“I can’t.” I turned on my stomach, pressed my face into my pillow to shut out the conversation.

“Felicity, I’m not asking you to do anything. I’m going to turn myself in. I already made sure you’re okay financially before I do so. I was thinking about doing it tomorrow. Get it over with.”

Flipping over, I peeled my face off the pillowcase, sticky with salty tears, and looked up at him.

“No. Absolutely not. And you know why.”

“Honey, I will take responsibility for everything. Nothing will fall on you. I’ll do the jail time. I’ll do whatever I need to in order to protect you. But we can’t hide it anymore, Felicity. We’re out of options. It’s the only chance to bring Vera home…if she’s still out there.”

The question of what if she wasn’t still out there? had been growing more each day. What if the detective was wrong and Vera was the body they’d found—and Oliver went to jail for nothing? I couldn’t lose them both. There was no way I’d survive that kind of news without him.

“Not yet,” I begged. “Not until we know for sure who they found in the river. Please.”

“It’s not Vera. Detective Montgomery already pretty much confirmed it.”

“Why do you have to rush into a confession? Can’t we think about it first?”

“For how much longer, Felicity? We’re out of time.”

A flash of light passed over his face, a headlight as someone crested the hill that led up our driveway.

“Are you expecting someone?” Oliver asked.

I bolted upright. “No. Not at this hour,” I said, flinging on my robe.

Bounding downstairs, I tripped on the runner, slid across the hardwood, knocked my hipbone against the banister, and smacked the door’s edge with my forehead in my haste to see whose unfamiliar car had crawled up my driveway, now idling near the llama-shaped bush.

I flicked on the floodlights.

“Hey!”

Never announce your presence when you’re trying to sneak up on someone. The lesson didn’t hit me until a hoodie dashed across the driveway.

“Stop! Please!” I scream-begged.

My legs pumped faster than they’d ever moved before. I fancied myself an Olympian in the 100m hurdles, vaulting over those topiaries like I had wings on my feet, closing the gap on the fleeing intruder until I was close enough to tackle him and rip off the hood in a stunning aha moment.