Page 72 of Operation Annulment
I start shaking, and Little Ricky reaches across the console. “Hold my hand. It’s going to be fine. You are not going to jail, Kate. I’ll call Grey myself to ensure it.”
We pull up in front of Dakota’s house, and there he is—the detective who looks like everything I asked the universe for. It seems like a lifetime ago.
I unbuckle and reluctantly climb out.
What if he throws handcuffs on me, and I end up in jail for days like Dakota did? What if my alibi isn’t strong enough, and I go to prison? I’d tell them I was innocent, but they would just laugh and tell me that’s what everyone says before feeding me bread and water.
“Hey, Kate.” Mike nods at me as I get out.
My teeth are chattering together loudly. “Am I under arrest?”
He frowns. “No, I just need you to come with me down to the station. I need to get your statement.”
Dakota starts crying and wraps me up in a hug while Zane storms inside to make a pot of coffee because “Fuck it. We’re not going to bed tonight.”
I refuse to look Mike in the eyes, instead focusing on the simple gold band on his ring finger. A wedding band isn’t very big, but it sure has the power to destroy lives, doesn’t it?
“Should I ride in the back?” I point to his truck.
“No, I already said you’re not under arrest. You can ride up front.”
“Please call whoever you have to so I don’t have to stay there. I’m not like you,” I whisper to Dakota.
She shakes her head. “Stop, you’re the strongest person I know. I’ll call Dad… he can fix this?—”
Mike cuts in. “I’ve already contacted Grey. I’m going to use every resource I have to keep you out of jail, Kate. Please trust me.”
Reluctantly, I get into Mike’s truck, my entire body quaking at the thought that this might be the last time I see my sister without a plate of plexiglass between us.
twenty-eight
COMMANDMENT #29: THOU SHALT EMBRACE THE INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM OF BEING SINGLE AGAIN
Kate
“Kate, we’re looking into Jess Davis’s claims against you. The emails are going to be difficult to dispute. Mike pulls a sheaf of papers from a manila folder and hands them to me. We’re sitting in a small interrogation room at the station. All that’s missing is the two-way mirror like what you see on television.
I keep expecting him to go from good cop to bad cop as I take them from him.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Nate
I warned you to stay away. I don’t know how many messages I’ve sent now saying that exact thing. Good luck today—remember as your screaming and begging for your life that I gave you every opportunity to walk away. He wants nothing to do with you’re lies. I’m taking out the trash. He’ll thankme for it.
The rest contain similar variations of the same threat.
“I didn’t send this. This is my email address, but I didn’t send any of these.” I point to the third sentence. “This person used ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ incorrectly. I would have never made a mistake like that. Surely, this proves that I didn’t write it.”
Mike nods. “Yeah, it could be said that you did it to throw off suspicion, though. I don’t think you wrote this, but we now have to figure out who did, or you’ll be facing forcible rape, assault, and stalking charges.”
Another officer comes in and hands me a cup of black coffee before leaving us alone again. I take a sip and immediately recoil at the bitterness. “Have you checked the IP address on these? Surely there’s a way to prove they didn’t come from my computer.”
“Yeah, it’s pinging all over the place, which is super helpful right now.” He rubs at his face, and I wonder if this is all in a day’s work for him because I feel like I’m inThe Twilight Zone. He lowers his voice. “I’ve got Jeremy working on it.”
My brain tries to condense everything I’ve learned into a believable story. “Jeremy, as in Realtor Jeremy?”
