I was too scared to take the chance, so I ignored the calls, slipped my phone in my pocket, and took my suitcase and Dusty’s crate out to the car. I turned the car on to warm up and popped the trunk, tossing the suitcase in, then put the crate in the back seat.

Back inside, I walked through the cottage again. I was nervous, my anxiety kicking up, and I felt the need to check burners, make sure I hadn’t left anything important in a drawer. Nostalgia hit, sharp and bitter, deep in my gut.

I was leaving again, just when this place had begun to feel like home.

My phone rang, buzzing in my pocket. The same number. Hands shaking, imagining Davis on the other end of the line, I hit Ignore. I closed my laptop and put it in its case, then unpacked the tote, ran through all the items again, and repacked them. My pulse raced as I did a final once-over. Then I leashed up Dusty and shrugged into my coat.

Outside, I locked the door twice, then tucked the keys into my purse and headed to the car, exhaust spilling from the muffler like a plume of smoke. I shut the trunk and eased Dusty into his crate. He whined, pure anxiety. Me too, I thought. Me too.

‘Going somewhere?’

I startled, banging my head against the frame of the car. Rubbing it, I inched out, turned.

‘You’re not leaving town, are you?’ McKnight asked.

Dusty began to bark, the sound of a man’s voice setting him off. He pawed at his crate furiously.

‘Only for a couple of days.’

‘Where?’

‘To see a friend … in Brooklyn,’ I said, spitballing.

He crossed his arms. ‘I called you three times.’

‘I didn’t recognize the number,’ I said. ‘I thought it might have been my ex.’

‘I’d hoped to catch you at the memorial, but you left before I got the chance.’

I could only shrug.

McKnight tilted his head to the side, like Dusty did, as if trying to read me. ‘I was hoping you could come down to the station. Any way you could push your trip back?’

‘I really don’t think I can.’ I swallowed thickly, a lump already forming in my throat.

He squinted. ‘We really need to talk to you today.’

‘So I have to come?’ I asked. ‘I have to drop everything for this? Are you going to arrest me or something if I don’t?’

Again, McKnight cocked his head to the side. ‘Is there a reason I should arrest you, Miss King?’

Fuck.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘I think it’ll be better for both of us if you follow me down to the station. Fleeing to Brooklyn wouldn’t look very good for you right about now.’