Chapter 2 #2
“Fine, Dad,” she called back, surprised by how normal her voice sounded. “Be right there.”
She pushed herself to her feet, her legs steadier now.
She didn’t bother glancing at herself in the mirror as she rinsed her hands under the faucet.
The cool water was refreshing against her skin, and she splashed some on her face without caring that it further ruined the makeup she’d applied earlier in hopes of staving off her father’s concern.
Where she was going, appearances wouldn’t matter.
She hadn’t shot someone in the line of duty. She couldn’t technically claim self-defense, either. She’d made a calculated decision to protect someone she loved, and the law called that murder. She had no argument against the label.
She dried her hands and face on the small towel hanging next to the sink, her movements becoming more purposeful with each passing second.
The breakdown was over, and the time for tears had passed.
Now came acceptance, and whatever justice the system decided was appropriate.
But first, she needed to confess her sins to her family.
As she emerged from the bathroom, the soft murmur of voices from the front of the house caught her attention.
She recognized Shane’s tone immediately, and her chest tightened until she could barely breathe.
The unexpected intrusion on what should have been her final quiet hours of freedom sent what little coffee she’d managed to drink surging against the back of her throat.
She swallowed the acidic bile and quickly crossed through the kitchen.
Her father stood rigidly by the open front door, his shoulders squared in a protective stance she recognized from childhood confrontations.
This wouldn’t end well unless she stepped in and let Shane walk back on their deal.
It wasn’t like he owed her, and she never should have asked him to make an exception on her behalf.
“...told you, Detective Levick, my daughter is not prepared to speak with you right now,” George said, his voice carrying the measured authority that had intimidated witnesses and charmed juries for decades. “If you’re here to make an arrest, then—”
“Dad,” Kinsley murmured as she rested a placating hand on his arm.
Through the gap between her father’s body and the doorframe, she caught sight of Shane on the porch.
His dark hair was disheveled, and the smudges beneath his eyes suggested that he hadn’t slept since their confrontation, either.
“It’s okay. There was a chance this would happen. I’m going to need you to—”
Her words trailed off as confusion clouded her thoughts. Shane was alone. No other detective or officer stood by his side, which was regulation when making an arrest like this.
“We need to talk,” Shane demanded, his voice tight with controlled emotion. “Now.”
George stepped more firmly between them, his back straightening to its full height.
“As both her father and her attorney, I insist on being present for any conversation. You promised her time, Detective. You agreed to let Kinsley turn herself in this evening at—”
“I’m not here to make an arrest,” Shane replied, his jaw clenched. The corded muscles twitched, a telltale sign of restrained temper that Kinsley had come to recognize during their months together before that fateful night. “Kinsley?”
She applied gentle pressure to her father’s arm, prodding him back from the doorway.
“It’s okay, Dad,” Kinsley said quietly. “Please. Give me a moment to speak with Shane in private. I give you my word that I’ll be mindful of what I say.”
“You should have counsel present,” George murmured as he turned toward her. “You know that.”
“Please, Dad.” Kinsley attempted to give him a reassuring smile, but the gesture failed. “Give us a minute.”
George shook his head in what she knew was both disappointment and fear that one of his daughters was about to serve a life sentence.
He dragged a hand over his face and turned away.
She waited for him to clear the doorway before reaching for the doorknob and all but forcing Shane to step back onto the porch.
Something had changed since last night.
Something significant.
Shane was not the type of man to break his word. He was a man of integrity, trust, and loyalty, the kind of person who would rather endure personal hardship than let down those who depended on him. He also didn’t take kindly to betrayal.
She pulled the front door partially closed behind her, leaving it open just enough that her father could intervene if necessary. She didn’t doubt that he would listen in as much as he could, given the circumstances.
Shane crossed the porch to stand near the top step, though he didn’t immediately turn to face her.
The air was thick with the warmth of July, and the sun hung high in a cloudless sky.
The scent of freshly cut grass drifted across the yard, and the welcoming fragrance was a sharp, green reminder of how fragile freedom could be when threatened.
She wrapped her arms around herself and scanned the street. No flash of blue and red. Not a single patrol car in sight. Just her, Shane, and the looming weight of what she faced in the next few moments.
“What are you playing at, Kin?” Shane finally demanded before slowly turning to meet her gaze. “I kept my end of the deal. I called Captain Thompson last night and explained that I had received a tip about a body in Terrapin Lake from an anonymous source. I didn’t mention your name, as we agreed.”
“Then why are you—”
“The divers met me out there at first light.” Shane paused, studying her with an expression she couldn’t name. “I’ll ask you again, Kin. What kind of game are you playing?”
“Shane, I don’t understand what—”
“There was no car, Kinsley. No car. No body.”
She took an involuntary step backward, her heel hitting the doorjamb. She struggled to process Shane’s words, but her mind couldn’t grasp their meaning.
No car?
No body?
“That’s not possible, Shane,” Kinsley murmured, shaking her head. “Are the divers still out there? You need to have them—”
“Three times,” Shane told her, his anger dialed down a notch and replaced by skepticism.
“I had them triple check, because for the life of me, I can’t understand why you would lie about something like that.
Then again, I’m still having trouble accepting that you would kill a man in cold blood, too. ”
He took a step closer and lowered his voice.
“Listen to me very carefully, Kinsley. You told me last night that you shot Calvin Gantz. You confessed to murder. I believed you, and I still do. But there is no car or body in that lake.”
She pressed her fingertips against her temples, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. If Gantz’s body wasn’t in the lake, then where was he? Had Noah moved the body without telling her? Why would he, and how could he have possibly managed it alone?
“I don’t—” Kinsley broke off, struggling to find words that wouldn’t implicate her brother while still conveying her genuine confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense, Shane. I’m not playing games. I told you the truth.”
He studied her intently, searching for any sign of deception. After a long moment, he slowly nodded his acceptance, though he couldn’t erase the disdain from his gaze.
“What happens now?” Kinsley asked in confusion, her voice barely audible over the sound of the wind chimes hanging at the end of the porch.
“Without a body, without evidence, all I’ve got is your confession.
And a detective claiming another detective confessed to murder without proof isn’t going to go far, is it?
Especially when those detectives were once involved with one another.
” Shane turned his head and stared at what seemed to be anything other than her.
After a moment, he lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and didn’t speak again until he dropped his arm to his side.
“I’ve already informed Captain Thompson that the tip didn’t pan out.
It seems as if, for the moment, you’re free to live your life. I hope you enjoy it, Kin.”
“That’s it?” Kinsley advanced toward him before he could leave. “Shane, you come here and tell me that the body—”
She broke off her words when she realized how loud her voice had gotten. She tried not to take offense when he stepped back from her.
“That the car containing Gantz’s body isn’t at the bottom of Terrapin Lake, and you’re what? Okay with that?” Kinsley was running on hardly any sleep, but even she could comprehend the substantial issue at hand. “Shane, a body is missing, and I didn’t move it.”
She rested a hand on her stomach as the realization settled that the stress of the last twenty-one months was nothing compared to what the future might hold.
She was certain that Noah wouldn’t have done anything without her knowledge, but she couldn’t say the same for the individual who had been sending her notes every single month on the anniversary of Gantz’s death.
She had initially suspected a journalist by the name of Beck Serra as the so-called blackmailer, but she’d discarded that theory when no demands were ever made.
What if she’d been wrong?
What advantage would there be in moving the body?
“I’ve had all day to think about this, and you know what conclusion I came up with?
I want nothing to do with you or this situation.
” Shane lifted his hands to indicate he was done.
He turned and descended the porch steps, but when he reached the sidewalk, he stopped and faced her once more.
“No body. No crime. And I refuse to be some laughingstock of the department, accusing you of a crime that I can’t prove.
I’d come across as a jilted lover, wouldn’t I?
So, this is what is going to happen. I give you my word that your secret stays with me, but the bottom line is that you have to live with what you did, Kin.
I’m calling it. You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. It’s as simple as that.”
Kinsley parted her lips to call out to him, but she couldn’t get her voice to work. She’d spent the past eighteen hours fearing a life in prison, and she needed a minute to adjust to the opposite.
She closed the distance to the top step and slowly sank down, hugging her knees despite the warmth of the sun as she watched Shane get into his truck. He pulled away without once glancing back at her, and the truth of it settled over her like something cold and final.
She was still the same person. The same one he’d slept with, spent time with, and was on the verge of falling in love with.
A woman who would go to any length to protect her family and who still believed in justice, even though she’d just skirted a life sentence.
But Shane would forever view her through a different lens now, one tinted by betrayal and disgust, and no amount of pleading or explanation could alter that perception.
Every moment they had shared was tainted, overshadowed by her actions and her decisions.
She would always be the woman who had crossed a line.
But it appeared that someone else had gone even further. Someone had pulled Gantz’s car, along with his body, out of Terrapin Lake, which meant that someone else now had evidence of her crime.