Alex sat in her car at a red stoplight down the street from the bar pondering the crazy meeting with Jen’s husband. Alex firmly believed that Jen leaving Ted had been a good thing. The man was obsessed with sex. More than the usual male obsession in that his deviance may hint on cruel and hurtful.

Poor Jen. No wonder the woman was so messed up. Andrew must’ve been a light in her dark world. He was someone she could cling to for safety, for compassion.

Her eyes glanced a rental car business along the street. The place was big with a fenced-in lot in the back filled with vehicles. She needed to get a rental for Andrew until his truck was fixed or he bought a new one. Since he was under house arrest, he wouldn’t be going out to test drive anytime soon. She need to ask him what he wanted to rent.

She dialed Andrew’s cell phone wondering how it was going with his lawyer this morning. The arraignment this afternoon worried her, though she didn’t know why. Andrew was innocent of any wrongdoing. What evidence physically linked him to the scene?

“Hey, sweetheart,” he answered. “How was the funeral?”

“Strange is one descriptor,” she said. “Have you met Jen’s husband?”

“No. She seldom mentioned him around the office. Whenever I asked, she became fidgety and irritable. I figured whatever problems they were having was none of my business. I never saw bruises on her, so I kept out of it.”

“That was wise,” Alex replied, thinking about what Ted said about spying on his wife at her new job. “How’s it going with your attorney?” When Andrew didn’t answer, fear shot through her. “Andrew, you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, babe.” He sighed. “Turner got ahold of the police report and what they plan for official charges.”

Another bout of his silence had her pulling at her hair. “Andrew, tell me, what the hell is happening? You’re innocent.”

“I know, but when you look at what they have...it doesn’t look good.”

“What do they have?” she asked, feeling panic swell in her chest.

“I admitted I was at the state park—”

“With me and Nina,” she cut in.

“There’s more. The detective spoke with the park ranger who was at the cabin after your boss’s death.”

“Oh no,” Alex said. That whole mess would only complicate things.

“Oh no is right,” Andrew replied. “The police have the motive I wanted her dead so she wouldn’t come between us or threaten you again.”

“Isn’t that self-defense then?”

“Apparently not. Since Jen wasn’t posing a threat while driving away, self-defense doesn’t apply.”

“That is such garbage,” she replied. “What evidence do they have?”

“All circumstantial, but damning,” he answered. “When I called 911, I was within a mile of the accident and within minutes of the wreck being reported. The person who called in said a black Suburban was chasing a car, then rammed it from behind and kept going when the car crashed. Didn’t help that one of the rangers remembered seeing my license plate and damage to my black Suburban at the scene.”

“That’s not proof of anything,” she nearly hollered into the phone.

“They are putting in charges for second degree murder.”

Now she did scream. “What?! That’s insane!” Her stomach roiled, wanting to vomit. Her hands shook. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t gone to the cabin... No. No matter where she was, Jen could’ve approached. Luckily, Andrew was there to trick her into giving up the gun and leaving.

“I know, sweetheart. Turner is planning the defense. Don’t worry.”

Don’t worry. Right. Like that was remotely possible. Shit! She had to do something. Now she was too nervous to go home and wait all afternoon for the judge’s verdict. The evidence was completely bogus. There was no physical proof Andrew did anything.

She needed to see the accident scene. There had to be something the police were missing. Some minute clue they didn’t get.

When the light turned green, Alex did a U-turn. It was time to take a short jaunt back to the state park.

“You on your way home?” Andrew asked.

Damn, what was she going to say? If she told him her plans, would he rant and rave for her to stay home where it was safe? Yes. He might even come after her, disobeying house arrest and getting in real trouble. But if his lawyer was with him, then it was legal, but still...

“I’ve got some errands to run then plan on coming to your place for a while,” she answered.

“That sounds great. I’ll need you after this craziness is over.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

During the drive north to the park, Alex couldn’t help but let her anger rise at the unfairness of this case. Andrew saved her from death, and in return, he was arrested for murder.

Knowing what highway the accident occurred on, but not knowing exactly where, it took her a few extra minutes to find it. There were no skid marks on the road, so whoever was after Jen hadn’t stopped one bit when they slammed into her.

At the bottom of the embankment were several trees with burn marks stretched up their sides.

Alex pulled off to the side of the road on the opposite side and walked across the two lanes. Pieces of plastic, glass, and car fender lay on the rocky shoulder. A few feet farther back on the shoulder were larger parts of the headlight housing. A scratch of blue paint marred one of the fragments.

She collected all the headlight fragments and put them in her pocket. Maybe they would help, maybe not. The sky darkened, and she heard thunder rolling in the distance. Her time cut short, she climbed back into her car and continued up the road to a turn off that would take her south.

As she entered a section of road bordered by thick trees, she saw long skid marks, then something glass or plastic shined in her eyes on the road side.

Pulling over again, Alex looked both ways and ran across the road. Lying in the small rocks were more small pieces of a broken headlight cover. Could this be where Andrew hit the animal? As she studied the larger sections, she noted what could be blood and maybe fur stuck to the edges.

She took pictures with her phone then tucked the shards into her other coat pocket. Back in the car, she rang Detective Hudson at the police department. When he answered, she delved into the deep end.

“Detective Hudson, my name is Alexandra Berte. Andrew Carter’s girlfriend.”

“What can I do for you, Miss Berte?”

“Did you or anyone look into Andrew’s claim that he hit an animal with his truck? Did you look for evidence of his innocence or have you made up your mind that he’s guilty?” She tried her best to keep from being snarky, but she failed. Epically.

“Miss Berte, Mr. Carter said he didn’t know where he hit the animal. It was dark and he was unfamiliar with the area.” That excuse wasn’t good enough for her. If they were prosecuting Andrew with a possible sentence of life in prison, they’d better have damn good evidence.

“Detective, I sent you pictures of what I believe is Andrew’s location. He said he was close to the wreck scene. So I know these marks have to be his accident.”

“Have to be? Your evidence seems as solid as ours at the moment.”

Alex wanted to scream at the jerk’s face. Instead, she took a deep breath, thinking back to earlier. “Detective, have you investigated Jen Ortiz’s husband, Ted?”

“Miss Berte, I’m not able to share the facts—”

“Okay, I get it. Did his alibi hold?”

“Yes, it did. All his neighbors saw his car at his house all night long.”

He drove a car. Damn. The person who chased Jen was in a black Suburban. It couldn’t have been Ted then. “Maybe keep an eye on him anyway.”

“Why do you say that, Miss Berte? I’m sure he isn’t going anywhere.”

“That’s not what he told me,” she replied.

“What do you mean? When did you talk to him?” The detective’s voice sounded interested now.

“After Jen’s memorial service a few hours ago. He said he was leaving as soon as the life insurance check cleared the bank.”

“He said there is no life insurance,” Hudson said.

“That’s not what he told me,” she answered. “And he stalked her. Didn’t mention that either, did he?”

“He claimed to not know where she lived or worked after their divorce.”

Alex grunted. “He’s lying to one of us, Detective. And I bet it’s not to me.”

“Perhaps,” he said. “I’ll talk with him tomorrow.”

“That’s too late. Call him now,” she urged.

“Miss Berte, I have a lot more going on than just an obscure murder where the suspect has overwhelming proof against him.”

“Overwhelming? Seriously?” she spit out. “Not one thing you have is physical or solid.”

“The person who made the 911 call said a black SUV had hit Mrs. Ortiz’s car. Your boyfriend’s vehicle fits that description, plus front end damage—”

“He hit a moose!”

“So he says,” the detective shot back. Alex pulled to the side of the road. She could no longer concentrate on driving with thoughts of wanting to kick the detective’s ass into next week. “Miss Berte, I suggest you stay away from Mr. Ortiz until I have the opportunity to speak with him again. You could end up hurting your boyfriend’s case. You don’t want that.”

She wanted to say No shit, Sherlock, but kept it to herself.

“Go home, Miss Berte. Support your boyfriend. He’ll need all he can get.”