Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“Worried about what?”
“About what might have happened to . . . I thought there was a chance it was someone I knew.” He wanted to cringe. This all sounded so bad. When he said it out loud, it made him seem strange and . . . guilty.
The detective was studying him. “You’ve got a crush on Camille Cortlandt, huh? Had it for years?”
“What?” The word sounded as parched as he felt.
The detective smiled, but there was no warmth in it. Who had told this man he had a crush on Cami? He’d told no one. Was it that obvious? He wanted to sink into the floor again. And he had the strange urge to cry when he didn’t think he’d cried since he was a kid. “She’s a beautiful girl. I can’t blame you.”
His mom hit the table with her palm, the slap causing both him and the detective to jump slightly. “I think we’re done here,” she said. “Unless you’re going to arrest my son, this interview is over.”
The detective’s lips thinned, eyes sliding back to Rex. “Would you be willing to take a DNA test?”
DNA would absolve him of this. If they did in fact have DNA, it wouldn’t match his. “Of course.”
“Rexy,” his mom said. “You don’t have to give them nothin’ unless they’ve got a warrant. I watch Law & Order. I know how things work.”
He let go of her hand. “It’s okay, Mom. I want to put this to rest. I want to give my DNA.”
“Great.” The detective stood. “I’ll send someone in to do the swab. It only takes a minute.” He gave them a phony smile. “Thank you again for your time. I’ll be in touch.”
He left the room, and his mom stood and paced for a second. “These bastards. They’re only doing this because of where we live and who we are. I oughta sue the pants off them. Harassment. That’s what it is. I need a smoke. Are you okay in here for a few?”
He ran a hand through his hair, and it flopped back onto his forehead. “Yeah, sure, Mom. I’m fine.”
She hesitated, her brow dipping. “It’s going to be okay. Everything’ll be fine.”
He nodded and then she turned, leaving him alone in the cold room. He stood, needing to pace the way she just had, his emotions all over the place.
Mostly, he couldn’t believe this was happening. It felt surreal. He wanted to scream from the rooftops: I did not do this! I would never do something so evil. How could any of you think I would? I’ve lived here all my life. You know me!
But they didn’t. No one knew him. No one had ever really tried.
Rex’s head came up, and he halted when he heard a voice coming from somewhere just down the hallway. It sounded familiar. He knew it well. He’d been hanging on her every word for years. Cami? She was here?
Rex rushed to the door that was open just a crack and stood on the other side of it. The voices were coming from a short distance away, the acoustics making them echo enough that he could hear them from where he stood, even if only barely. He opened the door just a little bit more and leaned his head forward as much as he dared.
He heard a man’s voice, catching snippets. “Name AJ . . . black hair . . . didn’t see his face. Could it . . . Rex Lowe. Alexander . . .”
He held his breath as he waited for her answer to what was an obvious question. And when it came, it devastated him. Her voice was low, emotionless. “Yeah, I guess . . . it could have been him. Rex Lowe.”
Chapter Eleven
Cami brought forth a small smile as she pulled the door open. She’d tried so hard to look like her old self, the girl Hollis had fallen in love with, the one who’d left his pool party four months before, not knowing she was about to walk into hell. She couldn’t actually remember being that girl, but she at least remembered what she looked like.
She’d curled her hair and applied makeup, shading and highlighting and adding a blush to her cheeks. She’d shined her lips and spritzed on her signature perfume that brought back that day so strongly and abruptly that she’d practically collapsed on her bed, doubling over as though she’d received a gut punch. She’d used baby wipes to remove it as best she could and then tossed the bottle in the trash.
Hollis returned her smile as he stepped inside, taking her in his arms and hugging her briefly. The quick embrace was too much and not enough. She both craved affection, desperately, yet wanted to scream when anyone touched her. But she took comfort in the fact that he wanted to touch her at all—today anyway. Everything is going to be fine. “Hey, babe. You look great.” He glanced around. “All moved in?”