30. One Loose String

30

One Loose String

Violet

I've never been inside a police station, so the moment I step inside, my palms are clammy and my heart is racing.

I expect the officers to lead me into a room with a mirror on one wall and a table in the center. Instead, I'm ushered to an oversized office that is more intimidating than any interrogation room.

At first, it's a relief until I spot the nameplate on the desk.

Captain Evans —Kole's stepfather.

When they said they were taking me down to the station to ask me a few questions, I knew it was possible I'd face someone from Kole's family, but not like this. Not in a one-on-one interrogation with the police captain.

Kole didn't have the chance to say anything to me before the officers led me away, and I wish I felt better prepared. If I knew this is where I'd end up, I could have asked him how much his family knows.

Although, if he told them anything, I think he'd probably already be in a jail cell.

I take a seat in the chair that faces the captain's oversized desk. It's warm in the station, but nothing heats the chill running the length of my spine.

Looking around, the office space is devoid of personal touches. Not one family photo. Not one decoration that hints at who he is as a person.

It reminds me a little of Kole's bedroom at Sigma House. Unassuming. A mystery.

"Violet Morrow."

My attention snaps to the man entering the room. His narrowed gaze locks on me as he makes his way over to his desk and drops into the chair. He rests his elbows on the desk, offering me the full force of his attention. And nothing about his posture is relaxed.

If I thought Kole was hard to read, his stepfather might be where he gets it from. His dark eyes barrel into me, and his jaw is clenched as he looks me over. His dark hair is buzzed short, revealing every sharp edge of his features. And when my attention moves to where he's grazing his thumb over his knuckles, I spot deep scars that make me wonder where he got them.

Kole said his stepfather was the one who taught him how to hunt, and if I had to guess, that's not the only thing he learned from this man.

"Violet?"

My attention snaps back to his face. "That's me. "

I hate that my voice goes up in pitch with my nerves. That I clutch my bag in my lap and give myself away so easily.

Captain Evans is all but glaring the longer he stares. It's almost like he's annoyed with me when we've never met. He's the one who called me in to meet with him, but he's scowling like my presence is irritating him.

After watching me for what feels like minutes, he finally leans back, clenching his hands in his lap and tapping one thumb against the back of his other.

"Violet Morrow," he repeats my name, still not taking his eyes off me. "Nineteen. Born and raised in Sacramento. Barely scraping by until you got your scholarship to Briar and moved to Bristal. Only child of Catherine Morrow, nurse at St. Paul's Medical Center. And up until a few weeks ago, dating the subject of our investigation, Liam Westwood. Correct?"

My mouth dries, and I'm not sure why he's listing facts about me instead of asking me questions. But when he doesn't break his hard stare, I nod in response.

"Good." Captain Evans leans forward once more, planting his elbows on the desk as he stares me down. "Then I only have one question for you. Does Kole know?"

My eyebrows pinch. "Does Kole know what?"

"You've got a bright future, Violet. And from what your professors have said, you're a smart girl." He taps the desk at the pace of the clock ticking on the wall. "You're also the last person Liam was in contact with before he disappeared. "

He pauses, staring me down, and I can't tell if he's asking a question or trying to trick me into throwing myself under the bus.

For all he knows, Liam texted Braxton after I was with him that night. So I wasn't the last person Liam spoke to.

I don't flinch.

I don't move.

I don't offer him an ounce of suspicion.

Kole said his stepfather was the one who taught him to hunt. If that's true, he's perceptive. Any hint of fear, and I'll lose ground.

After a long moment of silence, Captain Evans sits back once more. "No comment?"

"I don't know who Liam did or didn't contact after I last saw him. So, no. No comment."

Captain Evans hums. "You're awfully cozy with my stepson right after your boyfriend disappeared."

"Ex-boyfriend."

He smirks. "You sure about that? You told Braxton it was just a fight, not a breakup."

"It was . But then he never came back." I sit up taller. "If he wanted a relationship, he should have stayed in town. Or at least, in contact."

Captain Evans nods. "You still moved on fast."

I shrug because he's right. There's no point trying to explain myself when I don't have solid reasoning.

Once more, the clock hammers with every second that passes. Each one shaves off another shred of my patience.

"Violet, it's just you and me in this room." Captain Evans wraps his hands around his armrests. "No cameras. No interrogation. No one making a report. I brought you here to have a conversation. Just me and you."

He might mean it to comfort me, but it doesn't.

"I can protect you, but to do that, I need to know the truth. Does Kole know what really happened to Liam?"

"Kole?" His name is a whisper as it occurs to me what Captain Evans is really after.

He nods. "Does he know?"

His stare bores into mine as I swallow at the lump in my throat. While I thought he brought me in here because he suspects I'm guilty, the picture is now clear. He isn't after me at all. He thinks Kole did something, and he wants me to tell him what that is.

It's why he's watching me so closely, reading every truth. Every lie. It doesn't matter what I say or don't, he strikes me as someone who reads between the lines.

There's only one thing I can do to get out of this—answer his questions honestly.

"Yes."

Captain Evans leans forward now, crossing his arms in front of him on the desk. "Tell me what happened, Violet."

I fidget my fingers in my lap, tugging at a thread that's coming loose on the sleeve of my sweater. "We were heading to the Petersons' cabin for a party."

"Who was?"

"Liam and I."

Captain Evans nods, still not picking up his pen. Not so much as glancing away as he blinks back at me. "And then? "

"Kole needed a ride, so we picked him up." I press my lips together. My heart is racing, and it's so loud between my temples it feels like I can't hear anything over it. "But then Liam and Kole got into an argument."

"What were they arguing about?"

"Me. I think." It's the truth, even if it's not as simple as that. "Liam and I were fighting, and Kole didn't like how he spoke to me. So they got out of the car to talk about it."

"How did that end?" Captain Evans laces his fingers together—a gavel of judgment ready to be handed down.

"Not well." I drop my gaze to my lap where the string hanging from my sleeve is wrapped around one finger.

The thread gets longer the more I pull. The problem with one loose string is that's all it takes sometimes to make everything come apart.

"What do you mean, not well ? Elaborate."

My gaze snaps back up to Captain Evans. To his dark eyes that won't break their hold on me. And I could tell him the truth right now. Kole slit Liam's throat. He'd believe me. It's what he's looking for. I sense it.

For whatever reason, he wants me to turn on his stepson.

But it hits me in this moment. I don't want to.

That rolls around in my head as I let out a breath. "Liam left."

"He left?" For the first time since Captain Evans walked in the room, his expression cracks, and a wrinkle pulls between his eyebrows.

"Yes, he left." I nod, not blinking as I stare back at him .

Captain Evans searches my face for the lie, but he won't find it when I told him the truth. Or, at least, a variation of it. Liam did leave.

Albeit permanently.

"That's the last time you saw Liam?" Captain Evans asks, the hint of confusion still on his face.

I nod.

"He left you on the side of the road?"

Every question is a land mine, and I could step on it instead of covering up for Kole, but the need to protect him is overwhelming.

"Yes. Kole took me home."

Captain Evans stares at me, thinking for a long moment as the clock on the wall ticks. At least it's no longer hammering as I steady my breath.

"All right." He nods. "Thank you for your time. You can go."

"Why didn't you just ask Kole?"

He's halfway to standing, and I should let it go. But I can't help my curiosity. With all the things Kole knows about me, being in a room with his stepfather makes me realize how little I know about him.

"I already did." Captain Evans stands, brushing his hands over his sleeves as he looks down at me. "It was nice to meet you, Violet."

He nods in punctuation to our conversation, and I hurry out the door before he can change his mind and stop me.

Part of me expects I'll be tackled as I try to leave the station, but the officers don't so much as glance my way.

I walk slowly. I pretend nothing's wrong. I don't let them see that I just lied for someone who has killed multiple people.

And all the while, what Captain Evans said about talking to Kole first rattles around. If he asked Kole, what did Kole say?

I'm headed to my car when my phone starts to ring, and when I glance at the screen, my stomach twists in knots.

"Hi, Mom."

"Violet, I just heard. Are you okay?" She's out of breath.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your boyfriend is missing. Why didn't you call me?"

Of all the things that crossed my mind when the police opened this case, I didn't consider my mom catching wind of it all the way in Sacramento.

"I didn't want you to worry because I'm fine. And he's no longer my boyfriend anyway."

"You broke up?"

"Yes." Mostly.

She sighs, and I can picture her sitting with her palm pressed to her forehead like she does when she's stressed.

Her dark hair turns grayer each year, and this won't help.

"Still—"

"Don't worry." I cut her off before she spirals. "I need to focus on my classes anyway. It was for the best."

"Okay." Mom sighs. "If you say so. But please stay safe, sweetie. "

"You know I will."

She hums, and I'm uneasy about the fact that she still doubts me when it's been years since I've given her a reason to worry.

Luckily, she changes the subject. "Have you heard about the summer program yet?"

"Next week."

"You'll get it," she says with certainty that I wish I felt.

"I hope so."

"I know so."

"But even if—"

"We'll figure it out." This time, she's the one to cut me off. "You just worry about getting in. I'm picking up extra shifts so we can cover the trip."

She's already done enough.

She raised me and supported me when half the time, she could barely make rent. And even now, she's running on fumes trying to find a way to satisfy my every dream.

"Violet, let me do this."

Her tone is already defeated, and I can't bring myself to make it worse. "All right. Thanks, Mom."

Something muffled comes through a speaker in the background; she must be on shift at the hospital. "I have to go. But call me when you find out."

"You know I will. Love you."

"Love you too."

I hang up, and a weight settles in my gut. I've been so distracted with Kole lately that everything else has been slipping. I've barely called my mom, I missed a shift at work over the weekend, and I spent half the time I needed to on my essay today, even though it's part of my semester final.

Still, when the familiar ping rings out from my hand, I'm instantly lighter—borderline euphoric—when I glance down at my phone screen.

Saint : You did good, kitten.

I'm not sure how he could know that, but his praise soothes me more than I'd like.

Violet : You didn't say you'd already spoken to your stepdad. What if I told a different story?

Saint : You wouldn't have.

Violet : How do you know?

Saint : I know you. That's how. You won't do anything to break us, Violet.

Break us … I can barely breathe because of us. But he's right. I won't.

I don't know what kind of person that makes me.

Violet : What now?

Saint : You'll see.