Chris held up a hand. “Emma. Slow down. You don’t have this flash drive now, do you?”
“No.”
“And the last time you saw it was fourteen years ago.”
She hesitated, then nodded stiffly. No need to bring Daphne into this—not yet. He folded his hands on the desk, looking down at them.
“This is all wild conjecture,” Chris said. “I can talk to Mehta, and I can look into things on my end. Maybe there’s something to all of this. But there is no benefit to rushing here. Nothing is going to happen in time to stop you from being arrested. Given that, it is far better to do things carefully and be sure of what we have.”
“You’re not the one who’s about to be arrested for her husband’s murder,” Emma snapped. She stood, pulse thudding in her temple and skin flushed. She started to leave.
“Tomorrow morning,” Chris said in a firm, warning tone.
“I’ll be waiting,” Emma pledged, venom in her voice.
“It’s going to be okay, Emma,” Chris said.
“You can’t promise that,” she told him, and left the room without saying goodbye. Outside, JJ sat in a chair in the hallway, chewing her thumbnail. She jerked as the door opened and surged to her feet, all pointless motion.
“What’s going on?” JJ asked. “What did he say?”
“Let’s get home,” Emma said wearily. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
48
EMMA
Now
They left downtown, slithering onto the sun-dappled lanes that separated the busy heart of Arden Hills from its outskirts. Emma had never felt at home here when she was young, but now, driving these roads, it felt like this was where she belonged. It was not a comforting realization.
“We’ll tell them it was me,” JJ said.
Emma made a noncommittal noise. She was still thinking about the gun—about how it had ended up in JJ’s hands. About what it was Daphne had seen, and what she hadn’t, and all the things that looked like facts but were just assumptions. Juliette had the gun. It didn’t mean she’d fired it.
Kenneth Mahoney went to Ellis, and then went missing.
Ellis was on the task force investigating the robberies, and no one ever got caught.
Red and blue light swept over the dashboard, followed by the short whoop of a police car.
“What the fuck?” JJ asked, looking into the rearview. Emma twisted to look behind them. Her heart sank at the sight of the Arden Hills PD SUV. JJ put on her blinker, started to slow down.
“Don’t stop,” Emma told her, suddenly frantic. She grabbed JJ’s shoulder. “Keep going.”
JJ gave her a surprised look. “What? I can’t just keep going,” she said. Quietly, she added, “Emma, come on. If I run away from a cop, what’s that going to look like?”
JJ was slowing. Was stopping at the side of the road.
“It’s okay,” JJ said, giving Emma what was probably supposed to be a reassuring look. Emma sat back hard against her seat, pressing her body into the leather as if she could sink entirely within it. Emma wrapped both hands around the seat belt strap, focusing on the sensation of it biting into her palms.
The SUV pulled in behind them. The door popped open. Rick Hadley stepped out, moving with the unhurried gait of someone who wants you to know they don’t mind keeping you waiting.
Emma’s stomach clenched. JJ rolled down the window as Hadley approached. He leaned over, looking in at them one by one. His sunglasses turned his eyes to voids.
“Juliette. Emma,” he said.
“Why did you pull us over?” JJ asked.
“There’s a warrant out for your sister’s arrest.” He spoke to JJ but was looking at Emma. She stared straight back at him, at her own reflection in his sunglasses.
“Her lawyer arranged her surrender. Tomorrow,” JJ said.
“I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“She’s not supposed to be arrested until tomorrow. Go ask. Call it in, or whatever. They’ll tell you,” JJ said.
“Step out of the car, Emma,” Hadley told her.
“You can’t arrest her. You don’t have the authority,” JJ insisted.
“I’m sure we can sort that out with a quick chat, but in the meantime, Emma is going to step out of the vehicle.” Hadley’s tone was almost cheerful.
“You can’t—” JJ started, but Emma put a hand on her arm. Her fear was still wrapped around her throat, but she knew there was nothing to do.