TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,14
can do this, Amy. I’m here for you.”
Her eyes teared up again, but she sat down in the armchair I had put in the room for her. I handed her Owen, and she opened her bra. Owen cried a little more but then latched on and started to eat.
“There you go,” I said. “He’s eating.”
Amy moaned. She was obviously uncomfortable. “I think I’m doing it wrong.”
“No, you’re fine. Just relax, sweetie.”
Amy groaned, and Owen let go of the breast again, then cried even louder than before.
“See? It happens every time.” She got up and put Owen back in his crib. “I’m not doing it right. I’m not good enough.”
Being put back made Owen scream even louder, and Amy held her hands to her ears. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand this anymore!”
She screamed, then stormed out of the room. I yelled her name when my phone rang. It was Scott. I had tried to get ahold of him all afternoon, so I had to pick it up. But I couldn’t just leave the baby like this.
I grabbed the crying Owen in my arms, then rocked him back and forth while walking out of the room, phone clutched between my shoulder and my ear.
“Scott?”
Chapter 15
Owen was crying helplessly, but I managed to get him to take the pacifier, and soon he calmed down slightly while remaining in my arms. I just prayed that Angel wouldn’t wake up as well.
“You called?” Scott asked. He sounded slightly out of breath, and I wondered if he had been running.
“Yes, we need to talk,” I said.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I spoke with the detective on Sarah’s case today, and they let me take a look at the case file.”
Scott went quiet for a second. Owen closed his eyes, and I kept rocking him until he dozed off.
“But that’s a good thing, right?” he asked.
“Depends on how you look at it,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe you tell me, Scott,” I said while looking down at the small creature sleeping in my arms. How something so cute and little could cause so much havoc was a mystery to me. “Maybe you should come over so that we can talk properly.”
Ten minutes later, he was in my living room. His cheeks were blushing.
“I don’t understand,” he said, sounding defensive. “You’re suddenly looking at me like I’m the criminal here.”
“The police seem to think you are. Why do they assume you hurt Sarah?” I asked. “They looked at you immediately, as soon as she went missing, and haven’t had their eyes on anyone else. Why is that?”
He went quiet. “I…I…”
“You haven’t been completely honest with me, Scott, and you have to if you want my help.”
A pause followed before he said: “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, good. Tell me what happened. And don’t leave anything out this time, please. You were arrested four months ago?”
Scott scoffed. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t look good for you.”
“It is true. You have to believe me,” he said, sounding agitated now. “I didn’t hurt her. I would never…”
“Yet Sarah ended up in the hospital with a broken ankle and several bruises on her back. And she told the EMTs that you pushed her down the stairs, Scott.”
I could feel the anger rising in me, yet I tried to keep it down.
“It was an accident. She even admitted it later on.”
“Yes, the report said she pulled back her testimony the next day while still in the hospital. Then she suddenly said that she had slipped and fallen. But it’s a little hard to believe, Scott. Can you see that?”
He groaned. “Of course, I can see that. But it’s the truth. We were in a fight, yes. And she did say that she would leave me, and it made me very angry. I did grab her arm, but not hard. She pulled away, and that’s when she slipped and fell down the stairs. She was mad at me, and she told the first responders when they arrived that we had been in a fight and that I had grabbed her arm and that she fell down the stairs. She never said I pushed her. They just assumed that’s what happened. That’s how she explained it to me. Then, once the police came to take her statement after she had been through surgery on her broken ankle, she was able to tell them the truth—that the EMTs had misunderstood her. I am telling you, Eva Rae. I never meant to hurt her. I