Probably not. “They don’t have motive, either. Unless they want to argue that Mark’s a serial killer, they need motive.”
Elise peered out the crack between the curtains now. She had to be watching for the other officers so we had warning, but didn’t want them to know so it didn’t make Mark look guiltier.
“Grady Scherwin”—she said his name like it was a curse word—“told them about you throwing up when you saw Troy, and they started asking whether you’d ever thrown up at a crime scene before. It sounds like they think you were cheating on Mark with Troy, Mark found out, lured him to his house, and killed him.”
“And then called it in. Do they think he’s stupid?”
“They think he’s guilty, and they’re going to explain away anything that hints otherwise.”
Mark pushed to his feet and stepped between Elise and me, his back to her, blocking her view of us. “I think we need to postpone the wedding,” he whispered. “This might not be resolved before then, and it’s not fair to you to marry me if I’m going to end up in prison for the next twenty-five years.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. My parents might well advocate for the same thing once they found out. But I didn’t want to lose Mark any more than he wanted to lose me. There wasn’t another Mark out there. “I don’t care if they put you away for life. I still want to marry you, and I’ll spend all my time filing appeal after appeal until you’re free.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Thank you for not believing I was cheating on you with Troy.”
“I know you better than that.”
There was almost a smile in his voice, like he was thinking back to the conversation we’d had right before our first kiss. We’d barely begun dating and a crazy man with a vendetta against me had tried to make it look like I was cheating on Mark. He’d said those same words to me then.
“And I know you better than to believe you’d murder someone,” I said. “We’ll figure this out together, and we’re getting married as planned.”
Elise said something under her breath that sounded like a real curse word this time. “They’re here.”
My heart jolted like it came loose in my chest. I’d been hoping she was wrong about the police coming for Mark. Elise did tend to be melodramatic at times. I should have known, though, that she wouldn’t have scared us like this if she wasn’t certain.
I wrapped Mark in a hug. “I’ll call Anderson. He’ll meet you at the station. Don’t say anything to the police except that you want your lawyer.”
He didn’t argue this time or act like I was silly to suggest he not answer any questions. He didn’t even question me calling Anderson. Anderson wasn’t going with him because I doubted myself this time. He was going with him because of the role the police thought I’d played in this.
The doorbell rang. Elise cast one glance in our direction and headed for the front door.
Mark held me so tightly it was almost hard to breathe.
“I should go meet them at the door,” he said, “so Elise doesn’t have to show them in here and feel like her home’s been violated.”
Even now, he thought of everyone else first. Elise. And me, wanting to keep me safe.
The time for protecting me, at least, was over. “I want to investigate this and help build your defense. With Chief McTavish missing and someone intent on framing you, I don’t think we can leave it in the hands of the police.”
Mark’s chest raised high enough that I felt the movement against my body. “I hate to say it, but you’re right.”
The adrenaline rush I usually got when faced with the puzzle of a new case didn’t come. Instead, all my bones felt too heavy for my body to carry, like fear had infused itself down to my marrow. Of all the cases I’d been a part of, this was the one I could least afford to lose.
Male voices carried from the front of the house alongside Elise’s. I didn’t recognize either of them. In a way, it was a small mercy. I wasn’t sure I could have handled it had they sent Grady Scherwin.
Mark must have heard them, too, because he let me go. He pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “Just be careful. I’d rather go to prison for the rest of my life than have anything happen to you.”
7
Elise and I sat side by side on her couch after the officers took Mark away and I’d called Anderson, my head on her shoulder and her cheek resting against my hair. I always used to like the smell of her green apple shampoo, but I had the uncomfortable feeling that, in years to come, whenever I smelled that scent, I’d now think of this moment. Though the memory wouldn’t be entirely bad. Yes, Mark had been arrested, but I hadn’t had to face it alone. I’d had Elise with me, and I’d been able to call Anderson for help.
Anderson had told me to stay away from the police station for now. Given the depth of the frame-up, he wanted as few moving pieces as possible. It wouldn’t be the first time the police told a suspect a lie about their spouse or loved one to trick them into confessing. If I wasn’t there, they couldn’t use me against Mark.
I’d told Anderson I’d start working the case while he did what he could for Mark, but so far all we’d done was sit on Elise’s couch and stare at the wall. My body felt numb.
“I don’t understand why anyone would do this,” Elise said in a similar tone to what I imagined someone would use if they came home to find their house or car vandalized—a little angry and a lot like they couldn’t fathom someone destroying something valuable simply for the sake of it.
I didn’t understand it, either. Most people liked Mark. We couldn’t possibly have a big pool to draw from for people who’d want to hurt him.
Elise lifted her head. “You don’t think the chief…”
I didn’t blame her for not being able to finish the thought. The timing for Chief McTavish’s disappearance was more than a little suspicious. He’d either had something to do with Troy’s death or he’d become a target as well.
I didn’t know which to hope for. On one side, he’d have tricked us all into believing he was a good and honorable man when he wasn’t. On the other, the odds were good that he was dead.
“How do we know he disappeared?”
“They couldn’t reach him, and his wife said he was gone when she woke up.” Elise touched the spot where she carried her cell phone. “They pinged his cell and found it in the snow next to his car. His keys were still there too, like he’d just walked away and left it all behind.”
I was almost afraid to ask my next question. “Where?”
Elise dropped her head back down onto mine. “The parking lot for Lakeshore Park.”
If Isabel and I had met there one day earlier, we might have noticed his car. That likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome, though. I didn’t know his personal vehicle well enough to recognize it, and if he’d been in a cruiser, I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it sitting there. I’d have had no reason to report it, and Chief McTavish’s disappearance wouldn’t have been discovered any sooner. I couldn’t have helped spare him.
“Mark would have driven right past on his way to the non-existent call,” Elise said quietly. “That’s also bad for Mark, isn’t it, that McTavish went missing?”
