Page 42 of Hell Hath No Fury

Emma moved from the bed to kneel in front of her sister. “Let Eric and me help you. Let us get you back in rehab. Then the future will be wide open. You and I, we can face it together. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, I’ll go with you.”

“Matthias won’t like that.”

Emma hesitated. Swallowed hard. “I’ll never again let a man come between us. Including Matthias.” The words cut into Emma’s soul, but she meant them. As much as she loved Matthias, Nell needed her. And Emma had failed her too many times in the past.

Nell inhaled deeply and blew it out. “Let’s not go down that road. But yeah, rehab might be what I need right now.”

Emma’s heart swelled. “Good.”

Nell stood. “At the moment, what I really need is a shower. Then more coffee.”

“Fair enough. I’ll meet you in the kitchen when you’re done.”

* * *

As Matthias drove, he placed a call to Fergusson, who agreed to meet at an address in downtown Washington, Pennsylvania. Matthias programmed his GPS app while suspecting he was about to make a deal with the devil.

He found a parking spot on the street near the county courthouse less than a block away from his destination, which Matthias quickly realized was the Pub on Main—the location of Eric and Jones’s confrontation.

Fergusson and a younger Black man in a suit stood outside the entrance, scowling as Matthias approached. Fergusson waved a thumb between the two of them. “Trooper Kobe Lukan, Erie Detective Matthias Honeywell.”

They shook hands. “Fergusson told me you’d be joining us,” Lukan said.

“Yeah,” Fergusson grumbled. “Even though there’s no way I should allow this.”

Matthias opted against pointing out all he’d requested was a meeting to talk about the case. Hell, if Fergusson was giving him access to the actual investigation, he wasn’t going to argue. “I won’t open my mouth,” Matthias said, “except to drink coffee.”

Fergusson continued to glare. “You do know I’d send any other out-of-town cop packing. Especially one with the personal connections to the suspect that you have.” His frown turned into a smirk. “But I trust you’ll shut up and just listen. Maybe you’ll even pick up something Lukan or I miss.” Fergusson leaned closer to Matthias and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I assume you’ve learned your lesson about becomingpersonallyinvolved.”

Matthias had been right. He was definitely making a deal with the devil. Rather than tell the trooper where to go and what to do once he got there, he simply met Fergusson’s gaze, certain the trooper could read Matthias’s thoughts.

“Excuse us.” Three businessmen stood on the sidewalk, waiting.

Fergusson stepped aside to let them enter the establishment.

Matthias took the opportunity to regain his composure. “What have you come up with in the way of suspects?”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I really like Eric Baker for this. That’s why we’re here. I want to talk to anyone who witnessed his altercation with the victim.”

“He was in Ohio at the time of Jones’s murder.”

“Once he hands me proof of that, I’ll take him off my list. Until then, he stays at the top.”

“He stayed at the Pine Gables Inn. I spoke with the front desk, but they wouldn’t give me any information without a warrant. You might have better luck.”

Fergusson motioned to Lukan who tapped a note into his phone.

“Who else do you have?” Matthias asked. “Besides Baker?”

Fergusson began ticking off names on his fingers. “The wife, obviously. Then there’s Patrick Winslow, the foreman. Your girlfriend, Emma Anderson?—”

Matthias leaned forward and started to protest.

Fergusson flashed a palm. “You asked the question. If you don’t want to know my answer, you should head back to Erie right now.”

“Emma was with me.”

Fergusson didn’t blink. “You might be on my list, too. You alibi her. She alibis you. Besides, she would’ve needed help burying the body.”