“If we find out you had something to do with Cathy’s death, parole is the least of your problems.”
“I’m not saying anything else. You cops only see what you want and hear what you want. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re deaf and blind. If you’re going to ask anything more, I want my lawyer or you better arrest me.”
He nodded, acknowledging that he’d pushed me as far as I was going to go. He stood up. “Thanks for coming in today, Toni. We’ll be in touch.”
He walked me out of the station and down to my truck, watched me drive off. My heart rate didn’t settle until I got back to the campsite, then it jacked up again when I remembered I had to call Suzanne right away.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Hi, Suzanne, it’s Toni. I just wanted to let you know the cops pulled me in for questioning.”
“What for?”
“Cathy Schaeffer, her body was found. She was murdered. They think she was hit with a tire iron.” Deafening silence on the other end of the phone. “I have an alibi for the night they asked about—I was working until late, then I stopped at a store on my way home and talked to the clerk. When they check into it, they’ll see I couldn’t have been involved.”
“This isn’t good, Toni.”
“I know it doesn’t look good, but I didn’t do anything wrong. Someone is trying to screw with us.”
“Us?”
Shit. I almost let that slip. I had to be careful how I talked about Ryan.
“The cop was asking a bunch of questions about Ryan, too—but I haven’t seen or spoken with him.” And I was praying his alibi would also hold up.
“I’m going to have to talk to my supervisor and we’ll probably want you to come in for a review.” A review. I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Give it to me straight, Suzanne. Are you suspending me?”
“Just come in and we’ll talk.” She was walking the line, trying not to spook me, which meant I was probably screwed.
I clenched my fist, fighting the urge to throw the phone across the room. Stay cool, Toni. Don’t make things worse. “When do you want me?”
“I’ll get back to you.”
She hung up.
*
Too upset to hang around the cabin, I went to get some milk at the store and saw the newspaper right away. I stood frozen, staring at the headline: “Local Woman’s Body Found.” I kept my face down, bought the paper, then sat in my truck and read every terrible word. They mentioned Nicole’s murder, me and Ryan being on parole, the upcoming anniversary of Nicole’s death, Cathy’s having been a star witness at the trial. Every sentence insinuated that Cathy’s death was no coincidence. I thought of my parents and how this was going to rip everything open for them again. They were probably already getting calls. I stayed awake for hours that night, Captain beside me, trying to come up with a plan, going over everything that Hicks had said. I still couldn’t think what party Ryan and Nicole would have been at together. It had to be a lie.
There was a knock on the window at one in the morning. Captain and I both startled, Captain barking. I pulled back the curtains. It was Ryan. I slid the window open.
“What the hell are you doing here? You know—”
“I need to talk to you.”
“You could’ve phoned.”
“I wanted to see your face. Did they question you today?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah. I’ve got an alibi. I was home with my mom all that night, repainting her kitchen. They were still giving me a hard time, saying she was lying to protect me, but her boyfriend stopped by and saw me there.”
I was relieved for him but still angry at the situation we were in, that he had put me in. “I was working, then stopped at a store on the way home, but I don’t know what time she was killed. I called Suzanne. They want me in for a review.”
“I got a call too. It’s going to be more than a review, Toni. They just say that shit so you don’t pull a runner. As soon as you show up, the cuffs are on.”
I’d already figured that out for myself. “You shouldn’t be here. I told the cops I hadn’t seen you, but they’re probably keeping an eye on us.”
He was studying my face. I glanced down, fiddled with my blanket, but he’d caught on that something had changed.
“What else did Hicks say?”
I looked back at him. “That you got in trouble in prison and that he’d heard you had the hots for Nicole.”
“That’s a fucking lie—like I’d screw around with your little sister. You know you were the only thing I gave a shit about.”
“I know. He was just messing with me. He also said something about you two going off to a bedroom at a party, but I know it was bullshit.”
This time, though, Ryan’s face flushed.