Page 96 of Tessa's Trust

“I would really appreciate that.” Smiley wouldn’t go on his own, so I would have to nag him. But I would because I needed my partner around for a long time. “Thank you, Kelsey.”

“Anytime. I still owe you one.” She hung up.

I figured we were about even, but she was kind to say that. Yawning more because Basanelli hadn’t let me get much sleep the night before, I walked over to the now neatly arranged sticky notes on the table and counter before saying a quick prayer for Sadie because I hoped she was still alive.

My phone buzzed again. “Hello,” I answered.

“Hey, it’s Deputy McCracken.”

“Hi there,” I said, surprised. “What’s up?”

He coughed. “I’m calling you and giving you a heads-up. Brad Backelboff is back from California, and he wants us to issue an arrest warrant for you.” McCracken spoke low as if he were trying to whisper. “Stay over in Elk County, and don’t come back. Okay?”

It was incredibly sweet that he’d phoned to warn me. “You shouldn’t be calling me, McCracken,” I said softly.

“I am well aware of that. Call your sister. You need a lawyer.”

“Thank you.” I hung up. This was incredible. I had never so much as purposely killed a spider. I was one of those dorks who put them on a piece of paper and slid them outside. The idea that I had killed two men was unfathomable, but the new prosecutor over in Gem County didn’t know me, and he obviously didn’t care.

Every instinct I had told me that Sheriff Franco would fight against arresting me, so I figured I still had a day or so, but I sent a quick text to Anna, letting her know what was happening. She answered instantly, saying she would bring donuts. Apparently, she was taking the day off work.

The doorbell rang, and I stilled before looking down at my outfit. I wore one of Nick’s dress shirts and nothing else, but it covered me to my knees. So I shrugged and walked over to the door. No doubt Nick was receiving a package or something. Not being a dummy, I looked through the peephole and then stilled. Oh, come on. What in the world? I opened the door. “Louise, what are you doing here?”

Her face looked ravished, as if she’d been crying all night, and she shivered as if she were freezing. “I’m sorry.” She gulped. “I needed to talk to somebody, and you’ve been so nice to me.”

I frowned. “How did you know where I was?”

She gulped. “Everybody knows you’re dating Nick Basanelli. How do you get a guy like that?”

Why couldn’t there be any secrets in my life? I pushed my wayward hair out of my face. “Louise, I really can’t help you. You need a lawyer, and I’m a waitress.” I might be an owner of a couple of diners, but really, I didn’t know anything about the law. “I promise I will tell the absolute truth, and say that it’s my belief you didn’t mean to harm anybody or even the fish.”

It truly was the best I could do for her.

“Thank you.” She sniffed. “All right, I guess I’ll go.” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she started to fall.

“Louise,” I cried out, catching her. She stumbled and started to go down. “Whoa. When was the last time you ate?” I asked.

“I had the burger.” More tears gathered in her eyes.

The woman might need more help than I could offer. We did have a psychologist in the family. “Maybe you should see my cousin, Wanda,” I said. “She’s been a great help to a lot of us. I think you really need to talk to somebody, Louise.”

I helped her inside and shut the door. She was way too cold. “Did you stay the night in your car?” I led her to the kitchen to get her some coffee.

“I just drove around all night,” she admitted. “Just thinking about the good times with Bobbo and what we could have had.”

Yes. I definitely thought she should call Cousin Wanda. “I tell you what, why don’t we call my cousin right now and get you some help, okay?”

Louise sniffed. “You’re too kind. After everything I’ve done to you, I can’t believe you’re being this nice to me.”

I actually did want to help her.

She looked over at all the sticky notes. “Well, that’s weird. Is that what was in that silver box you had yesterday?”

I paused. “You know about the box?”

She wiped tears off her cheeks. “Yeah, I saw you walk into the diner. Remember? I figured there was something important in it. Was there?”

“Not really,” I lied. “Just a bunch of sticky notes.”

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