when the officer spoke his name. How long had he known it — since the carnival? Before?
The police officer turned to glance over his shoulder, and Ivy followed his eyes.
Will stood halfway between the cottage and barn.
?Are you aware of how much danger you were in?? the man asked Ivy. ?Do you realize what Luke McKenna has done??
She stared at the officer and said nothing. A cool breeze blew off the ocean, chilling her. ?Lucky for you,? the officer continued, ?that your friend alerted us.?
Ivy glanced toward Will, then fixed her eyes on the officer?s face. “What is Guy — Luke — being charged with??
The man?s heavy chin and jowls rested against his uniform collar. He was sizing her up, as if he thought she might be faking ignorance. ?You have no idea??
?No,? she said, looking him straight in the eye. ?Murder.?
A few minutes later, the female officer returned, winded. I couldn?t catch him,? she reported between gasps. ?He?s in good shape and knows the area better than me. Of course, I could have used some back?up.?
The older officer replied, ?I didn?t hear his bike take off. And we know where he?s living. We?ll get him.?
Then he nodded toward Ivy. ?I want you to take her in and get a statement. She doesn?t seem to know anything.?
?How old are you?? the woman asked.
?Eighteen,? Ivy said, assuming that would keep them from contacting her mother. ?We?re not charging you with anything, we just want to ask some questions. Even so, you have a right to have a lawyer present.?
I don?t need a lawyer.”
?Want to bring your friend along?? the woman suggested, gesturing toward Will, who was approaching them.
?Okay, my car?s in the lot.?
The older officer stayed behind, waiting for assistance in picking up the motorbike. Ivy followed the police car in her Beetle. At the small station she was led to a room that reeked of burnt coffee and the artificial butter of microwave popcorn.
?Can I get you anything — water, coffee, tea?? the police woman asked, pouring herself some muddy coffee, then mixing in dry lumps of creamer.
Ivy shook her head.
?My name?s Donovan,? the officer said, sitting down at a table across from Ivy.
?Rosemary Donovan.? She handed Ivy a card with her name, badge number, and phone number, then opened a folder. ?I?ve got some questions.?
Slowly, painfully. Ivy answered all of them — how and when she met Luke, how he left the hospital, and what he had told her about his past — nothing. The final question was the most difficult for her: What had she observed about him when she was with him?
Ivy stared at the coffee rings on the table between them. What could she saythat she had observed his kindness toward a stray cat?
That when Guy— Luke — kissed her, she nearly wept at his tenderness?
How could someone who had seemed so loving be a murderer? How could he have acted so convincingly? Gregory is here. Remembering the message from the Ouija board, Ivy went cold all over.
Gregory had come back, just as Beth said. And Lacey was right: Slipping inside Guy?s mind, Gregory could easily persuade, tempt. After a long silence, Donovan asked, ?Are you in love with Luke??
Ivy felt sick. How could she have fallen in love with a heart haunted by Gregory? She dropped her head in her hands. ?Is there something you want to tell me?? the officer asked quietly.
?No.?
?Maybe you want to ask some questions,? the woman suggested. Ivy looked up.
?Who was killed? Why do you think that?—she hesitated, then made a determined effort to use his real name—?that Luke did it?
How did Will know Luke was wanted for murder??
?Will O?Leary?? Donovan checked the file. ?He contacted the hospital in Hyannis, telling them about a patient who had skipped out on them. O?Leary supplied the patient?s first name, and the hospital contacted the local police, who contacted other municipalities.
A match was made and we realized we were investigating a person who had more than unpaid medical bills on his record. ?As for the victim—? She handed a photograph across the table. Ivy gazed down at a girl with dark hair and dark eyes, eyes with a spark of mischief in them. ?Her name is Corinne Santori.? ?How old?? Ivy asked. ?Nineteen. She was a former girl friend of Luke?s. One friend said they were secretly engaged. She broke it off and he was furious.?
?How did he… do it??
?Strangled her.?
Ivy shut her eyes, remembering, halfway between heaven and earth, the tenderness with which he had kissed her throat. ?You okay?? the woman asked.
?Yeah.? Ivy took a deep breath, then described the girl she had seen him talking to at the carnival. She did not hide the fact that he had lied, denying that the girl had called him Luke.
Lying, denying, and pretending to care, Ivy thought. Why didn?t I see Gregory?s presence in Guy? When they were done, the officer offered to follow Ivy back to the cottage. ?I?m okay,? Ivy insisted.
?Then I?ll tell my partner to expect you.? Ivy nodded.
?Be careful. Ivy. Be really careful. We don?t want to find another dead girl.”
Aunt Cindy was still out, but Ivy knew a guest might have spotted the police car and would ask her what had happened. Retrieving a pen and paper from the kitchen, Ivy carried them out to the swing to write a note of explanation.
She put down the basic facts: She had learned Guy?s name was Luke McKenna and he was wanted by the police; when they?d tried to arrest him, he had fled.
The police had questioned her, but she knew nothing about Luke?s previous life.
Ivy felt eerily calm as she wrote.
It was as if her heart and mind had shut down before they could fully grasp the horror of Luke?s actions. She was signing the note when she heard the cottage?s screen door open. Beth stood in the doorway, looking out at Ivy. ?How are you doing??
Beth?s voice had its usual sweetness, and the high coloring in her cheeks had disappeared; if Ivy hadn?t witnessed the Ouija session earlier in the evening, she wouldn?t have guessed it had happened.
?Okay,” she replied, figuring that Will had told Beth all the ugly details.
?Do you want to be left alone?? ?No. I?m glad you?re here, Beth.? When Ivy showed her the note, Beth rested her hand on Ivy?s. ?I?m sorry. I?m really sorry.?
They were such simple words. Ivy sobbed. The pain was so bad she felt as if she couldn?t breathe. Beth laid her hand gently on Ivy?s back.
?How could I have been so blind?? Ivy said, choking with tears. ?You were right, Beth. You?ve been right all along. How could I have imagined that Guy was Tristan??
?I can understand how,? Beth replied. ?You still miss Tristan. You?re still healing. Your heart wanted so much for it to be him, you convinced yourself.?
?But you and Will warned me. And I refused to listen. I?m so sorry.?
