Page 158 of Over Her Dead Body

Not an answer.

Close enough to one.

“So I called someone. Someone who could fix it.”

“I take it you’re not referring to a marriage counselor.”

“Lying to you is not the goal, Emma. I don’t want to make you a part of it.”

“I’m already part of it.”

“No. You’re standing next to it.”

My hand throbs beneath the bandages. “Excellent distinction.”

“It matters.”

“Who is in your grave?”

For once, Reid takes too long.

“I don’t know.”

I stare at him. “You don’t know.”

“No.”

I look away because there are several things I could do with that answer and most of them would get me arrested.

“You could have found a way to tell me you were alive.”

“That would have made you part of it.”

I hold up my bandaged hand. “Great strategy.”

“I was trying to keep you out.”

“For ten years?”

“Yes.”

“You were excellent at it until you materialized at the airport.”

“You weren’t supposed to be there.”

“I could say the same about you. Very successful reunion.”

For a moment, neither of us says anything.

I set the page back on the counter. “What are you going to tell them?”

“What they need to know. And the truth about Lisbon. That I took the painting.”

“Why?”

“Because once you recognized it, people were going to start asking questions.”

Reid nods toward the paperwork. “They’ll know you weren’t involved.”