It probably sounds terrible, but for a moment, I considered making a run for it. After all the bad blood between me and Denise, the last place I wanted to be caught was at her murder scene. But Patrick had seen me come in—nothing would look guiltier than running. Also, there was the small matter of having her blood smeared all over me.

But more than all that, I couldn’t leave her like that. Denise was my idol at one time. She had been trying to help me. I couldn’t let her body lie there all night, rotting on the floor of her office. She deserved better than that.

“Mrs. Adler?”

It’s the voice of a female detective, who told me her name but I promptly forgot it. She’s standing in front of me, holding up a plastic bag containing a shiny, metal object.

“Yes?” I manage.

“Does this object look familiar to you?”

“Not really,” I mumble.

“Could you take a closer look?”

I squint at the blood-soaked object inside the bag. It takes a second for me to make out what it is. It’s a letter opener.

With the name “ABBY” engraved on it.

“That’s mine!” I gasp.

Well, this is looking worse and worse. I’m starting to long for when my only problem was an alleged meth addiction.

The female officer goes back to talk to the others. I don’t like the way they keep looking at me when they talk. And now they’re pointing at me. Great.

Oh my God, what if they arrest me?

The female officer comes back over to me. My heart is pounding in my chest. This is so bad. “Mrs. Adler, we’d like you to come down to the station to answer some questions.”

“Am I under arrest?” I croak.

Long pause. “No, we’d just like to ask you some questions.”

“Should I…” I swallow hard. “Should I get a lawyer?”

“You can if you wish,” she says. “But we’re just going to ask you some questions. We’d like to find out who killed Ms. Holt as quickly as possible, so we’d appreciate your cooperation.”

“Okay,” I say dully. “I’ll go.”

“Is there anyone you’d like for us to call to pick you up at the station?” she asks.

“My husband,” I say.

As I recite Sam’s number, I can’t even imagine what he’s going to say to all this. It was bad enough when it was just drugs. Now there’s a possible murder charge thrown into the mix.

It’s obvious I’ve been set up. If there was any doubt about it in my mind, that letter opener confirmed my fears. Someone wanted me to be set up on murder charges. Someone who was worried Denise knew too much.

And I’m afraid that someone is going to get their wish.

Chapter 30