Page 146 of Only Fate

Essie shakes her head. “Absolutely not.”

Jenna’s mouth falls open. “But?—”

“There’s too much conflict of interest, Jenna. And honestly, there’s no way I could work with you or attempt to protect you. You killed someone I cared about and ruined my life. If you tellthe police everything, they’ll work with you. They’ll either find you a public defender or you can ask the officers to give you a list of attorneys.”

I leave the room to call the sheriff’s department, asking them to come to Essie’s office.

“What the hell is going on?” River asks, stopping his conversation with Lainey and walking over to me.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” I run a hand over my forehead.

This changes everything.

Essie has new demons in her nightmares.

All I want to do is hold her in my arms and make her feel better.

The police don’t handcuff Jenna while leading her from Essie’s office to the squad car, most likely not wanting to make a scene.

Nosy people are already standing along the sidewalk.

I follow the officer to the station, and River drives Essie home in her car.

Even though I’d prefer not to spend another moment with Jenna, I don’t want her to change her story when she speaks to the detective.

On the drive, I call my mother, telling her everything.

She’s speechless for a moment, taking every detail in. “She saved us a lot of work. You know, this isn’t uncommon for us. Sometimes when news hits that we’re reopening a case, the guilty party comes forward. I don’t know if it’s from guilt or they want to be caught on their own terms.”

“What happens with Earl now?” I ask, swerving into a parking spot.

“I’ll handle that. How’s Essie?”

“I think she’s still processing everything.”

She sighs. “I’m sorry. I’ll send one of my attorneys to the station, and we’ll work with Jenna. Go be with Essie.”

“I’ll leave the station when your attorney gets here.” It might seem like I’m doing too much, but I don’t want Jenna to lie.

She, along with her piece-of-shit friends, will go down for this.

The police don’t question why I’m here, most likely assuming I’m Jenna’s attorney. I don’t bother correcting them.

Jenna keeps her head down while reciting the same story she told us in Essie’s office. When she’s finished, the sheriff sends out a warrant for the arrest of her accomplices.

All of them need to face the consequences of their actions.

And I need to be there for Essie every step of the way.

46

Ipace my crowded living room.

Adrian is at the precinct with Jenna and hasn’t returned any of my texts.

I want to know what she tells them and their responses. She kept her secret for years. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to change her story.

Why she came to me for help will forever confuse me.

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