“Are you going to turn us in?” Matt grabbed his beanie and shoved it back on his head.

“No.” She turned to Joey. “But I’ll take you home if you want me to.”

Joey threw a concerned look at Matt. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is, Joey.”

Kate glanced at Eddie. His eyes were glazed with fatigue. She needed to get him home, too.

“Joey, the police will want to interview you ASAP if they think there is a threat to public safety. Answer them with what you know about Aiden and any potential threat, but I advise you to exercise your right to remain silent about everything else. And ask your parents to find a lawyer for you.”

His eyes had widened at her instructions. Poor kid. It was going to be a long night for him. She saw the fear. But she also saw relief.

He was going home.

And Kate would do everything in her power to make sure that it wasn’t just a temporary visit.

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

2:40 a.m.

In twenty minutes, it will all be over.

Harry half-walked, half-jogged up Inglis Street. The weight that compressed his chest would soon be lifted. Or at least, it would be different. His conscience would forever remind him that he had committed an unforgivable sin: he had taken another person’s life, even if the person in question had rained grief and pain on his family’s head.

His hand loosely gripped the cord in his pocket. It fit the curve of his hand, smooth, cool, pliant. It felt good there. Comforting and comfortable. It would do the job for him.

Would he be haunted by flashbacks of strangling his blackmailer?

If flashbacks were to be his punishment, he would gladly take it. For the threat of what could unfold for him—and for his father if Harry lost his source of income—was unbearable.

He was ready.

He could do this.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He read the text message from his blackmailer, his heart hammering.

What the hell? The police were at the park?

And the blackmailer now wanted to do the exchange at the airport in two hours’ time.

How could he kill him there?

Damn. Damn. Damn.

He would find a taxi. He would go see his father and put out that fire.

And then he would figure out his next move.

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

3:15 a.m.

“Detective Ellis. This is Kate Lange.” Kate gazed through the windshield of her car at Hollis Street. It was after three in the morning, and the bars had shut down. The patio tables and chairs had been chained to the fence posts, patrons sent on their merry way. The street was settling into the deepest part of the night. Taking a breather before the early morning risers began their quest for coffee.