I stumble over my own feet as I turn to see Richard disappear into the night. Once he does, we break into a run toward the news van parked out front. The van door slides open. Emi jumps in behind me. The cameraman hops into the driver’s seat. The van revs to life, and we take off down the mayor’s driveway back toward the city.

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

I double over in the back of Emi’s van, in a folding chair not even bolted to the floor. Emi’s cameraman weaves in and out of traffic while I try not to collide with the panel of illuminated screens and switches covering the entire left side of the van.

I wrap my arms around my waist. How did this all go so horribly wrong? Ryan’s dead. Richard’s still out there, likely arranging my murder before I get back to my house. I need to preserve everything he confessed. Telling Emi’s not good enough. He’ll kill her too.

I need to call Detective Irving.

Tears stream down my face as I fumble for my bag. “Richard uses the Death Mob to force people into supporting the Lakefront Project. He admitted to it.” My hands don’t work, like they’re swollen. My bag drops. Both phones skid across the van’s metal floor. I’m lunging for them when Emi puts her hand on my knee. She sits in a folding chair behind the passenger’s seat.

“We got it,” she says, her voice low and even. “All of it.”

I lift my head. I’ve misunderstood her. “What are you talking about?”

She picks up the burner phone. “It has a spyware program on it. As long as your phone is on, I hear everything. We recorded what Richard said. All of it.”

I stare at her. My lips suspended. “You recorded it?”

“Every word.” City light pours in through the windshield. Having come from the gala, Emi’s hair is curled and pinned in place so it won’t move. Her lips are dark pink. I notice her black-and-white gown for the first time. It looks more subtle than what I imagined she might wear.

I try recounting what Richard disclosed. I can’t remember his exact wording. “Then we can prosecute. This is what we needed. There has to be someone who will reopen my dad’s case.”

Did he mention the mayor’s role in it? Richard made it sound like he controlled everything, but the mayor must be involved. My excitement builds, but Emi’s eyes go flat.

“What am I missing?” And then it hits me. She wants it for her article. Her own fame. “If you write about this, we’ll all be dead by the time it comes out.”