Page 132 of Denial
“Then why aren’t you in prison beside him?”
He leans across the table, a glint in his eye. His palms flat against the wood disturb the thick layer of dust. “You know why.”
“I don’t.” I shake my head rapidly. I really don’t. I refused to follow the trial after my time on the witness stand.
“You do. You think I don’t know?” Ernest begins circling Jake and me at the table. “That little file you gave them… the one that put all the pieces together? That was you.”
I can’t do anything but shake my head again.
He nods in contradiction. “Yes. Not the ex. Not the cops. You.”
“I didn’t say anything about you! I don’t even know who you are!”
His fist crashes against the table, making me flinch. “Yes. You. Did!” Spittle flies from his mouth. “You wreckedeverything. And now you want to do it again? You want to spill my secrets to this fucking podcast? All it took was them saying your name to get me back into the national spotlight. But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leans closer. “I’m not going back to prison.”
I lift my wrists in front of my chest, trying to push my palms out placatingly. My hands tremble, and I’m not sure if it’s fear or my blood sugar or both. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t answer him.” I flick my gaze to Jake, finding him wide-eyed and pale. “Tell him. Tell him I wouldn’t talk to you!”
Jake’s mouth drops open. The metal legs of his chair screech loudly across the concrete beneath our feet. “Hey, man. Let’s calm down. This isn’t the deal we had. We just wanted a taped confession. Rough her around a little to get it.”
Ernest completes his circle until he’s back on the other side of the table. His fingertips play with a 2x4 piece of lumber leaning against the endcap. “You’re right. That was the original plan. Thanks for your help, Jake.”
“What—”
Jake doesn’t finish his question.
Ernest picks up the piece of lumber and swings it across the back of Jake’s skull with a deafeningthwack. His eyes roll back in his head, and he drops to the ground without the ability tobrace for the fall. His head lands with a sickening crack against the concrete.
“Now it’s me and you having this discussion.”
“No.”
“You ruined my life.”
I blink against blurred vision. “I didn’t.”
“You did. You handed over information, and you were about to do it again.” He flips the 2x4 over in his hand, studying it. “And I can’t let you do that.”
Nausea cramps my stomach. “I wouldn’t.”
He reaches behind his back and sets a handgun onto the table. The sound of Nellie choking on sobs reverberates from the back corner of the room.
“It’s you or her, sweetheart. One way or another, I’ll keep you quiet.”
“Me,” I choke instantly. Oh god. Tears cascade down my cheeks in rivulets. The last time I cried so earnestly was the night in Sutton’s arms. Was that just yesterday? It feels like a million memories ago. A different lifetime that I let him hold me against his strong chest while I sobbed.
I’m sorry, Sunny.
“Do whatever you want to me. Just let her go.”
Ernest showcases yellow, crooked teeth as he smiles. He walks back behind me, leaning down near my ear. “I was hoping you’d say that. I don’t much like children, but you?” I flinch from his fingers reaching for my hair. “I wouldn’t mind giving that a go.”
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. “Fuck you,” I rasp.
38
Sutton
Leeand I enter the door to the holding room, and I stop dead.
