Chapter 8
Evelyn stopped pretending once Sloane’s name surfaced.
Her lawyer called Detective Collins within an hour.
She wanted a deal.
I wanted to refuse.
Collins reminded me I did not control criminal prosecution.
I hated that.
Then I remembered something.
The law was slower than rage.
But it reached places rage could not.
Evelyn’s interview happened at the station.
I watched from behind one-way glass with the prosecutor, Collins, and a federal agent named Mara Voss.
Evelyn entered wearing jail-issued gray.
No pearls.
No plum suit.
No charity smile.
She sat down like the chair offended her.
Her lawyer whispered to her.
She ignored him.
“I did not want Lily dead,” she said.
No one had asked a question yet.
The prosecutor said, “Start at the beginning.”
Evelyn folded her hands.
“Anna made a mistake leaving Daniel in charge of the trust.”
I felt my body go cold.
There was no grief in her voice when she said my wife’s name.
Only insult.
“Daniel was emotional after Anna died. Weak. He refused to invest properly.”
The prosecutor asked, “Invest with Victor Sloane?”
Evelyn’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Michael owed Sloane money?”
“Everyone knew Michael was useless with money.”
“And you used that.”
“I offered him structure.”
Collins said, “You mean you offered him guardianship if he helped make Daniel look unfit.”
Evelyn looked bored.
“Daniel already looked unfit. I only needed the court to see it.”
“With a peanut dessert?”
Her mouth twitched.
“A reaction would create concern. The injectors were meant to be found missing from Daniel’s possession.”
“Lily could have died.”
Evelyn finally looked annoyed.
“She survived.”
I almost hit the glass.
Mara Voss touched my arm.
“Don’t give her that.”
I stepped back.
The prosecutor placed Anna’s journal entry on the table.
Evelyn’s face changed.
“She wrote about you,” he said.
Evelyn leaned forward.
“What else did she write?”
May you like
That fear told me Anna had known more.
And Evelyn knew it too.
