CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

C HAPTER T WENTY -F IVE

Chloe and the kids were downstairs watching TV when she heard a key rattling in the door. She remained seated on the couch. The kids had fallen asleep, one on each side of her.

Becky entered, shut the door, and slid the dead bolt in place. When she saw Chloe on the couch, she said, “You’re watching Housewives Go to Miami ?”

“Close. The Real Housewives of Miami . It’s pretty entertaining.” Chloe didn’t care what Becky thought about her choice of television viewing.

“No wonder they fell asleep,” Becky said.

They had drifted off during a rerun of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , but she felt no obligation to clarify. “Where’s Holly?”

Becky put a finger over her lips, letting Chloe know she didn’t want the kids to overhear. When Chloe joined her in the kitchen and grabbed a chair, Becky took a seat at the table across from her. Dark circles framed her eyes.

She said, “We were escorted into a room at the police station, along with our attorney, Jared Katz. The detectives didn’t waste any time before they started asking questions. Was Holly ever involved in any criminal activities, did she have driving violations, yada, yada, yada. The questions went on for a while. And then they turned to me.”

Chloe lifted an eyebrow.

“They wanted to know if there were things I kept from Holly.”

Chloe didn’t move a muscle.

“I scoffed, told them this wasn’t about me. They disagreed, of course, and proceeded to ask me about my job and if I worked remotely. Then they asked me where I was yesterday between noon and five p.m.”

Their eyes locked. Neither one of them blinked.

“You know, don’t you?” Becky asked.

Chloe nodded.

Becky dropped her head, her chin hitting her chest. “It was awful ... the expression on Holly’s face as she told them they were mistaken.” She lifted her head. “And then they brought out the pictures.” Her brow creased. “I never meant for Holly to find out. Certainly not at a police station, in front of a lawyer and two detectives.” Becky’s gaze wandered before her attention shifted back to Chloe. “I was going to break it off, I swear.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. I’m sorry, Chloe. I’m a horrible person.”

Chloe didn’t argue with her. “Wesley and I talked before I came here,” she said. “You’re not the first, and you probably won’t be the last. I kicked him out of the house, and I won’t be taking him back.”

“Don’t you want to know why or what happened?”

“No,” Chloe said. “I don’t care. He’s all yours.” And that was the God’s honest truth. She felt relieved and free.

Becky didn’t respond to Chloe telling her he was all hers, but she didn’t look all that interested in keeping Wesley for herself.

“Poor Holly,” Becky said, and Chloe did agree with that. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Chloe sighed. “I’m not interested in hearing about you and Wesley.”

“It’s not about that. It’s about Holly.”

Chloe waited for her to go on.

“After the detectives were done, another officer entered the room and whispered into the detective’s ear. Detective Seicinski stood right up, staring at Holly the whole time. She unhooked her cuffs from her belt and said, ‘I’ve just learned your fingerprints matched the ones found on the murder weapon. You’re under arrest.’”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “Holly is in jail?”

Becky nodded.

“Why were her fingerprints on the murder weapon?”

“I don’t know,” Becky said. “They didn’t let me talk to her before they escorted her away.”

“Holly told us she went inside Rosella’s house but that she left after Rosella failed to answer when she called out. She lied to us.”

Becky broke down into sobs, her arms folded on the table with her head on top. Chloe wanted to go to her, but she didn’t know what to say, so she stood and walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind her.