I can’t hire a private detective just yet. I have to put up the half mil for Adam’s bail, and I can’t use the firm’s resources to hire a detective. It’s too big of an expense, and it’ll get flagged. I’m sure Eleanor would put up the money, but I don’t even want to give her that small victory. She’s already involved herself too much and she’s going to end up compromising the case. I’ll just have to handle it myself.

28. Adam Morgan

28

Adam Morgan

Sheriff Stevens escorts me from the car into the lake house. He’s explaining how much room I have outside, which is about twenty yards from the house in all directions. My mom pulls up and parks her Cadillac rental. She was sure to follow closely behind the entire time, running red lights and only pausing at stop signs as if she were involved in a high-speed pursuit.

“This is quaint,” Mom says looking at the lake house.

“Let’s get you fitted for an ankle bracelet, and I’ll get the transmitter set up inside,” Sheriff Stevens says.

I lead the way. The sheriff sets up a black box and then tells me to have a seat on the sofa. He walks over and kneels beside me. Pushing up my pant leg, he fastens the bracelet around my ankle. Mom glances around the house and then at me. She frowns at the ankle bracelet.

“Do you have any wine, Adam?” she asks.

“Yeah, Mom. There’s some in the kitchen.” She makes herself at home, pouring herself a large glass of red wine and rummaging in the cupboards. She goes into the fridge and pulls out sausage and cheese and begins slicing them up.

“Now, it is waterproof. Showering with it ain’t a problem. If you remove it, we’ll know. If you leave the premises, we’ll know. You got yourself a nice place here, so just settle in.”

“All right,” I say pushing my pant leg back down. He stands up and takes a couple of steps into the living room, glancing around. “Is there anything else I should know?” I ask.

“Nope. That’s it—did Kelly ever talk about the other guy she was seeing?”

“I didn’t even know there was another guy.”

He makes a hmmph sound and walks to the built-in bookshelf. He reads the spines and randomly pulls out one here and there. I look into the kitchen and watch my mom fill her wine glass a second time.

“You never got the sense there was someone else?” he asks.

“No.”

“She never slipped up and mentioned another man’s name or anything like that?”

“No, like I said, I didn’t know she was seeing someone else.” There’s an edge of annoyance in my voice.