Page 45 of Lessons in Power

“One last thing, Tess,” the quieter of the two detectives said, using my name in what I suspected was an attempt to put me at ease. “Can you identify this young man?”

Another photograph was placed on the table. It was a bit grainier than the photo of Emilia, like it had been obtained by freezing a frame of video surveillance footage. It had beentaken in the courtyard. I could see the Hardwicke chapel in the background.

Even from a distance, I recognized Asher’s red hair, the set of his features.

My eyes were drawn to the time stamp on the video.

“Asher Rhodes may have been sent home yesterday morning, but he came back to campus.” The detective confirmed what I was seeing. “This footage puts him at Hardwicke just prior to the murder.”

I tried not to let the question—or the sickened feeling in the pit of my stomach—show on my face.What were you thinking, Asher? What were you doing at Hardwicke?

The detective leaned forward. “Is it your testimony that Asher Rhodes believed that John Thomas Wilcox had assaulted his sister?”

Opportunity.

Motive.

If I’d realized Asher had been on campus that afternoon, I wouldn’t have given them the latter—not if I could have helped it.

“I don’t know,” I said, my mind racing as I stared at the time stamp on that picture. “You’d have to ask Asher.”

CHAPTER 32

As I stepped out into the sunshine, Ivy on one side and the lawyer on my other, I went for my phone. Brewer Tyson cleared his throat.

“Calling your friend at this juncture would not be wise,” the lawyer said.

I understood that it might not look good if phone records showed that I’d contacted Asher as soon as the police finished with me. But I needed to talk to Asher. I needed to ask what he’d been doing on campus.

I needed to warn him.

“Visiting your friend,” the lawyer continued, “would also not be wise. You should plan on giving Mr. Rhodes a wide berth for the time being.”

It wasn’t in me to give any friend a “wide berth”—especially one who might be in trouble.

“Shockingly,” I told Brewer Tyson, “you don’t get a vote about who I talk to or who I see.”

The lawyer glanced at Ivy. “She sounds just like you.”

Ivy narrowed her eyes at him. “Your presence is no longer required,” she said tersely. “And tell Keyes that the next time he blindsides me like this, he won’t like the outcome.”

Ivy didn’t wait for a response before guiding me to the car.

“He’s right,” she said quietly once the lawyer was out of earshot. “I know that Asher is a friend, Tess, and I know it goes against everything in you to stay away from a friend at a time like this, but I don’t trust the police. The surveillance footage might have convinced them that you didn’t shoot John Thomas, but I don’t want them wondering if you helped plan it.”

“Asher hadnothingto do with this,” I said. “I have no idea what he was doing back on campus, but Asher didn’t shoot John Thomas.”

“I’m not saying that he did,” Ivy replied. “But we both know that Hardwicke is more secure than most of the Hill. There’s no way a visitor could have gotten a weapon into the school, and that means the police will be looking at students.”

Ivy pinned me with a look. “There will be pressure to close this case and close it fast. I won’t let you get caught in the crosshairs.” Ivy walked around to the passenger side of the car. “I’ll do what I can for Asher, Tess, but I need you to steer clear.”

Before I could reply, Ivy had climbed into the front seat of the car and closed the door behind her, taking it for granted that she’d been heard and understood and that her dictate would be obeyed.

I climbed into the backseat and shut the door—a little harder than necessary.

“Georgia called.” Bodie directed those words to Ivy, not me. “She’s holding a press conference at the hospital.”

And just like that, helping Asher was on the back burner. Within an instant, Ivy was dialing and on the phone. “Jason. Put Georgia on. I don’t care if she’s busy. She is not addressing the American public until I can verify that she is in a place, mentally, where she can handle the questions they are going to throw at her.”