Page 83 of Wicked Promises

My phone has been silent. No new messages from Riley or Caleb—nothing from Unknown either.

Detective Masters comes back downstairs. “You don’t have any idea who might’ve done this? Or what the words on the wall meant?”

I shake my head. “I thought it had to be someone from school, since they texted Caleb and warned him that Ian was taking me into the woods. And they were at a party at Ian’s house, too. But lately…”

The car belonging to Tobias, who’s a known associate of the Ashers, is just too coincidental.

“I don’t know,” I finish lamely.

“This is probably enough to find out the number that’s been texting you,” he says. “I’ll take some photos outside, then head back to the station and work on that. I’ll be in touch.”

Lenora nods sharply. “Thank you, Detective.”

We sit in silence for a moment.

Police aren’t the bad guys in this situation. I’ve had my fair share of fear when it comes to cops—especially that one time I ran away—and Detective Masters does have a tendency to look down his nose at me, whether because I’m a foster or a teenager, I don’t know.

Still. Worth a shot.

I get up and rush after him, outside without even a coat on.

He’s under my window in the middle of the lawn. His eyebrows shoot up when he spots me. “Ms. Wolfe?”

“I have a… theory.”

He waves for me to continue.

“How does a public defender rise to partner at a big law firm in two years?”

Detective Masters says nothing.

“When I asked Tobias Hutchins that very question?—”

He holds up his hand. “When did you meet him?”

“Riley and I went to his office in the city. He defended my dad—badly. If you know anything about that trial?—”

“I was a rookie.” He seems to contemplate something. His gaze goes to the cloudy sky. “Let’s go back inside. You’ve intrigued me.”

Hope flares inside my chest. And hope? It’s a dangerous thing. It can lift you up and drop you when you least expect it.

So I shove the hope away and remain cautious. Lenora and Robert both start to ask questions when I walk back in, but they’re silenced by the detective’s reappearance.

Masters follows me into the dining room. My painting of Caleb is on the floor in the corner, but he makes no comment about it.

“Okay,” he says once we’ve sat. “Let’s hear it.”

“You know I lived with my parents in the Asher guest house. My mom and his dad were having an affair, which apparently everyone knew except me and…” I shake my head. “I was upstairs in Caleb’s room one day—before I found out about the affair—and I heard Mrs. Asher talking to someone.”

“Someone. How old were you?”

I wince. “I had just turned ten.”

“Okay, so, we’re dealing with unreliable memory.”

“Yeah… I didn’t know who she was talking to, but I remember the guy was upset about what she was asking him to do. She said she was paying him enough. I mentioned it to Caleb, and he told me it was Tobias. That’s how, when Caleb and I ran into Tobias in the city in October, Tobias knew Caleb.” I pause and suck in a deep breath.

“So you’ve established a relationship between your dad’s lawyer and the Ashers. Go on.”