Page 95 of Cruel Steps

“I think this is my new favorite thing,” Holden added. “Thank you for cooking.”

My insides warmed, and I nodded. “I’m glad you like it.”

Holden and Colter discussed the game and what they needed to work on this week before their next one. It was nice to sit and listen without any pressure to contribute. I didn’t feel left out and was happy to be included in little ways. They finished the casserole, and we were washing dishes when the knock came. Colter dried his hands and went to answer it.

“We got you,” Holden said, squeezing my shoulder. We dried our hands and joined Colter. A middle-aged woman with short brown hair, dressed in black slacks and a white button-down top with a badge on her hip, watched us as we approached. A uniformed cop stood beside her, and he lit up when he spotted Holden.

“Holden Adler. Great game the other night.” He stepped forward and reached out to shake Holden’s hand.

“Thank you.” Holden returned the shake, then steered me to sit next to Colter. Holden moved behind the couch, giving me the support he had spoken of. My earlier declaration was wavering. He was so good in these small moments, but I knew it was right. We needed to learn how to trust each other.

The woman watched us before taking a seat in the chair. With five people in this room, it suddenly felt claustrophobic.

“Hello, I’m Detective Jennings, and this is Officer Fields. Your friend said you have some information about last night’s hit and run.”

“Yes.” She took out a pad of paper and marked something down.

“Can you tell me your name, address, and age?”

I listed it off for her. My heart beat quicker with each second, and I rubbed my sweaty palms on the top of my leggings.

“And you’re waiving your right to talk to us with a lawyer present?”

“Yes.”

My dad would probably tell me I was being dumb, but now that we’d begun rolling in this direction, I didn’t want to stop.

“What can you tell us?”

Colter squeezed my thigh and then laced our fingers together. Holden massaged the back of my neck, and the tension I’d been carrying all day ebbed away. I decided to keep the bullying out of it and started with Monsieur Owen and the things he’d leave me and how they had started to reappear when I came to Hayward.

“But you have no real evidence he was the one leaving the messages and roses?” she asked.

My heart sank. “No, I guess not.”

“And outside of your time with him four years ago, you haven’t interacted with him?”

Again, I said no.

“Do you have any of the roses?”

Another no.

“What about the notes?”

“Yes.” My heart perked up. “There’s one in my car with the head.”

She glanced at her partner, and he nodded. “Can one of your friends take Officer Fields to retrieve them?”

“I’ll go,” Holden said. I told him where my keys were, and they walked out together.

“I’ll be honest, it’s not much to go on. It’s mostly conjecture and hearsay.” I opened my mouth to protest, and she held up her hand to stop me. “I’ll look into Owen’s whereabouts in the meantime. That is something we can verify. We’ll scan the two items you have for evidence and get back to you.”

“That’s all?” Colter asked. “She’s being targeted.”

Detective Jennings moved her focus to him. “From my standpoint, there hasn’t been anything dangerous targeted toward your friend. If anything, it sounds like romantic gestures. We’ll look into the hit-and-run, but I’m not convinced the two are connected. If I were you, I’d look closer to home for the roses and messages.”

She didn’t believe me.

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