Debbie was still en route, so Izzy would have to do the yeoman’s work of keeping the twins distracted until she arrived. That girl was a true gem. She might not have any nannying experience, but she more than made up for it with qualities that mattered most in childcare—an open heart and common sense.
And common sense told her that David wasn’t going to easily sidestep the consequences of his actions.Innocent until proven guilty, my ass,thought Julia. How was this her friend? How was any of this possible? Julia couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
Erika, Rick, and Lucas showed up, all three looking equally shocked, and for good reason. Five police cars were parked in front of David’s house, all flashing strobe lights.
David braved Rick’s disdain as the two locked eyes.
Rick shook his head, giving his beard a tug with one hand. “It’s just unbelievable,” said Rick.
Julia directed her attention to Lucas. “Yes, it is,” she said in a low tone, passing him a glance.
Erika took notice. “What’s that all about?” she whispered to Julia.
“You and I need to talk later,” Julia said somberly. “And you’re going to need every last bit of your mindfulness training… But first things first. Do you have the shirt for Baker?”
“Yeah, it’s in a plastic bag in my kitchen.”
Julia returned a subtle nod while, from a distance, she watched David study what she presumed was the search warrant. What could he do but step aside and let Baker’s crew in?
They entered his home, carrying boxes and bags for gathering evidence. Julia noticed that they all wore purple latex gloves to preserve the integrity of what was now a possible crime scene.
David marched over to Julia and Erika, his eyes simmering. Baker came up on his heels, anticipating trouble.
“I heard from Deb. Thanks for calling my ex without telling me. You’ve both shown what kind of friends youreallyare.”
Julia stood tall. “I wouldn’t piss off Erika if I were you. She might be the only attorney willing to take your case. And I’m sorry if you think I overstepped my bounds, but the twins don’t need to be here right now. You can argue that point with Debbie if you’d like, but I did what I had to do. I can’t trust you, David. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
David pulled back as though he’d been shoved. “If I’m such a bad guy, Julia, why haven’t I spilled your secrets to Christian? Hmm? I certainly could do that, gladly—especially if I were as detestable as you say.”
Julia burned inside. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours,” David replied, an insincere smile plastered on his face.
Julia could only imagine what Erika was gleaning from this exchange, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to care.
Baker took David aside, distracting him with paperwork. It was all handled professionally, Julia observed. Emotions might have been running hot, but Baker did her part to keep them from boiling over. From what Julia could tell, David was being treated fairly. Baker allowed him to wait out the search inside his home, likely because he was being cooperative. Otherwise, he would have done the same as Julia and watched from a distance.
Thanks to all the windows, it was like looking in on an ant farm—seeing the busy workers going up and down the stairs, searching through drawers, checking all the rooms, and investigating closets and under beds. A part of Julia sympathized with David for this invasion of his privacy, but the bloody clothing under his porch had forced her hand.
Julia heard a ding from inside her pocket and pulled out her phone. Christian. What timing he had.
You probably don’t want to hear from me until I fix some of this mess, but I promise I’m working on it. And I learned more information about that property that’s for sale. Please call me. It’s important.
She silenced her phone and shoved it deep inside her pocket. The last thing she needed was to listen to Christian’s wild pot farm scheme. Julia couldn’t ignore him forever, but she certainly wouldn’t deal with it now.
She turned her attention to the underside of the porch, which had been cordoned off with yellow tape. A CSI team was working the area (yes, Lake Timmeny mustered one). Glibly, Julia thought of an Insta caption.
Lucky us! Netflix is filming a new crime drama right here at the lake! They’ve even cast us in the production. Erika and I are the horrified onlookers, and David is our guilty AF former friend suspected of murder. And in other news, my husband is high as a kite at his new weed farm. #goodtimes #funinthesun #lovethelakelife
Unfortunately, after the police exhausted their search, Debbie still hadn’t shown up. Izzy was doing a good job keeping the kids occupied so they didn’t have to watch the cops cart off boxes of personal belongings containing computers, phones, clothes, and other items of interest.
David followed the detective’s crew out of his house. Julia watched him climb into his blue Mercedes—though not before sending Julia a death stare she fully expected. He rolled down the car window after turning on the engine.
To Baker, he shouted, “Let’s get going, please. I’ve got things to do, and this will be nothing but a waste of my time.”
Julia was confused. Was David going in for questioning? He certainly wasn’t being arrested. Julia had to know. She approached Baker, who was huddled with her colleagues, likely comparing notes on the search.
“Is he going to the police station?” Julia asked.
