on sweatpants and an old t-shirt. For most people it would be a normal bedtime ritual; for her it was the start of another few hours of work.

While waiting for her co ee to brew, Ari flipped through a handwritten list. After combing through his bank statements, she’d identified every vendor without an immediately recognizable name or purpose. She also had a

hobby shop and a single, large purchase she wanted to check out.

She knew she was investing too much time on Sloane’s case, but it was the first time she’d worked on something where the defendant’s guilt wasn’t blatantly apparent. When she wasn’t being haunted by Sloane’s lips and the weight of her body against hers, she was tormented by the possibility that they were prosecuting an innocent man. The combination meant sleep was illusive and her fixation on the case extreme.

Ralph hadn’t seemed troubled by the case. According to him, a lot of people with stalking charges made the same kinds of claims. But when she pressed him on whether those people had proof they were at the locations first, he balked and commended her on her passion instead. Being patronized only made Ari want to push harder. Not wanting to second-guess her approach with Sloane helped too.

Hours later, Ari circled back to the day of the pharmacy incident. Glancing back at the bank statements, she zeroed in on a transaction the day before. A four-dollar purchase at a discount store with a hundred dollars as cash back. On its own maybe not so strange, but after digging, Ari confirmed there was a free ATM outside the store. Plus, Dominguez had only withdrawn cash a handful of times in the last three years. Every other time had been at the same bank location and never more than twenty bucks.

“What did you need that cash for, dude?” she muttered to herself before taking a sip of the co ee that had gone cold.

Opening her laptop, Ari shot o an email to their IT guy and copied Sloane. Do you happen to know Bargain Depot’s

retention policy for CCTV footage? Any chance it’s longer than six months?

Before she could move on to anything else, Sloane texted her.

Sloane: Are you really working right now? Do you seriously not have an o button???

Ari bit back a smile even though Sloane couldn’t see her.

It was still embarrassing to have her stomach flutter at the sight of her name on the screen.

Ari: I could say the same . . . why are you checking work email at this hour?

Sloane: Don’t turn this around on me, Vidal. What are you up to? And why are you harassing Larry at this hour?

Ari: I wasn’t expecting anyone to read it until tomorrow, but it’s a lot to explain over text. . . or put into words at all. All I’ve got is this barely there thread and all I know is that I NEED to pull on it and see what’s there.

Sloane: Trial is in TWO days. I think we have to go forward with what we’ve got.

Ari: I know. I know. This is the last thing. I promise.

As they were texting, Ari’s laptop dinged with a notification. Opening the email, Ari nearly hooted, but her paper-thin walls kept her mouth shut.