I pulled Shay closer against me, needing every point of contact possible. “I’ve had a P.I. on Michael. So far, everything’s been on the up and up. But this might change things. I can put you in touch with him.”

Parker pulled out his phone and began tapping out notes. “That would be great. And I’m going to have to question Michael—"

“No!” Shay cut in. “If it’s not him, if this is someone else, he’ll know where I am.”

I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “She’s right. You can’t expose her.”

Parker stared down at his phone. “I’ve got a friend in Seattle PD. I’ll call in a favor. Have him do the questioning, and I’ll go along in plain clothes. We’ll start with getting an alibi. If he has one, we can drop it there. If he doesn’t, then we may have to bring him in. It’ll be tougher to keep him in the dark then.”

“Please try.” Shay’s voice shook as she spoke, and I had the sudden urge to deck Parker.

“I’ll do everything I can to help keep you safe.”

I just hoped it was enough.

39

Shay

I collapsed onto the couch in the living room, Brody following close behind me. I didn’t think I’d ever been so tired in my life. Drained in every way imaginable. The sheriff’s department had been here all day. But Parker had left immediately after our conversation, returning hours later with the news that my brother had an alibi for all three of the murders. He’d been playing a video game where you were on camera for two of them and was on his employer’s security camera for the other.

The entire day had been trying, to say the least. And the conversations with Parker had stirred up memories that I wanted to keep buried deep. I kept waiting for relief to set in at the knowledge that my brother wasn’t involved in this, but it never came. I was just as on edge as I had been this morning. Maybe simply because I knew my hiding spot might not stay hidden for much longer.

Parker was a good man, an empathetic one. Someone who’d moved into his career because he truly wanted to help people and keep them safe. He’d said that he would do everything he could to keep my name out of the reports, leaving me anonymous for now. But when and if this case went to court, my days of anonymity would be over. There was no way around it.