Page 106 of Second Chance

“She had this big duffel coat on. I thought it was weird when she walked in because it’s been so warm, but I didn’t think much of it until…well. She threatened me with the gun, told me I had to come with her. I did, and her boyfriend was waiting outside.”

They didn’t bring any duffel coat with them from the theater. Lily was shivering in her thin clothes every time Tony checked the rearview mirror. He’s only seen one coat like that today, and Sean was wearing it when he left the old theater. If hetook the coat and the gun, trying to hide the evidence to protect Lily, he’ll be in so much more trouble than he already is. Tony wishes he could travel back in time and warn Sean. He shouldn’t have hidden in the bushes. He should have talked to Sean. Hell, he should have said something at Amelia Lawrence’s memorial, and then maybe he could have stopped this.

Unaware of Tony’s turmoil, Daniel continues, “He made me give up my phone. He took us to the Continuum, the—”

“I know,” Taylor says around a mouthful, “the independent movie theater in Germantown. Damn shame it shut down.”

Tony can’t take his eyes off of how the detective eats her food. She carefully places a piece of egg on the corner of her toast before taking a bite and then repeats the process ad nauseam.

Colette looks put out that the detective frequented the same movie theater. “You knew it?”

“I have hobbies. Keep going.”

“They must have planned something, or he wouldn’t have had handcuffs. Actually…” Daniel pats down his pockets and pulls out the handcuffs. “And he had a lock for outside the back door. He gave Lily something, pills, to calm her down and keep her quiet, and he took some himself. They got really intense. I guess they were both high. She waved the gun around and fired it at the wall. There were more pills. I didn’t hear everything they said when he took her to the bathrooms, and they, uh…”

Daniel looks around awkwardly. Tony remembers what he said before, and he guesses Daniel doesn’t want to repeat it in front of so many people. He’s still trying to protect Lily, though it’s the detail most likely to raise everyone’s sympathy for her, which she desperately needs.

Daniel must realize that as well. “I could only hear it, but I’m fairly certain they were having sex. I don’t think she wasn’t ableto consent because of the drugs, and I wasn’t sure about him either. I was worried about them. I used the quick release on the handcuffs and took her phone—she left it out. I only know one number by heart, my friend Paul in the city, so I texted him. He called Tony, and Tony came and found us.”

“Why didn’t you call 911?”

Daniel sighs. “Honestly? Lily was barely coherent all day. After what happened to Andrew Clayfield and to her last year, I didn’t want her to get arrested without some idea of how to get her stable and thinking clearly. I was worried it would do more damage to her.”

“And you didn’t trust us to—”

“No,” Daniel interrupts. “No, I didn’t. Not after last year.” His eyes flick toward Colette, and the detective looks down at her eggs.

“All right, fine. Mr. d’Angelo shows up. What then?”

“The boyfriend left. Tony and I talked. Tony went out to get help. Lily got sick. She was vomiting for about half an hour before Tony got back with his sister and the tools to break open the lock on the door. We convinced Lily to come with us, got out of there, and came here.”

The detective sets her plate on the coffee table. “And why did Lily, the alleged murderess, need convincing to flee the scene of the crime?”

Slowly, Blake raises his hand. “I might be able to help with that one.”

Everyone turns to him.

“Sheesh,” he mutters. “So, from what Lily told me, she has a Xanax prescription to help manage her anxiety. She’s been onit way too long, though, honestly, and she’s overusing, which means her therapist should have—”

“Blake,” Gianna interrupts.

“Right. So, coming back to Lobell has worsened her anxiety, for obvious reasons. The Xanax wasn’t cutting it, and her boyfriend started trading her. Weed at first, over the summer, but weed’s a depressant too. Neither of them was doing great, and they got in a car crash when he was driving after doing both at the same time. They switched to molly.”

There’s the car crash again. Tony debates saying something about what Sean told him at the memorial, but ultimately, Lily’s in enough trouble. What good would it do to tell everyone she was driving? He’s sure Sean will mention it as soon as the tiniest hint of pressure is put on him.

“She didn’t happen to know how he was getting all these drugs?” Taylor asks.

“I didn’t ask. Not my department.”

“What exactly is molly?” Colette asks.

“Uh, a type of MDMA. Like ecstasy,” Blake explains. “It’s an upper. He gave her molly when she was on a downward spiral, to make her happy. But MDMA basically uses up all the serotonin in your body, and when it wore off, she’d crash into depression and need the Xanax again.”

“Christ.” Daniel leans forward. “Will she be okay?”

“She hasn’t been doing this for long. It’s only been, what, a week or two since that car accident? It’s not good, but with proper care and reliable mental health providers, she’ll be all right physically. I’m more worried about the reliance on Xanax right now.”

It’s rare seeing Blake in professional mode. Tony has known him for so long it’s hard to imagine Blake as anyone other than the kid who dyed his bowl-cut hair black in sophomore year of high school and thought it was the height of fashion even though his hair was naturally so black you couldn’t tell the difference. Goofy as he might be, though, his heart is in the right place, and Tony is incredibly thankful to know him.

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