“What happened?” Gayle asked.

“She attacked me with a knife. Unlike her first crime, that was premeditated. What could have been a ten-year sentence ended up being life. I know it was hard. But being honest could cut years off your sentence.”

“I don’t even care about that. I just want Milton to suffer,” she seethed.

“You may feel differently in a few months,” Jessie said. In the distance, she thought she could hear the sirens she’d been dreading. Now she found the sound reassuring.

“What are you doing, Milton?” Gayle shouted suddenly.

Jessie spun around on the couch to see Milton Jerebko stomping into the room with a golf club in his hands. He was holding it like a bat.

“You think you can ruin me?” he yelled, his eyes wide and frenzied. “I’m going to end you!”

Jessie popped up, blocking his path to his wife, who screamed loudly.

“You don’t want to do this, Milton,” Jessie said forcefully, putting her hands up like a human stop sign. “You’ve been a jerk. But you haven’t committed a crime yet. If you put the club down, we can still come back from this. But if you don’t drop it now, I can’t help you.”

“You don’t give a crap about me,” he spat. “All you care about is solving your case. You’re like any other hunter who loves the chase. You stalked your prey. Now that you’ve bagged it, you don’t care about the consequences. You don’t care about the lives that will be destroyed.”

Somewhere in the dark recesses of Jessie’s mind, his words struck a chord. But she set them aside. Now wasn’t the time for personal introspection.

“You’re life hasn’t been destroyed yet, Milton,” she reminded him. “I know it seems that way. But you can come back from this. It will take time but it can be done. But not if you keep gripping that weapon. You hear those sirens getting louder? What do you think is going to happen when the police burst through the door and see you like that? They’re going to shoot you, Milton. Your kids’ mother is already going to prison. That’s hard enough. Do you want them to have to visit their father in a hole in the ground? For once in your life, think of someone other than yourself. Do the right thing for them. Drop the goddamn club.”

The sirens were right outside now. Jessie felt confident that if Jerebko made an aggressive move, she could incapacitate him. He looked strong for his age but he didn’t carry himself like someone who was used to being in this kind of situation.

Still, her concern that this go south was real. Murph had almost certainly told the West Hollywood PD that her safety was paramount. If they saw a golf-club-wielding man feet from her, they could easily shoot first and ask questions later.

Milton Jerebko looked genuinely lost. His eyes seemed uncertain but his fingers still gripped the club tightly.