“Only God can judge, right?” I said with a wry smile.
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Right, well, let me correct you: I was not casting judgement, and I was not deciding someone’s fate.Ifit was indeed me that killed them, all I did was speed up the appointment God already had scheduled. I hope He’s damned them to eternity in hell.”
“So, you admi—”
“Your five minutes are up,” James said shortly, glaring down at Officer Bradley. I breathed a sigh of relief, recognising that he had just saved me from doing something very stupid.
“I was just leaving,” Officer Bradley said pleasantly, getting to his feet. “Think about what I said, Rachel. You need all the favours you can get right now. Here’s my number. We act… favourably towards those that assist with ongoing investigations.” He placed his card on the table, drumming it with his fingers before he made his way out of Greasy.
“What was that about?” Jenna asked, carrying Bee. She reached out for me, and I scooped her into my arms, cradling her head into my chest.
“Nothing. Same old bullshit. He wanted information on Ben and Macbeth’s disappearances.”
“What did you tell him?” James scowled.
“What do you think I told him?” I hissed back, ready to make a smart remark before I remembered I held Bee in my arms. “Nothing. I told him nothing.”
“Mummy?” Bee said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I’m scared.” she looked at me, her big, beautiful eyes brimming with tears.
“Of what?”
“Everything. Everyone is so angry. My uncle Zach was hurt. Papa was hurt.” I closed my eyes, not wanting her to see the tears of my own. She needed me to be strong right now. As much as I hated what she was going through and how much shehad seen, I had to do my job as her mother and reassure her. I had to make her okay.
“Hey, listen to me. You have nothing to be scared of. Not whilst I’m around, okay? I promise you; I’m going to make it all better. I won’t ever let any harm come to you.” I kissed the top of her head, hugging her even tighter.
My head felt like it was going to explode with everything that had happened recently.
Everything that Officer Bradley said played on an endless loop in my mind; all the things I thought were buried deep—it was like he had a shovel, digging them up, turning over the dirt and exposing every ugly truth.
And the only person who would truly be hurt in all of this was Bee.
The vulnerable, beautiful child who had nothing to do with this mess, but who could get caught in the wreckage if things went sideways.
I had toget her away.
Chapter 53
Rachel
Five hours later, having left Bee sleeping in Beth’s room at The Greasy Spoon, I went with James to go and bail the guys out of prison.
As we stepped into the station, my heart hammered in my chest, the pulse in my throat betraying the calm I tried to display.
I had never trusted the police and had done everything to avoid ever entering a station since that night. Memories of my dad being questioned, of the police throwing accusatory looks at me, came flooding back. They hadn’t believed us then, but my dad was adamant, and the rest was history.
Being here felt like walking into the lion’s den, taunting them with the truth they hadn’t been able to prove.
The uniformed officers cast wary glances at us, their expressions a mixture of exhaustion and suspicion. Not that I was surprised. No one ever trusted a Devil’s Disciple, and James was wearing his prospect patch with nothing but pride.
“Where do we go?” I whispered to James, the tension in my gut tightening.
He gestured with a nod toward the front desk, where a tired-looking officer leaned back in his chair, casually flipping through a stack of papers. “We start there. Just don’t say anything unnecessarily loud or stupid.”
