Page 94 of She Didn't See It Coming
Lizzie peeks at Facebook. The group has exploded since news of the arrests. She sees a post from Brittany Clement.
So her husband AND her best friend have been arrested? How did we not see that coming?
Cynthia Rollo
They were in on it together. Wow, that is cold. They must have been sleeping together.
Deep Diver
I wonder how they caught them. Anyone know?
Lizzie doesn’t dare post anything—her mother is watching her out of the corner of her eye. And she doesn’t know anything. She’s curioustoo. Now that she’s over the initial shock about Sam, she wants to know the details.
Now there’s an anonymous post.
I know you’re all focused on the arrests right now, but remember the guy on the same floor? Unlike Deep Diver, I’m not afraid to name him. It’s Henry Kemp, in unit 811. He was arrested but not charged with the forcible confinement and rape of Kayly Medoff two years ago. I happen to know he did it, there just wasn’t any proof.
Deep Diver
How do you know?
63
Alice hears Derek’s cell phone buzz and lifts her head. They’re in the kitchen, making dinner.
“It’s Detective Salter,” Derek says, his voice tight. Then he answers. “Hello?”
“Mr. Gardner, it’s Detective Salter.”
“Put it on speaker,” Alice says.
Derek does as she says. “Yes? What is it?” He’s looking at Alice.
“I wanted to let you know, if you haven’t heard it already, that we have arrested Sam Frost and Paige Mason for the murder of Bryden Frost.”
For a moment, Alice is too surprised to speak. Then she asks, “Who is Paige Mason?” loudly enough that the detective can hear her.
But the detective ignores her question. “I thought you’d both like to know,” the detective continues, “that the witness who told us that Derek was having an affair with Bryden has now admitted it was a total fabrication.”
Aliceispleasantly surprised to hear this. Despite all his denials and protestations, she’d thought for sure her husband had been sleeping with Bryden Frost. She was even half convinced he’d murdered her.
“That’s what I’ve been telling you,” Derek says to the detective, but he’s still looking at his wife as he says it. “I’ve half a mind to sue you for harassment,” Derek says.
The detective replies, “We were doing our jobs—we did absolutely nothing that would amount to harassment. In any event, I wanted to let you know, as a courtesy.” She hangs up.
Alice moves closer to him and says, “I think this calls for champagne!” They always have a bottle of bubbly in the fridge in case there’s cause for celebration, and this certainly counts.
Derek grins at her and takes her in his arms. “Itoldyou I barely knew her. Now do you believe me?”
“Yes.” She wraps her arms around him and kisses him on the mouth. Then she murmurs, “Are you really thinking of suing them? That might not be a good idea.”
“No. Let’s stay away from Detective Salter and the police,” he answers.
As Derek wrestles with the champagne cork, Alice thinks to herself, so that’s that. Danger averted. Detective Salter is going to leave them alone. She’s not going to dig any deeper. Lucky for them. Lucky for the detective.
•••
Paige paces hersmall jail cell in the basement of the police station. It’s an enclosed room, with a small slot in the door. She can’t see anything much. She has been arrested and knows that she will be charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact, and perhaps for obstruction, and that she will probably go to jail, but she hopes itwon’t be for too long, or maybe not at all, because she is going to help them put Sam away for murder. She weeps at the tragedy of it all—she’s lost Bryden, and Sam and Clara.
