“Skylar told me the same thing. She believes Jason. Do you?”

“Yes.” I look at him. “It wasn’t Mr. Boyce after all.”

“We never thought it was. We just wanted to ask him a few questions about what happened the day Ms. Sullivan disappeared. If he saw or heard anything, that sort of thing. You know, like they say on those crime shows you love so much.”

I’m crying again, and my poison ivy is itching so bad I want to claw the skin off my leg.

Detective Klein leans back in the chair and studies me. “Just what do you think would have happened if Paul had caught you spying on his trailer? You must know what a dangerous man he is.”

“If he’s so dangerous, why isn’t he in jail? Why is he out in the woods selling drugs and stripping cars and killing people?”

I’m still crying, so most of what I say comes out in gulps. The poison ivy is driving me crazy. I’ve said stuff I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been itching so bad.

Detective Klein hands me a tissue and I blow my nose and wipe my eyes, but tears are still dribbling down my cheeks.

He hands me another tissue. “As soon as Skylar told me what Jason said, I sent a team to the trailer to bring Paul in. He’s been a suspect from the start. We found Carter there, badly beaten. He’s in the hospital being treated for severe dog bites and fractures.”

He pauses, steely-eyed again. “So do you have any idea where Jason is?”

I bite my lip hard. “Are you going to arrest him?”

“For what? As far as I know, he hasn’t committed a crime. I want to talk to him about what he saw. If he’s really an eyewitness, we need him to testify when we bring Paul to trial.”

“He’s hiding,” I say, keeping my eyes away from Detective Klein’s stare. “He’s really scared Paul will kill him. And he’s got a bad cut on his leg that will probably get infected unless he has a tetanus shot.”

“If you know where Jason’s hiding,” Detective Klein says, “you need to tell me. We’ll make sure he gets a tetanus shot.”

“Paul’s really in jail? Not out on bond—or whatever you call it?”

“Don’t worry about Paul. We have enough on him to keep him a long time.”

“Jason’s in the shed in our backyard.” I fall back against the sofa and try to breathe normally. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath since Detective Klein arrived.

He turns to Officer Delaney. “Go get him, but be easy on him. He’s just a kid, after all.”