“Tyler Gillis, you’re under arrest for the murder of Sheila Jones.”
The words seemed to echo in the sudden quiet of the coffee shop. Tyler was vaguely aware of gasps, phones being pulled out, and the entire shop watching as Adam moved behind him.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Adam began, snapping the handcuffs around Tyler’s wrists.
Tyler looked at Brooke. She stood up from the table, her hand over her mouth, her face pale with shock. Their eyes locked, and Tyler saw everything he’d hoped for crumbling in real time.
The trust she’d just given him. The date she’d just agreed to. The connection they’d been building.
All of it was destroyed in the space of thirty seconds.
“Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” Adam continued, gripping Tyler’s arm.
“I didn’t do this,” Tyler said, still looking at Brooke. “I didn’t kill Sheila. You have to believe me.”
But Brooke’s expression had shifted. Her walls were going up, and doubt was creeping in.
“You have the right to an attorney,” Adam droned on.
“Brooke,” Tyler tried again, but Adam was already pulling him toward the door.
Tyler caught one last glimpse of Brooke through the window. She stood frozen at their table, surrounded by staring customers, her hand still covering her mouth.
He’d lost her. Just when he’d thought maybe, impossibly, he might have a chance, he’d lost her.
Because in Basin County, Tyler Gillis would always be the man they suspected first.
The handcuffs bit into his wrists as Adam guided him into the patrol vehicle. Through the window, Tyler could still see inside the coffee shop, could see Brooke processing what had just happened and believing he was guilty.
Adam made sure Tyler was in the back seat before Edi went around to the driver’s side. A second patrol car was in front of the SUV.
Edi met his gaze in the mirror as she buckled her seat belt. “Sorry about this. We went to your work first. Robert said you went out for coffee. I wanted to wait...”
Tyler nodded. Adam knew arresting him in front of Brooke would make an impact and ruin any chances Tyler might have with her once this whole mess was straightened out.
The patrol car pulled away from the curb, and Tyler closed his eyes.
Sheila was dead. Someone had killed her and left her body in the mountains.
And everyone, including Brooke, would think that someone was him.
Chapter 11
Brooke
The bell over the door chimed as the deputies led Tyler out, and for a moment, the entire coffee shop remained frozen. Then everyone started talking at once.
“Did you see that?”
“He was arrested for murder.”
“Who was he?”
“Tyler Gillis. He used to live here but moved away.”
“I always knew something was off about him.”
“Wasn’t his wife and kid—”
