Free Arresting Developments by Lena Diaz

to help prove your innocence it will still be admissible in court. Because nothing has been touched. The police seal on the door is proof of that.”
    She stared at the tape and official notice with renewed interest. “You really think there’s a chance they can explain Granddaddy’s death some other way?”
    “The current theory is that you killed him by putting peanut oil in his tonic. Did you do that?”
    “Not on purpose, no.”
    “Do you even remember having any peanut oil anywhere?”
    “Well, no, but the coroner said it would have taken only a small amount. What if I had some peanut butter left on my hands from lunch or something and when I fixed his tonic I accidentally got some in the glass?”
    “Did you have a peanut butter sandwich that day?”
    “It was a long time ago.”
    “According to the police report, when you were interviewed the morning your grandfather was found, you said you had a turkey sandwich for lunch. Your memory would have been a lot more fresh back then. So I think it’s safe to say you did not have peanut butter on your hands. Plus, you knew he was allergic, so you wouldn’t have taken chances if you had. You would have washed your hands.”
    She pushed his hands off her shoulders and faced him with her hands on her hips. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But I racked my brain after Granddaddy died. I stepped through everything I’d done that day, over and over, trying to figure out how peanut oil could have ended up in his tonic. I couldn’t figure out any way for it to happen. Do I wish I could point the finger at someone else and say they were here and they’re the ones to put that in his drink? Of course I do. I wish I could say I saw someone outside, or heard a door slam, or saw someone running away. But I can’t. Because I didn’t see anything like that. It was raining, much like it is now. No one would have come all the way out here in that kind of weather, even if they did want to hurt Granddaddy.”
    “Why are you so determined to take the fall for this when you obviously didn’t do it?”
    “Because it’s my fault.” She clenched her fists beside her. “He was a sick old man with just a few months to live and all I had to do was take care of him for a little while. He trusted me, relied on me, and I let him down.”
    “Wait, what do you mean he only had a few months to live?”
    “He had bone cancer, and it had spread all over his body. There was nothing else the doctors could do for him.”
    “Well, that pretty much destroys the police motive that you killed your grandfather for the money. All you had to do was wait two months and it would have all been yours. Amber, the more I hear about this, the more I think the only reason you’re facing these charges today is because you ran. Running implies guilt. Why did you run?”
    “Your room is this way.” She turned around and headed back to the first guest room. “I’ll be across the hall.” She didn’t wait for him to catch up to her. She headed into her old bedroom and shut and locked the door behind her.
    * * *
    D EX STOOD IN the hall, his hands on his hips as he stared at Amber’s closed door. Something wasn’t right, but damned if he could put his finger on it. Everything he’d learned about Amber Callahan in the past twenty-four hours told him she was a good person, that she cared far more about others than herself—a very rare trait that was incredibly refreshing to him after the users he met and worked with every day. Most of the people he knew wanted him for his money and power. But here he was offering Amber all of that, trying to help her, and she was instead doing everything she could to avoid his help.
    Yes, she’d agreed to let him put up the bail money, but only because she hadn’t realized how much. Based on her reaction a few minutes ago, he had no doubt that she’d have refused his help and stayed in jail had she realized he’d put up a hundred grand to get her