Page 90 of So Right
“I had to.” He gave his head a shake. “I would have anyway, but a jogger saw me with the body. Kelsey, they’re going to come here and question you. You need to be ready.”
It was as if she was standing outside in subzero temperatures, an icy wind blowing over her suddenly hard and brittle body. She was afraid the slightest movement would make her shatter.
She tried to parse through the emotions and thoughts battering through her. Noah was dead. Luke thought she might’ve done it. The police would be coming to talk to her.
“Excuse me,” a small voice said from beyond her desk. “Can you help me find more Bad Kitty books?”
Right. She was also at work.
Summoning a calm she didn’t remotely feel, she stood and gave the boy—he was maybe eight years old—a weak smile. “Sure. Come on.”
As she walked to the children’s area with the little boy, she felt Luke’s stare boring through her back. Did he believe her when she’d said that Noah had been fine? She began to shake.
With great effort, she focused on locating the books the boy was looking for. He beamed and immediately plucked one from the shelf before plopping down on the floor and reading. Kelsey stood there and let the joy of this boy’s discovery take away the despair curdling inside her, if only for a moment.
She heard the door again and was afraid to turn in case it was the police. She’d wanted more information from Luke. Reluctantly, she pivoted and her heart sank as she watched the two officers move inside. They made eye contact with Luke, whose jaw was stiff, his muscles clearly tense. At least to her.
Kelsey walked toward them, her legs like jelly.
“Good afternoon,” one of the officers said. “I’m Officer Hendricks and this is Officer Talbot.” He gestured to the other cop. “We’re here to talk with you about Noah Putnam.” Hendricks glanced toward Luke before returning his focus to Kelsey. “I take it you know he’s dead?”
Kelsey nodded. “Let’s go back here.” She led the officers behind her desk to get as far away from any of the patrons as possible. One of them had noticed the police coming in and was now watching the situation. Kelsey tried to ignore that.
“Yes, Luke told me about Noah.” It suddenly hit her—this man she’d known for almost eight years, a man she’d loved and at one time expected to spend her life with, this man who’d broken her heart and her trust in every way possible, was dead. Emotion overwhelmed her, and she began to cry, great heaving sobs. She turned away from the library and faced the back wall.
Someone—Luke, she realized—handed her a tissue. It took her a moment to pull herself together. She saw that the officers were watching her with sympathy. That was nice.
She blew her nose and reached for another tissue. “I’m sorry. I’m just so shocked.”
“Noah was your ex-boyfriend?” Hendricks asked.
Kelsey nodded. “Yes. You must also know that he abused me, that he recently got out of jail after serving a sentence for that abuse.”
“Yes, we’re aware of his criminal history,” Talbot said. “We’re also aware that he came to town looking for you last night and found you at The Arch and Vine.”
“Yes.” She glanced toward Luke, thinking of how he’d hit Noah. Luke had told her last night that they’d called the police to report Noah’s violation of his parole and the restraining order. They had to know he’d hit Noah, and that couldn’t look good. Wait, did she think Luke could’ve done more?
No, that wasn’t possible. Noah had been perfectly fine—although drunk—when she’d left him last night, and she’d gone directly to Luke’s house where they’d been together all night. Except she’d fallen into a hard, dreamless sleep. Could Luke have left?
She shook her head. This wasn’t helping matters.
Officer Talbot pulled out a small tablet and a stylus. “Can you tell us what happened after you left The Arch and Vine?”
She glanced toward Luke, but his gaze was inscrutable. What was he thinking? Why was she so nervous? She hadn’t done anything. “I drove around. I was upset about seeing Noah again.”
“What happened when you drove around?” Talbot asked.
The question seemed pointed. Like they already knew… And if they looked at Noah’s phone, they’d see his texts asking to meet her. “He followed me to the state park. We talked for a few minutes.”
Officer Hendricks tipped his head to the side. “I don’t suppose you own a silver bracelet with a book charm?”
She heard her intake of breath as if someone else had done it and instantly wished she could take it back. But what would be the point in lying? They’d figure out it was hers. “Yes.”
Her voice sounded so small, so frightened.
“Where did you find it?” Luke’s question was gruff. Kelsey still couldn’t read his eyes, but the pitch of his brows and the tight set of his features told her enough.
“With the body,” Hendricks answered.
