Page 46 of The Hunt

“Bullshit,” I hissed. “I know it was you.”

He sighed. “I know you believe that. That’s actually how I heard about it—the police got in touch with me and asked me to come in for an interview.”

I smiled thinly, even though he couldn’t see me. “The second they take your prints and lift your sleeve to see that bite mark, they’ll know it was you.”

“Here’s the thing, though. They already cleared me.”

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“They already cleared me, so I don’t have to come in,” he replied. “And if they change their minds about that, they’ll need to go through my lawyers, and that’ll take a long,longtime to muddle through.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m in Boston right now,” he said. “I took a train here last night with my girlfriend. She has some family and friends here, so we decided to visit until Monday. We left so late at night because she had to work late, but it was still a whilebeforethat awful man broke into your dorm and assaulted you.”

“Boston?” I clenched my jaw. “I thought New York was your alibi.”

“What? Why would I be in New York?”

“Never mind,” I muttered. I must’ve misremembered what Rhett told me about Jake last night. I could’ve sworn he said New York—Manhattan, specifically—but I’d gone through a lot recently, and the stress was probably affecting my memory.

“Anyway,” Jake said. “I was more than happy to share my location data with the police. It clearly shows me leaving Havenport on the 9:15 train and arriving in Boston an hour later. It also confirmed that I’ve been here ever since. Plus, they spoke to Maya, and she’s told them the truth too—that I’ve been with her the entire time.”

Anger spiked in my gut. “Let me guess. You paid this Maya girl to catch the train to Boston with your phone in her bag, so you could fake the location data, and then you drove up there after you attacked me in my dorm,” I said. “Tell me—how much are you paying Maya for such a service?”

“You sound like a conspiracy theorist, babe. But I forgive you for it. I know that what you went through was an awful experience. You’re obviously still very shaken.”

“Fuck you,” I seethed. “The police aren’t stupid. They’ll realize you could’ve faked this alibi, and your print profile will confirm it. The bite mark, too.”

“I didn’t fake anything. But for argument’s sake, even if Idid, the print and bite mark don’t mean a thing,” he said breezily.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I’ve already been very cooperative with the police, but if they continue to push me by trying to poke holes in my alibi, I’ll have to get my lawyers involved. And like I said a minute ago, that will drag things out for a long time. I probably wouldn’t have to go into the station for at least a month.”

I sneered. “That might be long enough for the bite mark on your wrist to heal, but you can’t wait out the fingerprint issue,” I said in a low voice. “That evidence is there forever, so you’re screwed. Unless you burn your prints off with acid or cut your fingers right off. And we both know you’re too much of a coward for that.”

“You know what really sucks?” Jake asked, apropos of nothing.

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

“You wouldn’t believe how often evidence goes missing from police stations. Sometimes physical files disappear because someone misplaces them or accidentally tosses them in a shredder. Also, databases can get hacked, and digital evidence can be deleted forever,” he said. “Shocking, isn’t it? I really hope it doesn’t happen in your case, because that would beterrible.”

“So you’re admitting that you’ll pay someone to get rid of the fingerprint evidence before the cops have a chance to bring you in?”

Jake feigned a shocked intake of breath. “No, of course not! I’m just telling you what I heard and saying I hope it doesn’t happen. Honestly, I’m rooting for the cops to catch the guy as soon as possible.”

“Fuck you.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “Like I said before, I understand why you’re so paranoid about me. I’ve said some really nasty things to you in the past, and I’m sorry for that. But they weren’t threats, babe. I was just being an asshole.”

“Stop calling me babe!” I shouted, rage rising in my chest like magma.

“Calm down. You sound nuts.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “Listen to me, Jake,” I said in a low voice. “I’m going to make sure you go down for this shit if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

He sighed again. “I’m really starting to worry about your mental health, Evvy. Maybe you should see a therapist,” he said. “I can come with you, if you like. It might make it easier. I’m willing to pay for the sessions, too. I know money’s very tight for you.”

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