Page 17 of See You There

“They were leaving. Why did he have to—” Her voice broke on a sob, and she began trembling, the reality of what happened finally hitting her.

The next coupleof hours were a blur. She was driven to a police station where they took pictures of her bloody hands and clothing and swabbed her for gunshot residue.

Dahlia repeatedly asked the detectives if Chandler was still alive, but no one would answer her. A female officer accompanied her into a room where she traded her clothes for a police-issue gray sweat suit before they escorted her to a small room for questioning. For the next hour Dahlia told the detectives everything she’d seen regarding Chandler’s shooting.

However, when they continuously circled back to the gambling, asking what she knew about the operation and Petrov, Dahlia began to feel nervous.

“Do you gamble a lot?”

Dahlia shook her head. “I don’t gamble at all.”

“But you were at a casino tonight…” The detective paused, inviting her to fill the silent space, but her brain had finally engaged.

“Am I in some kind of trouble? Do I need a lawyer?”

“Why would you think that?”

Dahlia licked her lips. “Don’t I get a phone call or something?”

That’s something people say, right?

The detective didn’t smile. “You’re not under arrest.”

Dahlia looked between the two men. “So, I can leave?”

“Not yet. You’re being detained. Don’t you want to help us?” The detective shook his head as if he were disappointed in her.

Dahlia’s chest tightened, but a knock on the door prevented her next question. One detective opened the door and slipped out of the room. He reentered a moment later.

“Your lawyer’s here.”

Dahlia frowned.

Seeing her expression, the detective still seated near her asked, “Do you want to keep talking with us?”

“I…Can I talk to the lawyer first?”

The detective sighed and pushed back his chair, gathered his notebook, and left the room without answering. A man she’d never seen before, wearing a full suit despite the late hour, entered the room.

“Ms. Everton, I’m Josh Harrison. The studio sent me to help you. What have you told them so far?”

“The truth.” Dahlia shouldn’t have been surprised. With the movie coming out, Peachtree Pictures was already going to have a press nightmare with Chandler. The publicists would want to control as much as they could.

“Did you tell them who was with you?”

Dahlia understood what he was asking. “I told them Matt Crawford was there, yes.”

The man’s lips thinned. “I’m going to take you home now. There was no gunshot residue on you, and from what I understand, the other witnesses who remained at the scene are all saying the same thing. There will still be an investigation into the illegal gambling, but… you didn’t say you were gambling, did you?”

“I wasn’t.”

Josh nodded. “That’s good. Sit tight. I’ll take care of everything. While you are in this room, stay silent. Don’t even talk to yourself. They will turn the microphones back on the second I leave the room.”

Dahlia felt like she was in an alternate universe. Was this really happening?

“Wait,” she cried, as he opened the door to step into the hallway. “What about Chandler?”

The skin around Josh’s eyes softened. “He’s in surgery. I don’t know anything more.”