Peters nodded, seemingly satisfied, before his brow furrowed.
“But he never officially confessed to killing her, right?” he noted.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about a confession,” Jessie assured him. “We’llcheck both his and Gabby’s phone data to confirm the affair. We can check theDNA from the pregnancy to confirm his paternity. That will provide motive. Andthen there’s the whole part where he tried to kill me when he found out I knewit was him.”
Though she was doing better, Peters helped her outside. They walked overto her car, which was currently boxed in by four squad vehicles. Jessie couldsee Richard Ferro in the back of one of them, groaning loudly. Ignoring him,she zipped up her jacket to protect against the howling mountain winds.
“So what now?” Peters asked.
“Now I go home,” she said, dreading what she knew was to come. “Thisisn’t the only fire I have to put out today.”
“You don’t get at least one night off?” he asked.
“My teenage sister lives with me, so no.”
Peters laughed. Jessie didn’t join in, worried what it would do to herthroat.
“Well, I guess that leaves me to do the paperwork,” he said.
“Do you mind? You are the lead detective on a successfullysolved murder case,” she reminded him.
“Oh yeah,” he replied. “I guess I am. That ought to play well withCaptain Hawley.”
“Hell,” she added, “if you play your cards right, maybe soon you’llbe the new captain in town.”
The look of sheer delight on his face at that prospect almost made herneck stop throbbing—almost. But then she remembered what was waiting for her athome and the ache returned in force.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
It was late when Jessie finally pulled into the garage.
The EMTs had let her drive herself home after checking her out andgiving her some pain meds they said not to take until she got home (but whichshe popped a few minutes early). They wanted her to see a throat specialist,but said it could wait until tomorrow. That was good to hear, because she wasn’tsure she could keep her eyes open much longer.
She walked into the house quietly, not certain who was home or evenawake. Since both Hannah and Ryan were limited to using rideshares and cabs thesedays, only her car left the house regularly. Unless she checked camera footage,she never knew who was around until she got inside.
Once she got to the kitchen, she put her keys on the counter and gotsome milk, which she warmed up in the microwave in the hope that it wouldsoothe her throat. She was equally relieved and apprehensive when she saw alight coming from under Hannah’s door. At least she was home safe. But it alsomeant the reckoning was imminent.
She thought about calling Ryan to see if he’d be home soon so shewouldn’t have to face this alone. Then she immediately chastised herself forher cowardice. But the idea reminded her that he had called when she was at theFerro house. Everything had been so crazy in the aftermath that she’d completelyforgotten about it.
The microwave beeped and she took out the milk. Then she pulled out herphone and saw that he’d left a voicemail, along with a text asking her to callwhen she was able. She was just about to do that when Hannah’s door opened. Shelooked skittish until she saw who it was.
“I heard the microwave and freaked for a second because I didn’trealize anyone was home,” she said, relieved.
“It’s just me,” Jessie said. “You okay?”
Hannah gave her a questioning look.
“Are you okay?” she asked, turning on the living room light. “Yourvoice sounds funny.”
“I had a little run-in with a suspect,” Jessie answered, glad that atleast her sister was concerned about someone else’s well-being, if not her own.“He got a little handsy with my neck. But I’ll be fine eventually. It’ll justlook like I’m wearing purple paint on my throat for a few weeks.”
“You should be more careful,” Hannah said without a hint of irony.
Hearing those words from her made something snap inside Jessie. Theidea that Hannah was giving advice on avoiding dangerous situations would havebeen funny if it wasn’t so unhinged.
“Are you kidding?” she asked before she could stop herself. “You’re oneto talk.”
Hannah’s expression went from concerned to defensive in the blink of aneye.
“I gather you’ve been talking to Kat,” she replied casually.
“You gather correctly,” Jessie countered, unable to keep thefrustration out of her voice.
“What did she tell you?”
“What I wish you had—confronting the drug dealer, sneaking intoher office, breaking into a pedophile’s house. Why didn’t you come to me whenyou knew this was getting out of control? I thought we had really built up sometrust.”
“Trust?” Hannah shot back with unexpected venom. “Is that why you put atracking app on my phone?”
Jessie, taken aback, didn’t have a response. Hannah didn’t wait for oneanyway.
“Yeah, did you think I was an idiot? I turned off my location sharingand you still somehow showed up randomly where I was? You should get a refresherfrom Ryan on how to properly do a surveillance drive-by because I spotted youall the time.”
There was no good answer for that so Jessie gave one that she knew wasn’tgreat even as she said it.
“In light of what you’ve been doing lately, maybe I should have checkedit more often. For now, until we can work out what’s going on with you, I guessthe best solution is for you not to go anywhere alone other than school.”
“Are you grounding me?” Hannah demanded, almost as shocked asshe was angry.
“That’s not the word I would use to describe keeping a teenager safewho likes to spend her free time tangling with child rapists. But you can callit what you want.”
Hannah stood there silently, shaking uncontrollably. Then she chokedout a sound somewhere between laughing and crying.
“This is crap,”
