Page 44 of Darkwater Lane

“Because listeners see me as an authority on Melvin Royal right now. And if I start telling your story, people will listen.”

I press my lips together, not certain whether I agree with that or not. It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested.

She must see that because she says, “It’s Sam’s best chance. You have to know that. We frame the narrative before the cops can. We point out the weaknesses in their case. We use public pressure to make it untenable for them to pin this on Sam.”

She pauses, letting her words sink in.

Just then, I hear the rattle of the police station doors and glance toward the entrance in time to see Sam step outside. My heart clenches.

I hadn’t realized until this moment how terrified I was that they might detain him.

“I can’t deal with this right now,” I tell Madison with a dismissive wave.

I turn and race toward Sam. I still have a million questions for him, and I’m mad as hell that he’s been hiding things from me, but all of that can wait. What matters now is that he’s not in jail. He pulls me into his arms, and I press my face against his shoulder. There was a part of me that wondered if I’d ever be able to do this again. If they would just charge him and ship him off to jail where I’d only be able to talk to him through a glass divider.

I inhale, letting his scent fill me. “I was worried,” I mumble into his neck.

He holds me tightly, and I can feel the way his breath catches. “I was too.”

Eventually, I step back from Sam’s embrace, but we keep our hands twined together. I’m not sure when I’ll feel ready to let him go. Claudia, our lawyer, waits at the base of the stairs, and we start toward her. “What’s the status of the investigation?” I ask.

“As of right now, they don’t have imminent plans to press charges, which is good news. The bad news is that Sam is still their main suspect, and they’re gunning hard to dig up as much as they can on him. The minute they think the case is solid enough, they’ll be taking it to the grand jury.”

The news is like a punch to the gut. I can’t believe this is happening.

“Gwen, they want to talk to you as well,” she adds.

I open my mouth to respond, but she holds up a hand. “Before you say anything, there’s something you need to consider. Technically, I can represent both of you, but only if you each sign a waiver acknowledging the potential conflict of interest.”

Sam frowns. “What conflict?”

She looks between us. “That you’re both potential suspects.”

“Neither one of us had anything to do with Varrus’s murder,” I remind her. “So, there’s no conflict.”

“Except that if they charge Sam, his best defense may be to blame you,” she points out.

“I would never do that,” Sam says.

There’s no doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t do anything to put me in harm’s way, even if it would keep him from going to jail.

Claudia looks at us each in turn, her expression calm but serious. “You’re paying me for my legal expertise, and I’m giving it to you. Having separate lawyers is in both of your best interests. Gwen, I have several very well-respected colleagues and I’m happy to give you a recommendation.”

I know we need to consider her advice, but it’s not something I want to think about right now. It’s late, and I’m exhausted. “I’ll think about it. When can we go back to our house?”

Claudia grimaces. “Unfortunately, it’ll be a while. Several days, at least, while they process the crime scene. I asked the detectives to allow you in to retrieve what you’d need to stay elsewhere, but they said that wasn’t possible.”

Which means we have nothing but the clothes on our backs. Not even toothbrushes and toothpaste. We’ve faced worse situations, but still, it’s not ideal.

Sam squeezes my hand. “We’re together, and the kids are safe. We’ll figure it out.”

The lawyer nods. “Give me a call tomorrow and we can discuss next steps,” she says to Sam.

“Claudia—” I hesitate, not sure I really want the answer to this question. But hiding from reality never works out. We need to know what we’re up against. “How worried do we need to be?”

She looks at both of us in turn and then lets out a long breath.

“I wish I could tell you I wasn’t worried but…” She holds her hands out to the sides and shrugs, leaving it to us to fill in the blank.