This Story Might Save Your Life(25)

“And I’m always lugging over vegetables,” Carlotta adds. “Better to get those elimination prints in right off the bat.”

“Were they very thorough?” Luna asks, stepping forward before I can respond, hand shielding her eyes from the sun. “Did they question everyone in the area?”

Carlotta glances up to Emil for confirmation.

“I would say so, yes,” Emil says. “Just the standard questions. Did we hear anything? Did we see anything? Forgive me, have we met?”

I realize belatedly that I haven’t introduced Luna. I do it now, and they all shake hands.

“Well,” Carlotta says, the first to break the ensuing silence. “Keep us posted, all right?”

Emil nods. “Please.”

I promise I will, and Luna and I rejoin Mallory and Quinn. Moments later, Detective Keller unlocks the gate.

“You and you.” She points to me and Mallory.

“You’re going to want to talk to Luna too,” I say quietly.

“Explain,” Keller says, looking Luna up and down. “Quickly.”

“This is my—” I cough. I’ve never had to introduce her as my ex-wife before. “This is Joy’s divorce attorney. Apparently Joy was going to ask Xander for a divorce.”

“Fuck.” Keller shakes her head and starts walking away.

We all watch her, frozen with confusion.

“Well, come on,” Keller says without turning around. “Let’s get on with it.”

Quinn stays behind as the rest of us follow Keller to the cement patio out front. A tech slips past the window in his special gear as we take our seats at the mosaic inlay table.

“What can you tell me?” Keller says to Luna.

Luna sits up straight. “For the record, I’m not contractually Joy’s attorney. She contacted me as a friend a few weeks ago, saying she was dissatisfied with her marriage and wanted to divorce Xander with the least disruption possible. What with all of the”—her eyes flick in my direction and back to Keller—“business entanglements. She asked me to help make sure everything was in order before serving him with papers.”

“And?” Keller asks. “Has he been served?”

“Not yet.”

“Was he aware of your intentions?”

“I can’t guess what happened after I left, but when I was here Tuesday morning he was definitely not in the loop.”

“You didn’t tell us you were here Tuesday morning,” I say.

Luna gives me a look. Your point is? “I’m telling you now.”

“Did she express any other concerns when you saw her?” Keller continues. “Anything about being followed? A stalker? Angry fans?”

“No. But she’s absolutely mentioned these things. It’s been a rough couple of months.”

Jotting this down, Keller says, “You’re a personal friend? Did I hear that right?”

“Yes, but we haven’t hung out much since Benny and I divorced.”

Keller glances at me as she takes this in, makes another note in her pad, and then stands. “Wait here.”

When she’s out of earshot, I whisper to Luna, “When were you going to serve Xander papers?”

“Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. I think again of the text I received from Xander the night before last: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? “What if Xander did find out somehow? What if he knew what Joy was planning?” If he did, if he saw me leaving his house that night, he’d likely have assumed I was helping her with the divorce. Because I would have helped. Lord help me, I would have done anything she asked. “How far would he go to stop her? Could he have taken her somewhere, or—”

“No,” Mallory snaps. “He didn’t know. He would’ve told me. And he wouldn’t have—whatever you’re insinuating.”

“No one’s insinuating anything,” Luna says, more to me than to Mallory.

Keller returns, setting a plastic bag on the table as she takes her seat. Inside is a phone with a navy-blue case. “We found this.”

Mallory covers her mouth.

“So you recognize it,” Keller says.

“Can I”—my voice cracks—“can I see the other side?”

Keller flips it over, revealing a sleeping beagle beside the words: I’M NOT LAZY, I’M IN ENERGY SAVING MODE. “It’s Joy’s,” I manage.

“Where did you find it?” Luna asks.

“In a drawer.”

There’s a collective exhale, as if we were all expecting the worst—a dumpster, a ditch, the bottom of a lake—but then we shift in our seats. Because this can’t be good.

“Only the one?” I ask. “You didn’t find Xander’s?”

“Only the one. Does Joy ever leave the house without her phone?”

“Never,” Mallory says. “Xander has location sharing set up for her so he can—” She stares at me, as if daring me to make something of this. “Because of the narcolepsy. In case she falls asleep somewhere.”

Keller scribbles a note in her pad. “Is the location sharing reciprocal?”

“I—I’m not sure.”

I don’t want to ask the next question. If the answer is yes, Keller will have seen my frantic texts on Tuesday night, which means we’ll be having a conversation about them in front of Luna. But I can’t help myself. “Were you able to unlock it?”