Page 23 of Darkwater Lane (Stillhouse Lake #7)

I cringe. He’s seen the camera footage. He knows I left the house.

“I was meeting someone at a hotel bar near the airport. The rideshare driver can confirm picking me up and dropping me off. There were probably half a dozen people who saw me waiting at the bar. Plus, there’s the person I was meeting.

” I give the detective Madison’s contact information.

I don’t bother pointing out that she’s probably still here, one of the many onlookers in the growing crowd behind us.

I don’t feel like dragging her into this situation more than she already is.

“And you, Mr. Cade? Can you account for your whereabouts after you left the house earlier this evening?”

Sam glances my way, and our eyes meet. I know immediately from his expression that he can’t. At least not in any verifiable way. I have no idea where he went or what he was doing.

The dread that’s been pooling in my gut continues to rise. I feel like we’re caught in some sort of trap, and it’s growing tighter and tighter around us .

When Sam says nothing, Gutierrez tries again. “Look, this will go much better for you if you start talking. The more difficult you make things…”

Sam shakes his head. “I’m not going to answer any more of your questions. Not without a lawyer.”

My stomach drops. It’s a smart move, but it also confirms my fears.

It clearly confirms Gutierrez’s suspicions as well.

The detective sighs. “I understand. I’m not going to ask you any more questions.

But let me explain to you how this looks.

A man you’ve admitted to having issues with was murdered in your home within minutes of you physically threatening him.

Not only can you not account for your whereabouts, but your alarm system shows that you disarmed the system and ensured the security cameras were nonoperational during the time period when the victim was murdered. ”

Sam’s face is pale, but his expression is resolute. He says nothing.

The detective looks at him for a beat longer and then lets out another sigh. “So be it.” He gestures to the cop who’s been hovering nearby. He jumps into action, slipping his handcuffs off his belt as he approaches.

I know what’s coming, and I want to step between them and stop it from happening. This entire situation has spun out of control. It’s like Stillhouse Lake all over again, when the Norton police came for Sam, accusing him of murdering Varrus before.

Except back then Varrus hadn’t been dead. He’d only been setting Sam up.

Then who’s setting Sam up now? And why?

I think about the missing minutes on the camera footage and remember Rowan’s background in hacking. I remember the suspicion I felt earlier at the gas station when I realized that Madison was the reason I’d left the house in the first place.

“Wait,” I tell the detective. “Rowan Applegate. She’s also a Lost Angel.

Sam’s sister Callie—the one Melvin murdered—was Rowan’s adopted sister.

Rowan blames me. She’s been involved in The Royal Murders podcast with Madison Westcott, and she’s a hacker.

She could have been responsible for whatever happened to our alarm system.

And Madison was the woman I was meeting for drinks—she could have been working with Rowan to get me out of the house. ”

Gutierrez frowns. “You think this woman—Rowan—could have killed Leo Varrus? Do you have anything to substantiate that? Madison too?”

I open my mouth, but I’m not sure how to respond. “Sam didn’t do this.”

For a moment, I think Gutierrez might reconsider. Instead, he turns to Sam and says, “Not only do we have your texts, but we also pulled your phone location data. Your mobile pinged off the closest tower to the house during the time we believe the victim was murdered.”

I take an involuntary step back at this piece of information.

My eyes meet Sam’s. He shakes his head, his expression pleading with me not to believe them.

I flash to the memory of pulling up my location app at the gas station earlier.

His phone had been grayed out like he’d turned the tracking off because he didn’t want me to know where he was.

What if he was here at the house ? a voice whispers in my head. What if he murdered Leo ?

I clench my teeth, forcing the thoughts back. I know Sam. I trust him. He wasn’t involved. This is a mistake.

However, I’m still not surprised when Gutierrez nods to the officer, who steps forward with his handcuffs.

“Sam Cade, you’re under arrest for the murder of Leonard Varrus,” Gutierrez begins.

He continues reciting the Miranda warning, but I don’t hear it.

Instead, I feel the focus of the crowd shifting around us.

I notice all the cell phones pointed in our direction, the news crews with their large cameras capturing every second of this moment.

Madison will be one of them. I can’t stop wondering if she’s a part of this—if she and Rowan are somehow in it together.

All I can think about is Lanny and Connor, thanking God that neither is here right now to see this, but knowing it won’t be long before these images are everywhere online.

The cop moves to pat Sam down, and Sam mentions the firearm he has holstered against his back. Of course, he’s carrying , I think to myself. There’s no way he would go to a meeting with Leo unarmed.

But that only increases the surrounding officers’ suspicion.

I can see it in how they shift, their hands moving closer to their own weapons.

To me, it’s only more proof of his innocence.

Why slit a man’s throat when you could shoot him in the head?

I don’t say this out loud, though. Somehow, I don’t think Gutierrez would appreciate it.

The detective removes Sam’s gun and places it in an evidence bag.

Then the cop finishes patting Sam down before pushing him into the back of a squad car.

I catch Sam’s eyes. “ It’s going to be okay ,” he mouths, and I almost want to laugh.

Right now feels a long, long way from okay, and I’m not sure I see the path between here and there.

The cop closes the door, and the siren blurts a few times, clearing a path through the crowd as the car pulls away. I watch them go, still in disbelief. I feel like everything is fracturing apart, and I don’t know how to put it right.

How is it possible this is happening again?

I feel Gutierrez beside me, studying me, waiting for me to say something. I want to scream in his face that this is all wrong. That Sam is being set up again. That we’re being targeted by someone who is trying to ruin our lives. That we are victims too.

But even I know how outlandish that sounds. I think about the lengths Varrus has gone to in the past to target Sam and can’t help but ask, “Is it possible that Varrus did this to himself?

He quirks an eyebrow. “You think the victim broke into your house so he could slit his own throat? Why? So he could set your partner up for murder? That’s pretty extreme, don’t you think?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time that someone’s set him up,” I tell him.

“No, I don’t think it’s possible he did this to himself.

According to the medical examiner, the cut nearly severed his spinal cord, and there are no hesitation marks, which you would expect with a self-inflicted wound.

There was an impressive amount of blood as well. He would have bled out quite quickly.”

I close my eyes, unable to stop myself from picturing it. Leo Varrus on our couch, head back and ragged throat exposed. Blood coating the walls, the ceiling, the floor.

I’ve seen a similar image before. It’s what our living room at Stillhouse Lake looked like several months ago, minus Leo’s body. Kez and Sam had shown me photos of the scene, and I remember thinking that it seemed like an impossible amount of blood.

I shudder to think that it’s the same thing all over again.

Except this time it’s real. This time there’s an actual dead body.

This time Leo Varrus really was murdered.

And they think Sam did it.

“You know, we’re both after the same thing here,” Gutierrez says softly. “Figuring out what happened inside your house. It would be easier if we worked together.”

If I truly thought he meant that, I might take him up on it.

But I don’t trust law enforcement. I’ve known many great cops in my lifetime, but I’ve also had enough experience with the bad apples to know they’re out there.

I’ve already told him to look into Rowan and Madison, and he didn’t seem interested.

He’s decided that Sam did this, and there’s no need to look any further.

But if he’s not going to investigate them, then I will .

“No, thank you,” I tell him.

He seems genuinely disappointed. “It can’t be easy being Melvin Royal’s ex-wife. I know you were put on trial as an accessory to murder, and I know there are a lot of people out there who still think you had a hand in his dealings.”

I clench my jaw and turn to stare at him icily. “Let me guess, you’ve been listening to The Royal Murders , and because of that, you think I had something to do with this.” I wave my hand at the house and the crime scene inside.

He shakes his head. “Not necessarily. I believe in the justice system. There’s no such thing as a perfect crime, which means there’s always evidence.

They had so much evidence on your ex-husband that if you’d been involved, they would have found evidence of that too.

I think the jury got it right in your case. ”

My shoulders relax slightly. It’s not the answer I expected. “Thank you.”

He lifts a shoulder. “Of course, that also means that if you or Sam were involved in this one, we’ll find the evidence of that too.”

“You won’t,” I tell him succinctly.

“If you’re so sure about that, why aren’t you willing to answer any of my questions?” He counters.

I have to give him credit for how neatly he’s made his point. I’m sure the tactic probably works on most suspects. Unfortunately for him, I’ve had enough involvement with the criminal justice system to know better.

“Like you, I also believe in the justice system, and under that system, I don’t have to answer your questions.”

“You will when you get a grand jury subpoena.”

“In which case, my lawyer and I will be happy to discuss the matter further.”

“I look forward to it.”

“I wouldn’t if I were you. My lawyer is an asshole.”

He laughs. “Is there any other kind? ”

“None that I would be interested in having represent me.”

He gives me a genuine smile, and I find that a part of me likes the man.

Despite the fact that he just arrested my partner, I get the sense that Gutierrez is one of the good ones: honest, scrupulous, and a straight shooter.

But I also know that the best cops can make you think they’re on your side while setting you up for a knife in the back.

Either Gutierrez is a good guy, or he’s really good at making you think he is. Either way, I don’t plan to let down my guard around him.

He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a card, and holds it toward me. “If you change your mind, I’m happy to talk anytime.”

I take the card and slide it into my pocket without looking at it.

“Otherwise, we’ll be in touch about getting official statements from you and your daughter.” With a nod, he turns and returns to the house, huddling with the crime scene techs just inside the door.

Once again I’m struck with a strange sense of déjà vu. I’ve been here before: standing outside my house, surrounded by police officers, red and blue lights blazing. I’m a different person now, and it’s a different house in a different city, but the confusion and uncertainty are the same.

I think about who I was back then—Gina Royal, so na?ve and trusting. I thought I was living a good life, and it turned out to be a lie.

A deep sense of foreboding begins to chill my bones. What if this time around is no different? What if the life I’ve scratched, scrabbled, and fought for, that I built out of the wreckage, is no different than before? What if this new life is also a lie?

What if I’m just like the woman I used to be: blind to the truth? It’s already clear that Sam’s been keeping secrets from me. Just like Melvin once did.

What if it’s all about to come crashing down around me, this time leaving me with nothing?