“But the book she was attacked about—”

“Someone took exception to the work-for-hire book—someone always does take exception—and Sutton rightly defended herself. It spun out of control, but that wasn’t her fault.”

“Sutton made one comment, then ducked back into her hole, and said nothing more about it?”

“Yes. Absolutely. The second she saw where things were headed, she disengaged. Everything that happened after was on the reviewer and that jerk blogger.”

“I have to show you something, Mrs. Jones.” Holly grabbed her cell and opened the video.

“This is Sutton Montclair, in a stalking incident at the reviewer’s house.”

Ellen watched the video impassively. When it was over, she shook her head. “I hate to break it to you, but that’s not Sutton.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll grant you, the hair and clothes look right, but whoever that is, it’s not Sutton. A—Sutton’s no dummy. She’d never stalk a reviewer. B—Sutton is much taller than this person. Thinner, too.”

“The plates on the car match a rental car reservation from south Nashville in Sutton’s name.”

Ellen didn’t blink. “Then someone’s playing a very cruel joke on you, Officer. Because trust me, that is not Sutton Montclair.”

I Hear You're Missing a Wife

I HEAR YOU’RE MISSING A WIFE

At 6:00 p.m. Ethan’s mobile rang, jarring him from his writing trance. He glanced at the caller ID, and his stomach flipped. Bloody hell. Colin Wilde, the so-called reporter who’d driven Sutton quite literally mad after Dashiell’s death. How the hell had he gotten Ethan’s new number? They’d changed everything, for Sutton’s protection as well as to shake that stupid reviewer who made their lives such hell. Idiotic Sutton, letting her emotions get the better of her. It had landed her in the loony bin, and she’d never really forgiven him. She had no idea the trouble and cash it had cost him to get her an involuntary commitment instead of going to jail.

Ethan hadn’t given Officer Graham the whole story. She didn’t need to know every detail, especially when none of it would help bring Sutton back.

When Dashiell died, Wilde had pursued Sutton relentlessly, wanting to do stories, wanting to interview them, sending emails, leaving messages on their voice mail, asking if they planned to have a replacement child. The asshole had used that term exactly, replacement child.

When they hadn’t responded, Wilde had finally disappeared. But then the online campaign against Sutton began, and Wilde resurfaced, doggedly calling nightly until Sutton finally cracked.

Ethan had to take the man seriously. He knew this as surely as he knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west. With luck, Wilde was just trying to get inside the story, to gain his precious scoop. Then again, he’d screwed them before. What would stop him from doing it again?