“What is it?” I yelled.

“It’s me.” Terrence’s voice. Terrence whom I no longer trusted.

“What do you want, Terrence?”

He opened the door. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for—”

Two uniformed NYPD officers followed Terrance into the room. “Lacey Ward Wolfe?”

Lacey’s face went pale. “Yes?”

“You’re under arrest for the murder of Derek Wolfe.” One of the officers entered and grabbed Lacey out of her chair.

Rock stood. “Hands off my wife, asshole.”

Lacey’s eyes were wide with fear. “Rock, please… You’ll just get yourself in trouble.”

The officer cuffed Lacey’s hands behind her back.

“Come on,” I said. “You’re really going to parade her out of here in cuffs? The wife of our CEO?”

“I’m only following orders, sir,” the blue said.

“You have the right to remain silent,” the other officer began. “Anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”

“She’ll have the best fucking attorney,” Rock said. “What is the basis for this arrest?”

“Detective Morgan has determined probable cause and the DA agrees,” the blue who cuffed Lacey offered. “That’s all we know.”

I glared at Terrence.

I didn’t know for sure if he had anything to do with this, but somehow my father had gotten into my office to make that phone call to Rock.

“I’m going with her,” Rock said. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t rest until you’re cleared.”

“I’m innocent,” Lacey said softly.

“We know,” I said. “We’ll prove it.”

Even as I said the words, though, I knew how difficult proving her innocence would be. Dad had put this whole thing in motion, but somewhere along the way, his plan had been derailed.

His original plan must have been to fake his death to implicate Rock and me. Riley would be implicated simply because of her past with Dad, and Roy because he had seen Dad’s hunting antics with his own eyes. Derek had all of us.

Whoever got wind of it and had him killed for real had found it easiest to implicate Lacey.

The tape of her entering and leaving her place the night of the murder had disappeared. Items of hers were found in strange places.

And she was Rock’s wife now, so Rock was still being punished.

Someone had thought this out very well.

Someone with a brilliant criminal mind.

Someone who was able to outsmart Derek Wolfe.

I looked around the room as the cops led Lacey out and Rock followed.

The guilty party was not here. Call it instinct, but I was sure of it.

No. Our mastermind was out there, and he was still calculating.

Which meant, even though a suspect was in custody, none of us were safe.

49

Zee