Eastern tugged him into his office and slammed the door after him. “What the hell was that?”
Kayden spun on his brother. “You’re askingmethat? YouarrestedTilly without telling me. Where the hell is she?”
“I didn’t arrest her. I asked her to come in and she agreed. She’s in a room being questioned.”
Kayden stepped closer, his voice lowering to a dangerous level. “Get her out of here. She had nothing to do with Macy’s murder.”
“Kayden, you need to let me do my job. I don’t think she did it either, but that watch was in her possession, and it still had blood on it. It’s being tested right now to see if the blood matches Macy’s.”
“And if it does, what? It’s automatically her? You arrest her for fucking murder?”
A muscle in Eastern’s jaw clenched.
“You know this wasn’t her,” Kayden pushed. “The person who shot Jake took the watch.Shecouldn’t have shot him because she was with me. And why the hell would she keep something that incriminates her for murder in her desk at work?”
“Like I said, I’m not saying she did it. But others may assume she had a partner…a partner who needs money. And when Macy caught her stealing, she was chased down and killed, then her partner saw Jake with the watch in the mountains that day and shot him.”
Kayden flinched like his brother had hit him. “You’re talking about her father. You think people will assume she worked with her father to rob the visitors center and kill Macy. Do you know how fucking ridiculous that sounds?”
“But that’s the thing, it doesn’t sound ridiculous to other people in this town. I can’t wear my brother hat right now, Kay. I have to wear my sheriff’s hat and do my due diligence to at least question her. Her father’s return combined with knowing he needs money, and now the watch being in her possession, isn’t good. The fact that she spent so much time with Jake in the hospital too, almost like she was waiting to see if he remembered anything, doesn’t help.”
God, this was unbelievable. Kayden wanted to punch something. To feel something other than this raging anger and frustration. “Who’s questioning her?”
“Paxley.”
Good. At least she was fair. There were some officers here who Kayden knew wouldn’t be so kind.
Eastern’s phone beeped with a text. He glanced down and his jaw tightened.
“What?” Kayden growled.
Eastern glanced up at him. “That’s the lab…the blood type’s a match with Macy’s.”
CHAPTER 25
Tilly’s head throbbed. A combination of the hangover, her father’s visit, and now being stuck in this interrogation room for what felt like hours.
At first, it hadn’t been so bad. A woman who’d introduced herself as Officer Paxley had been interviewing her. Then this guy had stepped in, argued with the female officer before basically forcing her to leave, and he’d started hounding her, asking her the same questions over and over again. He clearly liked her as much as the dirt beneath his shoe.
She dropped her head into her cuffed hands. The guy had put them on her the second the female officer had left, as if she was some kind of felon who’d attempt an escape otherwise. She wasn’t under arrest, but when she’d tried to tell him that, it was like he hadn’t even heard her.
“I told you,” she said, exhaustion ringing in her voice. “I don’t know how that watch got into my drawer.”
“Yet, itwasin your drawer, and you were holding it when Jake stepped in.”
“Wouldn’t you?” she asked, louder than necessary, as she lifted her head to stare at him across the table. “If you openedyour drawer and saw something that wasn’t yours, that didn’t belong there, wouldn’t you pick it up and look at it?”
He leaned over and flattened his hands on the surface. “We’re not talking about me. We’re talking aboutyou. The woman who conveniently stepped into town right before a murder takes place. Tell me again where you were the night Macy Hodgkins was stabbed to death?”
God, she wanted to scream. “I was home. Itold youI was home, and before you ask for the millionth time, no I don’t have anyone to corroborate that story because I was by myself.”
His phone dinged, and he straightened as he pulled it out to look at the screen. “Well, would you look at that, we have confirmation that the blood type on the watch is a match for Macy’s. Won’t be long before we find out the blood itself is hers.”
The blood drained from her face and a light-headedness took over. What did that mean? That someone was framing her for murder?
The chair scraped opposite her as the officer sat down. “Come on, Matilda, let’s be honest with each other. We both know this is mostly your father’s doing. You were working together, right? He burned through the money he stole from locals in this town, so he got you to help him steal from the visitors center. Only, Macy saw you, and you and your father chased her down. Maybe he killed her, and you tried to save her, that’s how the blood got on your watch.” He angled closer. “Tell me this was Martin Taylor, and I’ll make sure you get a lighter sentence.”
Tears of frustration pressed at her eyes. Everything was a mess. The officer hated her and wanted to convict her of murder, her temple throbbed, and her wrists ached from how tightly this jerk had cuffed her. And the fact that someone, probably Macy’s killer and Jake’s shooter, had planted that watch in her drawerto set her up for something she didn’t do just made everything worse.
