Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sunday morning, I slept until eight, awakening once more to the sound of my phone buzzing on the nightstand. I grabbed it. "Hello?"
"I hope I didn't wake you," Colton said.
"No, it's fine." I cleared my throat and sat up, seeing Morgan waking up in the bed next to me. "What's going on?"
"I'm meeting with Sloane at eleven, but I wanted to catch you up on a few things before then.
Mr. Delano had surgery and is recovering in the hospital.
He has already requested a lawyer. Even without his input, we have a solid financial trail linking him to his associate, Steven Williams. Steven is cooperating, using his knowledge to work his way into some kind of plea deal. "
"I hope he won't get away without doing time. He killed Detective Cabot, and he tried to kill me and Morgan."
"Trust me, he will not get away with those crimes. But we also want to take down Garrett."
"What about Professor Hale?"
"After I told him that he was no longer a person of interest in Vincent's murder or the fire at your building, he opened up.
He said that Cabot told him he knew about his affair with Paige, but that he believed Paige's death was an accident.
Hale asked Cabot to keep the affair out of the investigation since it would do nothing besides tarnish his reputation.
Hale swore that he never asked Vincent to compromise his investigation.
But I'm not entirely sure I believe him. "
"Why did he go to see Cabot the day he was killed?"
"He wanted to know if you'd been there to talk to him, if the affair was going to come out. Vincent told him that he couldn't promise it wouldn't be exposed, that he'd have to work with me, and I was probably going to dig into everyone's life. Which I was going to do."
"I know you were."
"I suggested that he talk to his wife and family because I couldn't stop you or any of Paige's other friends from saying what they'd seen and what they'd heard in regard to his relationship with Paige or any other students.
He told me that he'd never crossed a line with anyone but Paige, and that was a mistake, that he never meant for things to go that far. "
"Just an innocent man," I said dryly. "I don't believe that for a second."
"I don't, either. But that's his story. Even though I believe I know what happened now, I want to hear Sloane's version of events, and I also want to re-interview some of the key people in this incident. That includes Nate Gardiner, Carrie Dunsmuir, and your ex."
"That makes sense."
"Have you spoken to Liam?"
"No. Besides Morgan and my other partner, Cassidy, I haven't spoken to anyone. What do you think will happen to Sloane?"
"That depends on her story and the rest of our investigation, but I suspect there will be no evidence to prove that she pushed Paige into the lake and killed her.
Without any hard evidence, the conclusion will most likely be an accident.
The fact that she didn't jump into the cold waters of Lake Michigan after midnight to save her friend will not send her to jail. "
"Even if Sloane had managed to pull her out, she might not have survived."
"Sloane might not have survived, either.
I don't know how good a swimmer Sloane was, but that could have been a hard rescue, especially since Paige was unconscious.
The original report from the medical examiner said the cause of death was blunt force trauma.
There were also signs of drowning, but it's probably her collision with the rocks that killed her.
" He paused. "Sloane should have called 911 when Paige fell in the water, and she should have told Cabot what happened.
She obstructed the investigation. My feeling is that if there are charges, they'll be minimal.
But that's not my call. How would you feel about Sloane going free? "
"I'm okay with it. I think it happened exactly the way she said.
The conversation she related to me sounded like the kind of conversation she would have had with Paige.
You'll have to decide for yourself, but I don't believe Sloane pushed Paige into the water.
And like you said, she might not have been able to save her, even if she tried.
So, I'm not against her going free if she comes clean and tells the truth.
I don't think she needs to go to jail for Paige's death, and unless you can prove she knew what her husband was doing, I don't think she should pay for that, either. "
"She did bring him into all this," Colton pointed out. "Garrett did everything to save her. If she had told the truth nine years ago, none of this would have happened."
"That's true. She does have some blame. I just don't want to see her daughter grow up without her mother."
"Well, your opinion means a lot to me, because you were there, and you knew them both."
"I think Sloane and Paige really loved each other, and if Paige hadn't been out of her mind, nothing bad would have happened. But Sloane will always have to live with the consequences of that night. That's her jail sentence."
He nodded. "Good point. So, when's the next podcast?"
"Tonight. We want to film from the lake path at the spot where Paige's body was found. We don't need to get into specifics, especially about Garrett and his associate. We'll just focus on Paige and Sloane and what happened that night. Are you okay with that?"
"I am. Mind if I join you, just to keep an eye on you, make sure you're both safe?"
"I wouldn't mind that at all."
"Maybe I can buy you that drink after. And, Morgan, of course," he added somewhat belatedly.
"That sounds good. I'll text you later on when exactly we'll be getting there."
"That's a lot of smiling," Morgan commented as I set down the phone. "How's Colton?"
"He's good. And don't give me that look. He lives here. I live in New York."
"You haven't left yet."
"He wants to be there on the lakefront path tonight while we film to ensure we're okay."
"I wouldn't mind that. I haven't been super excited to go back there, as you know."
"But it's the backdrop we need to bring the story to a close."
"It is. I got bits and pieces from your side of the conversation, but it doesn't sound like Sloane is going to jail."
"I don't think so, but he still needs to get her statement. I'm sorry, Morgan. I should have put the call on speaker. I was half asleep when I answered it."
"It's fine. I'm sure Colton will do everything he can to put Garrett and his employee behind bars for as long as possible."
"He won't stop until that happens," I assured her.
Morgan nodded. "So, Paige's death was an accident. We did all this only to reach the same conclusion as Detective Cabot."
"It's not the same. He didn't try to find out what happened; he just made a lucky guess. But he still cut the investigation short to protect his friend. He didn't deserve to lose his life, but he wasn't innocent either."
"You're right."
"And irony or not, I'm happy that Paige's story will finally be heard."
"Do you think she'd be happy?" Morgan challenged. "To tell Paige's truth, you're going to have to show the dark side of her life. Are you willing to do that to someone who can't defend herself?"
I thought about that. "I haven't decided exactly what I want to say, but I definitely want to show how quickly someone's life can unravel when fear takes over and bad decisions follow."
"That's a good line."
"I'll work on the rest of it. I'm not going to go out of my way to shade Paige in one direction or another; I'm going to lay out her story and let it speak for itself. But now, I need to get dressed and talk to a few people before we wrap this up."
"A few people or Liam?" she challenged.
"Liam," I admitted. "I want one last honest conversation. And then I need to give my aunt her car and say goodbye. When I get back, we can write the script for the podcast. Sorry to leave you on your own again."
"It's fine. You need to tie up the loose ends, so when we leave, you won't still be looking back."
"I never looked back before. Maybe I should have."
Morgan smiled. "Or maybe moving forward was the best decision you ever made."
Liam's club was closed when I arrived a little before eleven on Sunday morning, so I went around the side and rang the bell on the side door. A moment later, he buzzed me up. He was waiting in the doorway, barefoot, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, his hair tangled and wavy, his eyes a little sleepy.
"Tessa," he said, running a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here? Has something happened?"
"A lot actually. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" It suddenly occurred to me that he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed after a late Saturday night. Maybe he wasn't alone. But I'd come this far, I had to keep going.
"Haven't we said all there is to say?" he asked with a sigh.
"Maybe you have, but I haven't. Can I come in?"
"Why not?" He stepped back and waved me inside, and I was happy to see there was no sign of another woman. Not that he didn't have every right to have someone over; it just made it slightly less awkward.
"What do you want to say, Tessa?"
"Paige's death was an accident."
He stared back at me in surprise. "It was? How do you know that?"
"Because I found the person who was with her that night."
"I thought she was alone."
"She was alone for some of the night, wandering around town, trying to find someone to talk to, someone like you.
She stood outside your apartment for a while, looking down at her phone, then up at your open window.
She was probably wondering why you weren't answering her texts when she could see you were home alone. "
"She was watching my window?" he asked, genuine shock running through his eyes. "How do you know that?"
"Sloane went to your apartment building, looking for Paige. She saw her standing in the shadows looking up at your window. Before she could talk to her, Paige took off running. Sloane ran after her. She was worried about her. She caught up to her on the lake path."