Page 86 of The Wicked

“Do you have anything thicker?”

“Not at this time. What has your investigator found so far?”

“Unfortunately, not a whole lot. Seth was working for Graham in the same role sixteen years ago, and I know he always travels when Graham does. Graham was in DC in the week before the accident—he voted on several bills in that period—although we’re struggling to find confirmation of his whereabouts for the date itself. It seems likely that Seth was in the vicinity of northern Virginia during the time in question.”

“Voted on bills?”

“He’s a congressman. Graham Mandell.”

Colt muttered a few choice curses under his breath, which summed up my feelings on the matter too. This was a can of worms nobody had wanted to open, and I’d inadvertently popped the top.

“We also have a photo of the doctor who performed the second autopsy at a fundraiser with Mandell,” I continued.

“What about the doctor who performed the first autopsy?”

“He died in a hunting accident three months after the crash. One detective working at the time recalls an order coming from the top to wrap up the case quickly.”

“Sara was right?”

I nodded. “She was right.”

Too late, I realised we weren’t alone in the room. Too late, I realised I’d screwed up again.

“And I was also wrong.”

The shaky voice came from the doorway, and when I spun, there she was, tears already rolling down her cheeks.

“I trusted you. I trusted you with my secrets, and this is what you did? You went behind my back and started digging into things that didn’t concern you? I could havediedtonight.”

Fuck.Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“How much did you hear?”

“Does it matter? I heard enough. This whole time, you knew who the monster was and you didn’t tell me.”

“Itdidconcern me. The Mandells are family friends, and the idea that Seth could have committed a cold-blooded murder… Let’s sit down and talk about this calmly.”

“We could have talked about it a month ago. Now? Now, it’s too late. Way too late.”

“Princess, I’m so sorry, I—”

“Get out. Get out of my house.”

How the hell was I meant to fix this mess? I’d never had to stop a woman kicking me out of her house before. We were in new territory.

Hostile territory.

“We’re in the middle of an investigation,” Colt tried. “We still have questions for Mr. Dorsey.”

“Fine, then I’ll leave.”

Saralisa stepped backward and bumped into Brooke, whose eyes widened at the scene unfolding in front of her.

“What happened? I only went to the bathroom.”

“This asshole nearly got me killed, that’s what happened. Can you give me a ride? My keys…my keys are still in the pool house.”

The sobs got louder, and more than anything, I wanted to wrap Saralisa up in my arms and tell her everything would be okay. But that would be a lie. And I also didn’t want to get kneed in the balls.

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