It was difficult for me to leave for work the following day after what happened with Peyton, Amanda, and Susan, but knowing that the woman was now in custody made it easier to accept that. They were safe now—at least, safer than any of ushadbeen. When I walked into the station that morning, there was a certain mood in the air that hadn’t been around for some time. It was hope. It was a relief.
“She confessed,” Hansen said, his head whipping up as I entered the dining room. “She confessed after her arrest yesterday morning.”
“Amanda,” Paisley said quickly. “She’s our arsonist.”
“Is Peyton all right?” Chief Davis asked, reaching for his regular cup of black coffee. “And Susan? The rest of the crew heard what happened yesterday morning.”
“Susan is awake,” I told them, taking a seat at the table for breakfast. “And Peyton is good. She’s—a badass, honestly.”
“It sounds like it,” said Paisley. “We’re lucky it was Peyton Amanda went after and not someone else.” She frowned, pursing her lips as everyone glanced up at her. “Not lucky,” she said quickly. “Ugh, you know what I mean.”
“We know what you mean, baby.” Hansen leaned over to kiss Paisley as I plated myself up some bacon and eggs, gratefully taking the mug of coffee that Matt offered me.
“Speaking of Peyton,” I said, glancing at Paisley. “She’d like to start planning our wedding.”
Paisley squealed like a hyperactive child, clapping her hands together with glee. “That’s great news,” she gushed. “She’s going to have so much fun.”
“Yeah, well, I told her I might know someone who wouldn’t mind giving her a hand.” I pushed my half-eaten plate aside and smiled at Paisley, whose eyes went wide with excitement. “What do you think, Paisley? You up to the task?”
“Me?” she asked, dramatically placing a hand over her heart. “I suppose I could help, or something like that.”
“That’s good,” I said with a laugh. “Because Peyton is expecting it. Don’t let me down.”
Light, easy laughter and conversation continued through the air for the rest of the morning. The place was quieter than it had been in months, but nobody seemed to mind. It was a nice break, a fresh relief, and we would be the first to take advantage.
I was cooking lunch in the kitchen a little before noon, stirring the alfredo sauce over a simmering pot, when Chief Davis poked his head into the kitchen, eyes landing on me. I could tell something was wrong at once, and a painful sensation of apprehension clutched at me.
“What is it, Chief?”
“There are a couple of detectives here to see you,” he said, lowering his voice so nobody would overhear, even though we were the only two in the kitchen. “They’re in my office.”
I reached up to turn the burner off and removed the pan from the heat, beckoning Matt through the window for him to come and take over.
“Just stir it until it thickens,” I told the kid, acting braver than I felt. I followed Chief Davis out of the kitchen and down the hallway until we were at his office and then stepped in before him, stopping near the door as the cops turned in their chairs to face me.
“Mr. Butler,” the first man said, rising to his feet to offer his hand. It was Eli Burton, the cop on Amanda’s case. And next to him was Dereck Denny. “Would you mind having a seat?”
I looked at Chief Davis, who nodded once at me before crossing behind his own desk to sit down. Holding my breath, I walked forward and took a seat in the empty chair to the side of the desk, suddenly feeling like a pupil in the principal’s office.
“This isn’t about Peyton, right?” I asked. “She’s okay?”
“This isn’t about your friend,” Eli said, and relief whooshed through me. Not much, but enough.
“Then what is this about?”
“Amanda Briggs,” Eli said, pulling a small notepad from his front pocket to open it, his eyes scanning the paper. Then he closed it and looked back over at me. “She’s accusing you of sexual assault.”
“I’m sorry?”
“She says you came onto her one night in her car,” Officer Denny said, straightening up in his chair.
“While you were here,” Chief Davis added. “At work.”
The words hit me like a ton of bricks, right in the face, and my heart began to pound against my chest, painful and heavy and roaringly loud.
“That’s—that’s bullshit,” I said, hating the slight sound of panic in my voice. “Amanda came ontome. Not the other way around.”
“We believe you,” said Eli with a nod. “But it doesn’t matter what we believe. There still needs to be an investigation.”
