Page 127 of Deception

“Is there any chance I could talk to Rebecca?” Olive knew it was a long shot, but she asked anyway.

Monty grimaced. “I’m not sure the chief is going to go for that.”

“Could you ask him? I’d be happy to share all the evidence we’ve gathered. But I just have a few more questions for her.”

Monty stared at her another moment before nodding. “Let me see what he says.”

CHAPTER 67

Ten minutes later, Olive was escorted into the interrogation room where Rebecca sat.

“You only have five minutes,” Monty said.

She thanked him and then turned back to Rebecca as the door closed. The woman sat on the other side of the table in the room, her eyes red as if she had been crying.

Olive lowered herself into a seat across from her. “So you were being extorted . . .”

That explained the burner phone and those photos of Willow she’d seen.

Rebecca didn’t make eye contact with her. “I actuallywasdiagnosed with a spot of melanoma on my chest. That was real.”

“But it turned into all this?”

She shrugged, the action full of melancholy. “I don’t know what to say. Everybody was just so kind and generous, and it made me feel so good to see how they cared. I guess part of me didn’t want it to end, even after my spot of melanoma was removed and I was deemed okay.”

“So you faked everything?” It still seemed outrageous to Olive.

Still avoiding eye contact, Rebecca wiped underneath her eyes. “I’m not proud of what I did. And Matt really hated it. Then we tried to get out of it, and we got that anonymous letter from someone saying he knew what we were doing and would expose us unless we paid up.”

“That had to be a shock.”

“Matt and I felt like we didn’t have any choice but to keep going. Even when we tried again to back out of it, the stakes just rose. This guy started sending pictures of Willow, and letting us know that if we didn’t comply, she would be either hurt or taken from us.”

More tears welled in Rebecca’s eyes as she stared at the wall. Then all at once they began flooding down her cheeks.

“And I don’t know what will even happen to Willow now.” Her voice cracked as she said the words.

Against Olive’s wishes, her heart panged with compassion. “Where is Willow right now?”

“I was going to ask the police if Sabrina could watch her. But now that I know about Ellis . . .” She shook her head. “So she’s staying with Chelsea. I know she’ll be safe there, even if Chelsea is furious at me.”

“I’m sure she is.” There was no need to hold back the truth.

“This is all my fault, not Matt’s. He deserves to be free.”

“I guess that will be up to the court to decide.”

Rebecca’s gaze met hers again. “Were you ever really filming a documentary?”

Olive shook her head. “I was here to investigate you. Someone was very concerned that innocent people were being scammed.”

She didn’t bother to mention Chelsea. She’d told the woman she wouldn’t.

Rebecca didn’t say anything.

“I can only guess you’ll have to liquidate all your possessions and get rid of the beach house you bought. If only you could get the money back from all the trips that you took . . . but that’s gone now.”

Rebecca’s chin trembled, but she didn’t say anything.