Page 153 of State of Denial

“Where’s my gun?” Pascal asked on a hiss.

“You don’t need to know.”

“If that gun gets traced back to me, I’ll never forgive you.”

“It can’t get traced back to you. It’s unregistered, remember?”

“I think I’ve heard enough,” Hope said.

“You read my mind, Counselor,” Malone said. “Arrest them both on six counts of capital murder and get her prints to the lab to be checked against the gun found at the scene. Also, figure out who the hell Colleen is and what’s happened with her husband.”

“Yes, sir,” Freddie said as he wondered if this was it. Had they found their killer?

He and Gonzo burst into the interrogation room, taking the couple by surprise.

Freddie approached Gia and had her handcuffed before she knew what hit her. “You’re under arrest for the murders of Marcel, Liliana, Eloise, Abigail, Violet and August Blanchet. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

By the time Gia caught up to what was happening, Freddie had recited the entire Miranda warning.

“What is going on?” she cried as she struggled against the cuffs. “I didn’t kill anyone!”

“Do you recall Detectives Green and O’Brien reminding you that you have the right to remain silent when they brought you in?” Freddie pointed to the camera in the corner of the interrogation room. “That means at all times.”

“You werelisteningto us?” Pascal said. “That was a private conversation.”

“No such thing when you’re in police custody, unless your attorney is with you,” Gonzo said. “Who is Colleen, and what’s happened to her husband?”

His mouth fell open in shock. “She… I…” His mouth snapped shut. “I’d like to speak to an attorney.”

Since he wasn’t under arrest, Gonzo accompanied Mr. Cortez downstairs to the city jail while Freddie took Gia to be fingerprinted, photographed and officially charged with six counts of murder.

Thanks to the insight gathered from overhearing the couple, Freddie deduced that Gia had taken Pascal’s gun to the Blanchet home, forced Marcel to retrieve his weapon and kill himself with his right hand. Then she’d used his gun to kill the kids and put two extra bullets into Eloise. He wasn’t sure when she’d grappled with Liliana, but it was either before or after she confronted Marcel. Before she left, she’d put his weapon next to his right hand.

Gia cried so hard, she could barely function. “I didn’t do it!” she managed to say around sniffs and sobs.

“Tell it to the judge.”

Cameron Green returned homeafter the trip to Hershey to find Gigi in the kitchen, music playing on the Bluetooth speaker and the scent of something delicious cooking on the stove. For a second, he was so stunned to see her there that he could barely find the words to say hello.

She smiled at him the way she had before disaster struck. “How was your day, dear?”

He leaned against the doorframe, taking in the sight of her silky dark hair, olive-toned skin and big brown eyes framed by extravagant lashes. A floral silk robe was knotted at her waist, and from the way the silk clung to curves, he decided she was wearing nothing underneath. “It just got a whole lot better.”

Gigi came to him, put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “For me, too.”

“What brought on this burst of energy?”

“I was hungry for the first time in days, so I figured I’d cook.”

“I haven’t gotten to the store. Where’d you get the food?”

“Instacart.” She looked up at him with a saucy grin. “It’s this modern invention that delivers groceriesright to your door.”

He was so relieved to see the light back in her eyes that he could barely breathe. Emotion choked him as he held her close.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“If you are, I am.”

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