forthcoming with information.”
“We’re not working together.”
“What do you call it, then?”
He curled his lip. “Barely perceptible tolerance borne out of distrust and blackmail?”
She snorted. “So sensitive.” Ava took another bite of pizza before asking, “So is this sensor coming here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, how else is he—”
“I said, I don’t know!” Tiernan glowered at her. “We’re just supposed to wait.”
“Wow, is that how you operate?” she asked. “No questions? Just following orders?”
“It’s my duty. You wouldn’t understand.” His tone was the slightest bit mocking, and Ava, of course, took offense.
“I understand duty ,” she said. “I just don’t understand how you can do your job if you’re kept in the dark all the time.”
“They tell me what I need to know.” Tiernan looked out through the window again, effectively shutting down the conversation.
Ava rolled her eyes and flipped the channel on the television, settling on the local news as she finished her pizza. She stared at the screen but let her mind wander, wondering about where Caleb was and what he was doing. She surreptitiously checked her phone again, and footage of a familiar house flashing on the television caught her eye. She reached for the remote to turn up the volume.
“. . . body was found early this morning by his wife, Beth Simmons. She told police she hadn’t seen her husband since Saturday evening, when the two had an argument . . .”
“Oh no,” Ava whispered. “No. It can’t be.”
“What?” Tiernan turned his attention to the television as Officer Simmons’ photograph filled the screen.
“. . . witnesses testify that a young woman visited the victim’s home late Saturday night and was possibly the last to see him alive . . .”
“No. Oh no, no, no . . . ” Ava chanted, her eyes wide and frightened as her own picture appeared.
“Police are calling this woman, Ava Michaels, a person of interest in the case. They stop short of calling her a suspect, but our sources say there is strong evidence linking Michaels to the murder of Officer Simmons. Mrs. Simmons herself says Michaels is the reason she left home on Saturday.”
A crying woman appeared on the screen, apparently Mrs. Simmons. “I’d suspected he was having an affair for some time . And when I found out it was with a student at the college, I confronted him about it. He admitted to being involved with that woman, and I was so angry.” She wiped at her eyes with a tissue. “He was going to break it off. He promised me. But I never thought . . .”
The woman dissolved into sobs, and Tiernan reached over to take the remote and click the television off.
Silence hung in the air, punctuated by Ava’s ragged breaths. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured.
“So.” Tiernan cleared his throat. “You knew him?”
“He . . . he helped me,” she said, still in a daze. “When you . . . when you came after me. He helped protect me.”
“And you . . . ” Tiernan rubbed a hand over his shaved head. “You . . . and he . . . uh . . . ”
“No!” Ava shot to her feet. “No, of course not! I don’t know what’s going on, but I didn’t have an affair with him. And I definitely didn’t kill —” She choked on a sob and sat down heavily on the bed. “Oh God, he’s dead. They think I killed him. What in the world is happening?”
Tiernan stared at her for a long moment. “It looks like someone’s trying to set you up.”
Ava swiped at her eyes. “But who? Why? I don’t understand any of this.”
He stood and paced across the room and back again. “Well, if none of this is true—”
“It’s not!” Her hands clenched into fists. “None of it.”
Tiernan nodded. “If that’s the case, whoever it is would need to manipulate the witnesses—”
“Someone saw me,” Ava said, half to herself as she remembered the
“We’re not working together.”
“What do you call it, then?”
He curled his lip. “Barely perceptible tolerance borne out of distrust and blackmail?”
She snorted. “So sensitive.” Ava took another bite of pizza before asking, “So is this sensor coming here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, how else is he—”
“I said, I don’t know!” Tiernan glowered at her. “We’re just supposed to wait.”
“Wow, is that how you operate?” she asked. “No questions? Just following orders?”
“It’s my duty. You wouldn’t understand.” His tone was the slightest bit mocking, and Ava, of course, took offense.
“I understand duty ,” she said. “I just don’t understand how you can do your job if you’re kept in the dark all the time.”
“They tell me what I need to know.” Tiernan looked out through the window again, effectively shutting down the conversation.
Ava rolled her eyes and flipped the channel on the television, settling on the local news as she finished her pizza. She stared at the screen but let her mind wander, wondering about where Caleb was and what he was doing. She surreptitiously checked her phone again, and footage of a familiar house flashing on the television caught her eye. She reached for the remote to turn up the volume.
“. . . body was found early this morning by his wife, Beth Simmons. She told police she hadn’t seen her husband since Saturday evening, when the two had an argument . . .”
“Oh no,” Ava whispered. “No. It can’t be.”
“What?” Tiernan turned his attention to the television as Officer Simmons’ photograph filled the screen.
“. . . witnesses testify that a young woman visited the victim’s home late Saturday night and was possibly the last to see him alive . . .”
“No. Oh no, no, no . . . ” Ava chanted, her eyes wide and frightened as her own picture appeared.
“Police are calling this woman, Ava Michaels, a person of interest in the case. They stop short of calling her a suspect, but our sources say there is strong evidence linking Michaels to the murder of Officer Simmons. Mrs. Simmons herself says Michaels is the reason she left home on Saturday.”
A crying woman appeared on the screen, apparently Mrs. Simmons. “I’d suspected he was having an affair for some time . And when I found out it was with a student at the college, I confronted him about it. He admitted to being involved with that woman, and I was so angry.” She wiped at her eyes with a tissue. “He was going to break it off. He promised me. But I never thought . . .”
The woman dissolved into sobs, and Tiernan reached over to take the remote and click the television off.
Silence hung in the air, punctuated by Ava’s ragged breaths. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured.
“So.” Tiernan cleared his throat. “You knew him?”
“He . . . he helped me,” she said, still in a daze. “When you . . . when you came after me. He helped protect me.”
“And you . . . ” Tiernan rubbed a hand over his shaved head. “You . . . and he . . . uh . . . ”
“No!” Ava shot to her feet. “No, of course not! I don’t know what’s going on, but I didn’t have an affair with him. And I definitely didn’t kill —” She choked on a sob and sat down heavily on the bed. “Oh God, he’s dead. They think I killed him. What in the world is happening?”
Tiernan stared at her for a long moment. “It looks like someone’s trying to set you up.”
Ava swiped at her eyes. “But who? Why? I don’t understand any of this.”
He stood and paced across the room and back again. “Well, if none of this is true—”
“It’s not!” Her hands clenched into fists. “None of it.”
Tiernan nodded. “If that’s the case, whoever it is would need to manipulate the witnesses—”
“Someone saw me,” Ava said, half to herself as she remembered the
Similar Books
