off, then quickly changed. A pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, her wool peacoat, black running shoes. She had to get the bench at the foot of the bed and climb up on it to reach far in the back of the top shelf of the closet.
When she retrieved the box, it felt light as she sank with it to the floor. She punched in the code and the lid popped open with a snap. Her heart sank. The gun was gone. Maybe half the cash had been removed.
“Goddammit,” she whispered, counting the cash.
There had been five thousand dollars. Now there was less than two. Her money, cash she’d saved over the years from birthday gifts from her parents, work bonuses, anytime there was extra from the monthly budget. It was her security fund. She didn’t even think Graham knew about it. They never touched the gun. Or so she thought.
What if Geneva had taken it? But, no, only Selena and Graham knew the code. He might have told Geneva, or given her the money, the way Erik Tucker had bought her a car. When Detective Crowe had asked her about their finances, she’d been so sure she was in control of that at least.
She pocketed what was left of the cash.
More secrets and hidden things. Her husband a thief as well as a liar, an adulterer, an abuser of woman. Where was the gun? It was hers, registered to her name, had her fingerprints on it. Her heart thudded as she remembered Detective Crowe’s questions, his pointed stare. Did she ever think about hurting Geneva? No, she never did. But who would believe that now?
The room around her seemed to spin. Fear and self-doubt crept up behind her and whispered in her ear. What are you doing? You’re out of your league here. It took her a moment to register the ringing of her phone, which she’d left on the bed.
She rose and walked over to glance at the caller ID. Will.
Her mother probably called him. She hesitated before answering.
“Selena.” His voice was taut with tension. “Where are you? Your mom’s freaking out. She said you took off.”
She was about to answer, but he interrupted her. “Look, it doesn’t matter. The body—police were able to identify it. It’s not Geneva Markson.”
Relief crashed over her like a wave. Thank god—for Geneva, for her family. She nearly wept with gratitude. Graham—whatever he was, he wasn’t that.
“How?” she asked. “I thought you said it could take weeks.”
“There was another missing woman. Her family was able to identify the body by a tattoo on her shoulder.”
Another missing woman.
“Her name was Jacqueline Carson. Do you know her?”
It had a familiar ring, but she couldn’t place it. “No.”
“She worked with Graham. She was the woman who accused him of harassing her, the reason he was fired from his job.”
The news knocked the wind out of her. A crushing fatigue followed, like someone drained all her energy from her. She sank onto the mattress.
“Have you seen Graham?” asked Will.
She struggled for breath, for words. “Isn’t he—still with the police?”
Will blew out a sigh. She could tell that he was driving by the echo of his voice. “They had to let him go, just about an hour before they identified the body. They’re looking for him now. Where are you?”
“I’m home,” she said. “At our house.”
“Just—get out of there, Selena. Go home to your mom. I’ll meet you there.”
Yes, that was right. She had to go home to her mom. Her father and her husband were monsters. She was being stalked by some woman she thought was a stranger on a train, but who was really her sister. She had to go with Will to Detective Crowe and tell him everything. That was the only way out. The truth. Whatever hard consequences might follow. Problems didn’t just go away. You had to face them down and solve them. Every grown-up knew that.
There was a sound from downstairs, the familiar creak from the hallway floorboard. The noise moved through her body like electricity.
“Will,” she whispered into the phone.
But the cell had gone dead in her hand. She hadn’t charged it since—she didn’t even know when. She moved over to the bedside and rifled around in the drawer for her charger. Found it. She plugged it into a wall socket. The red battery icon appeared on the screen. It would take a while to come back to life.
More noise from downstairs, footfalls, something dropping, the squeak of the door