The man who had introduced himself as Detective Staver crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the kitchen table. Sadie, sitting at the table, had to crane her neck to see his long face staring down at her.
“You want to tell us what's going on here?” he asked.
Standing a few feet back, the one who looked like a younger version of Sadie's father around the eyes, tucked his hands into his pockets and sighed through his nose. Along with the two detectives, a pair of uniformed officers hung close by. One of them had come in with the detectives through the front door when they had heard the shouting in the back yard. The second came in through the back door a little later. His face was still pink around the cheeks, but he'd since steadied his huffing breath.
“Honestly, Detective,” she said, trying to keep the quiver from her voice, “I'm not sure.”
“Let's break it down then.” He unfolded his arms and hooked a thumb on his belt, right next to the badge clipped there. “What is your relation to Mr. Trent?”
“I'm . . . we're involved.”
“Sexually?”
“Romantically.”
The second detective nodded in Sadie's direction. “You the one he called over the night his daughter was found?”
“That's right.”
Staver sucked his teeth as if thinking hard on what this meant. “When you answered the door, you said something about house sitting.”
She looked away in an attempt to hide the color she felt rising in her face. No matter which direction she turned, she faced one of the four policemen stationed around her.
“That was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
She had started feeding them the story Ethan had given her when she first opened the door, but the shouting had interrupted her before she got too far. Now it looked exactly like what it was, a lie. And she'd been caught in the telling.
“Ethan . . . he asked me to tell you he wasn't home.”
“He asked you to lie to us.”
“That's right.”
Her straight-forward admission seemed to catch Staver off guard. He spent a moment sucking his teeth again.
The other detective stepped in smoothly. “Did he tell you why?”
“He thought you had come to arrest Graham. He was only trying to protect his son.”
Staver frowned. “That's what lawyers are for.”
“I tried to talk him out of it . . .” She stopped herself, knowing it would only sound like an excuse, true or not.
“I'm sure you did,” Staver said. “Then you turned around and decided obstructing justice was the better choice.”
“He's been through hell, Detective. His daughter was murdered, now you suspect his son.”
“I'm not unsympathetic. You want me to see things from Mr. Trent's side. Fine. Now see things from mine.” He pulled a chair out and sat at the table with her. “We have a witness that places Graham with his sister the night of her murder, the same night Mr. Trent discovered Graham had snuck out of his bedroom. During our interview we also noticed scratches on Graham's neck. Finally, DNA found under Alison's fingernails during the autopsy match a sample we took from Graham.”
Ethan hadn't mentioned Graham giving any DNA samples.
“Where did you get Graham's DNA?”
Staver smiled, proud of himself. “Saliva from the can of soda we gave him during the interview.”
“There has to be some mistake.”
“That's what trials are for.”
Sadie covered her face with her hands. She felt feverish. What if Graham had done it? A sickening thought, but with the evidence Staver presented, no longer the impossibility she'd imagined. Part of her was glad Ethan had run. This business about the DNA would have devastated him.
The second detective stepped forward. “You want to make things right, you can tell us where he's headed.”
Sadie dropped her hands from her face. “I don't know. I'm not sure he knew.”
Staver asked, “No idea at all?”
“No,” she said. “I wish I did.”
Staver scooted his chair back and stood. “The only reason I'm not taking you in is because I suspect he'll try to contact you.” He drew a business card from his shirt pocket and dropped it on the kitchen table. “Call me when he does.”
She stared at the card without picking it up.
The other detective came to her side and crouched by her chair so he was at her level. “It's best Ethan bring Graham in without us having to chase after him. Running away will only make things worse for both of them.”
Sadie licked her lips. “I don't think Ethan believes it can get much worse.”
“You and I know that isn't true.”
“I can't make Ethan do anything.”
“But if he calls, try to talk some sense into him.”
“Then call us,” Staver added.