Nate looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I pressed a shaky hand to the bed and dropped the baggie back into the briefcase. How had Nate found out the combination?

“We don’t know what that is.” I tried to explain my panic. “It could be anthrax, for all we know!”

“What the hell is going on, Emma?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d known all along there would be a time when I’d have to lie directly to Nate. Now that time had come.

I’d been very careful to let Ben do the bulk of the work, in order to keep my hands clean. And if he ever tried to point at me, well, his history with drugs was incriminating. Nate already knew I’d turned Ben in for drugs before. It would look an awful lot like revenge if Ben tried to blame me without any proof.

“It’s Ben’s.”

Nate stared at me, speechless.

“I told you I met up with him today, but it wasn’t the first time. A few weeks ago, he asked me to hold this.”

“Just out of the blue?”

“Yes. I mean, with Ben it’s always out of the blue. He pops in and out of my life. I’m just happy he isn’t dead somewhere.”

“You didn’t think to ask what was in it?”

“Of course I did! He said it was paperwork to get custody of his son. That he and his girlfriend were splitting up. He didn’t want her to find out.” I swallowed hard and glanced at the briefcase. Baggies filled with white powder. Stacks of cash. At least a dozen prescription bottles filled with pills. The cell phone. And there, peeking up from under the baggies of powder, were the prescriptions I’d signed.

“How’d you open it?” I had to keep Nate’s attention on me. “Ben didn’t give me the combination.”

“The combination was on the refrigerator of the murder victim I’m investigating.”

“Santiago Martinez?”

He nodded.

My brain spun slowly over this information. Nate’s murder victim was linked to Violeta; Violeta was linked to Ben. “You think Ben was involved?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but snapped it shut.

“That’s impossible,” I said. “Ben’s been in rehab.”

“Did he say that?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll check if that’s true. We’ll dust for fingerprints as well.” Nate rubbed an angry hand through his hair. “Shit, Emma. Do you have any idea how bad this looks? My wife was covering for her brother who has a briefcase of drugs and may be connected to a murder investigation. I could get taken off this case, and then what happens to paying for Josh’s treatments? Have you thought about that?”