Page 169 of Wicked Little Secret

It was best that I stayed distant. That I watched and fretted from afar as Theron was put on trial for the Valentine murders.

But I wasn’t the only social pariah in Castlebury.

As Theron’s sister, Theodora was suffering a similar fate. Many rumors swirled about her as well, likeshewas his accomplice all along, or an even crazier rumor that theorized Theodora was actually Valentine and Theron was protecting her.

The two of us realized we were all the other had, gradually becoming close.

It wasn’t difficult, considering Theo was the manager of my apartment building and she was the kind of friend girls like Heather had never been.

Theo, who visited Theron every other week—and spoke to him on the phone even more often—said she believed he appreciated that we were keeping each other company during his absence.

The two closest people in his life were now close themselves.

But that hasn’t made it any easier staying apart from him. I haven’t been able to so much as write him a letter without rousing suspicion of our past relationship.

I miss his voice. His presence and his touch.

Every last thing about him.

Life without him feels muted and joyless.

Selfishly, watching the televised trial has been the most contact I’ve had with him since he was taken away…

While the outcome worries me, I’m also reminded how brilliant Theron Adler is. I remember just why I’d admired him in the first place. Legal experts might claim it’s a mistake that he represents himself, but they don’t know Theron like I do.

On day five, when it’s the defense’s turn to cross examine Officer Brewster about his team’s investigation, Theron’s brilliance is on full display.

He’s dressed in a simple suit and tie, his dark hair rumpled in the perfectly imperfect manner only he can pull off. Stubble frames his handsome face while his glasses accentuate how intense his gaze can be.

He approaches the witness stand with an intimidating sense of calm, looking refined yet authoritative all at once.

“Officer Brewster, you were on the case for the 2005 investigation into the Valentine murders, were you not?”

The stout police officer peers around the large courtroom as if vexed to be on the stand at all. “That’s right. I’ve been on the force for damn near thirty years.”

“Thank you for your service,” Theron says. “The 2005 investigation went on for months with little headway made. Can you remind the court what ended up happening with that case?”

He folds his arms and mumbles, “It was deemed unsolvable.”

“What was that?”

“It was deemed unsolvable!” he snaps.

“You’ll have to clarify for the court, Officer. What do you mean by unsolvable?”

Huffing out a breath, he says, “We had little to no leads and no prime suspects. It wasn’t going anywhere, so we had to leave the case unsolved.”

“Interesting,” Theron says, pacing back and forth in front of the stand. He nudges his glasses further up his nose and strokes his chin in thought. “Would you say that damaged the credibility of Castlebury PD?”

“We have some of the lowest crime rates in the country!”

“I believed I asked you about credibility. Would you say the Valentine case going unsolved damaged the Castlebury PD’s credibility?”

“Objection, your honor!” cries out the lead prosecutor, popping to her feet. “Relevance?”

Presiding Judge Mary Quarles raises her brows at Theron. “Mr. Adler, care to explain?”

“The Castlebury PD’s history on the original Valentine case provides necessary context as it pertains to today’s trial.”