Chapter Seven

Darby had stopped shaking by the time she finished recounting the terrible things that had been done to her in Indonesia. Elliot Byrne’s expression had slowly morphed from cool professional into uncomfortable observer.

The retelling didn’t make her feel any better. The thought of the cops knowing these details and using them against her made her want to hurl. These were her wounds. Her secrets. She wasn’t ashamed of herself but that didn’t mean she wanted everyone to know. She was proud she’d survived, whereas most of the perpetrators were dead. One by her own hand.

She hadn’t missed the way Elliot’s expression had tightened over that detail.

She almost glossed over it, but it was important that he knew she wasn’t simply a hapless victim, she’d had a hand in saving herself. She was sure he’d stopped viewing her quite so kindly now. He’d think she killed Martin for sure.

Silence rang out when she finally stopped talking.

She met his gaze and hated the pity she saw there. He opened his mouth to say something as someone tapped on the door and Detective Torgerson strode into the room.

“Ready to restart our conversation from earlier, Darby?”

Darby peered through the doorway looking for Eban, disappointed when he didn’t follow the detective into the interview room. She glanced at the mirrored glass. He was behind that, watching. She knew it.

Why hadn’t he come to visit her? Couldn’t he face her? That tiny flickering flame of hope that lived inside her chest and flared whenever she imagined some sort of relationship between them started to splutter and die.

Elliot stood and extended his arms above his head. It had been a tiring day and she longed to stretch her legs but was too terrified to move without permission.

Darby wasn’t the only one watching the lawyer move. Even though Detective Torgerson’s gaze was piercingly sharp, there was interest there too.

The detective caught her watching and turned away to switch on the recording equipment in the corner of the room. She calmly stated everyone’s names for the record. That brought Darby’s situation sharply into focus. The only person in the room facing potentially life-changing consequences from this interview was her.

Elliot put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a squeeze of reassurance.

It was a silent message of support, but she wondered if he genuinely believed in her innocence, especially now he knew the whole story. Sure, he’d fight for her, if only to protect his success rate and billable hours, but did he care she might actually be innocent?

The death of her naivety and growing cynicism were products of her recent life experiences. She longed to be the old Darby who saw the world as wide open for adventure and exploration without the inherent danger. Since her kidnap, her world had shrunk to her work studies, her friends, Eban, and her immediate surroundings.