He paused before continuing, his voice heavy with sadness. “People are scared, Billie Ann. All the parents in our town are terrified. We needed to get him off the streets. But that’s not why I called you in here.”

I stared at the Chief in disbelief. Something was very off in the way he looked at me. It made me feel uneasy. He folded his hands on his desk and that made me nervous. He wasn’t his usual self.

“What is it?”

The Chief nodded solemnly and handed me a photograph of a truck. I looked at it, my heart beating faster.

“What’s this?”

“You tell me,” he said. “You recognize it?”

I felt my heart drop. “Yes, it’s my daughter’s truck. She got it for her sixteenth birthday.”

“That may be, but it is also registered in your name.”

“So?”

“This is the same truck that hit Travis Walker, your old partner,” the Chief said gravely. “He was left paralyzed from the accident six months ago. There has been an investigation into it, and this is where it has been led to. To you.”

He paused before continuing. I could barely think straight. What was this? What was going on here?

“You have a motive for wanting him dead, Wilde. You’re being investigated for the attempted murder of your former partner,” he said with a sigh, “meanwhile, you’re suspended. I have no other choice.”

I felt a wave of panic wash over me as I tried to gather my thoughts. All I wanted was for this nightmare to end—but it seemed like every time I turned around, something else was cropping up to make matters worse.

“Suspended? But… but—”

“I need your badge and gun.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had been a good cop for years—no, an excellent cop and detective—and now, my reputation was on the line. More than that, I could end up in jail. I felt like I was in a bad dream, and I couldn’t wake up from it.

“Chief, please. You don’t understand. I didn’t do anything wrong. I would never do anything like that. Someone must have framed me somehow, by using my truck. At least let me investigate this,” I pleaded with him.

The Chief sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I understand why you’d want that, but I have to follow procedure. You’re suspended until this investigation is over.”

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I took off my badge and gun, placing them on the Chief’s desk. It felt like I was losing a part of myself, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

As I walked out of the station, I couldn’t help but feel like everyone was staring at me. I felt like a criminal, even though I knew I was innocent. I needed to clear my name, but I didn’t know how.

I stepped outside, and the bright sunlight hit me like a wave. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like the whole world was closing in on me. I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath, and that’s when I saw him.

He was in a wheelchair, pushed by Betty. At first, I thought it had to be a dream, an awful nightmare. But it was him. I could feel my heart racing as he came closer, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

“Detective Wilde,” he said, his voice low and strained. “Or wait, I don’t believe you’re a detective anymore, am I right? I was hoping I’d see you today.”

I couldn’t find my words, couldn’t even think. I just stared at him, frozen.

“I can’t say I was surprised to find out that it was you,” Travis said. “Felt good to tell your boss, though.”

I still couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. I felt like I was underwater, everything moving in slow motion.

“I didn’t… someone must have framed me.”

That’s when I paused and realized something. A huge piece fell into place. What if I hadn’t been framed, as I first thought. What if?

What if it was Charlene?!

What if she had overheard me and Joe talk about the rape, like she had heard other stuff and then decided to hurt Travis? What if that was why she was acting out so much right now? Because she knew what she had done.

The thought was beyond terrifying and almost floored me.

I stepped forward.

Travis grinned.

“Please,” I said. “Please don’t press charges. I think—”

That made him laugh. “Will you look at that, Betty? Look who is crawling in front of me, finally. Look who is begging for my mercy. This is a sweet, sweet moment.” He signaled for Betty to roll him closer to me. “Okay. We won’t press charges, on one condition.”

“I’ll do anything.”

“I want you to take away your statement about the rape.”

“Excuse me?”

He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “Clear my name.”

I shook my head and backed up. I had lied. I wouldn’t do anything. I wouldn’t do that. Never.

“No, no. I can’t do that. We both know what happened, and what you did to me.”

He shrugged. “It’s up to you and your conscience.”

With that he signaled for Betty to push him so they could leave. She sent me a look as she turned his chair around, one of disgust and contempt, which made the hairs rise on my neck. I watched them go, feeling like I had just been hit by a ton of bricks.

As I walked back to my car, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. I looked around but saw no one. I shrugged it off and got in my car, starting the engine and driving away from the station, not knowing when or if I would ever set foot there again.

SIXTY-FIVE

Then

Kitty slowly ran her hand over her stomach, feeling the small swell that seemed to get larger by the day. She had known for weeks that there was a life growing inside her. Now she felt it too, as the baby moved. It was like a thousand little fishes were living inside of her, swimming around. It felt so odd, yet strangely comforting at the same time.

“Calm down, little baby,” she said when she felt a huge kick.

Kitty felt a surge of joy that was quickly followed by a wave of fear. The last time she had been pregnant, they had taken her baby away from her. She was scared it might happen again. But this time she was determined to be different. She knew she had done something wrong, that’s why they had taken Oliver. She just wasn’t sure what it was. But this time, she vowed, would be different. This time, she would do everything right. Was it the way she had breastfed? Was it the birth and how much she had screamed? Maybe she had done it wrong? It had been hard for the baby to latch on properly; maybe they took him away because he wasn’t being fed properly?

Or maybe there was something wrong with him. What if he was sick? Maybe they were protecting her and didn’t want her to know. No, Damian had said he was fine. Right? He didn’t really want to talk about him, and he would change the subject every time she asked how he was doing. Would he tell her if he was sick or if something terrible had happened?