Page 46 of Noel Secrets

“That’s a big assumption.”

“Not an assumption. It’s all on his phone. I’m assuming the conductor gave it to you? The passcode is 3341. Read it for yourselves.”

“We will.”

Jayda forced herself to meet his eyes. “He pretended to be my friend, and I think maybe he was at the end. He gave me the cash they gave them. I believe he had been paid to kidnap me. He might have felt guilty and told them he would not fulfill their deal, and that’s why they killed him.”

“What made you touch evidence at a crime scene?” Ramirez asked suddenly. “I’m told you’re studying to be a lawyer. Did they not teach you about evidence?”

Her pulse skipped. “Of course. But when your life is on the line, legalities become blurred.”

The door burst open, with Ed standing behind it. “Jayda, don’t say another word. Detectives, we’re done here until I have talked with my client. Let’s go, Jayda.”

Fields looked up from his pad. “Thank you for your information, Miss Simone.”

Ramirez studied her like a puzzle with too many missing pieces. But after a long silence, he sat back. “You’re free to go for now. Don’t leave town until we say you’re free to leave.”

Relief and fear tangled inside her chest. She stood too quickly, her chair scraping against the floor. Racing to Ed, he wrapped an arm around her and closed the door on the men.

“Next time, ask for help. I had no idea they were considering you as a suspect. If it hadn’t been for Michael coming to tell me, you would still be in there incriminating yourself.”

“I just told them the truth.”

“Oh, sweetheart, truth and justice don’t always go together in this world. Learn that now.”

Michael stood waiting outside the room, pacing like a tethered animal. The second he saw her, he was at her side, hands gripping her shoulders.

“What did they say? What did you tell them? I want the details.”

“They let me go,” she said, her voice harsher than she intended. This was the new Michael, not the one she fought with every breath. He’d said he cared…that he loved her.

“That’s not what I asked.”

She shook her head, unwilling to share the news about his cousin. “Michael, this isn’t one of your stories. There’s no angle you can wrap up in two thousand words. It’s complicated, and I don’t think you’ll want to know the truth. It’ll come out, and it’s going to be ugly.”

His jaw tightened. “You’re wrong. I see at least three stories here, and they don’t end well for you. They’re saying you tampered with evidence at the crime scene. What happened?”

“Stop.” The word came out sharp, but she couldn’t let him keep peeling this out of her. Simon was his family, not hers, regardless of his confession of love and marriage. Simon was a blood relative of his. She was nothing. “This isn’t a headline. This is my life. I did what I had to do. That’s all.”

Michael leaned close, whispering, “Tell me. I can handle it.”

Jayda looked at Ed, not wanting to hurt either of these men. But she knew the truth would come out and crush them anyway.

Before Michael could push further, the rest of the Blair family appeared down the hall—Ginny with a distraught Caroline and Henry trailing behind, the twins in their hands.

Simon’s parents would be devastated to learn what he had done. Jayda didn’t want to be the one to tell them.

Ginny stepped forward, wrapping Jayda in a motherly embrace that caught her off guard. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Jayda said, though her voice trembled against Ginny’s shoulder.

“Are you in trouble? Ed will help you. But you need to tell us what’s going on.”

Jayda lifted her head to face Caroline and Henry. “It’s about Simon. He did something…terrible. It’s what got him killed.”

Heavy sadness swept over Caroline’s face, but the woman nodded once as if she knew someday this would happen. “Be honest with us, Jayda. What did my boy do this time?”

Detective Hollins stepped out of the room with Simon’s phone. “Your story checks out, Miss Simone. I still want you to hang around for a while. I have some other questions about the men chasing you. We find them, and we find Simon’s killer.”