Chapter 4 - THE INTERROGATION ROOMThe interrogation room at the county precinct smelled of stale coffee and fear.
Detective Miller tossed a glossy eight-by-ten photo onto the metal table in front of me. It showed Malcolm’s lifeless body slumped over the table in Room 412.
"A witness saw a woman matching your description running from the back alley of the motel fifteen minutes after the shots were fired," Detective Miller said, leaning his forearms on the table. "Care to explain what you were doing meeting a major narcotics supplier in Baltimore at midnight, Mrs. Ward?"
"I didn't kill him," I said evenly, keeping my voice from shaking. "Malcolm was about to tell me who framed my husband and poisoned my daughter."
Miller scoffed, crossing his arms. "Your husband’s prints are all over the vials of sedative found in his vehicle. His company's financial audit shows three hundred thousand dollars missing. And your sister signed a sworn statement testifying that Mark bragged about using the sedative to quiet Emma when she 'got in the way of his business.'"
My chest tightened. Rachel had turned on Mark publicly, but not to save me. She was throwing Mark under the bus to clear herself of complicity in the murder and the poisoning.
"Rachel is lying," I said fiercely. "She’s the one who poured the lemonade!"
"Mr. Ward admitted to the embezzlement," Miller replied coldly. "He’s being charged with corporate fraud, child endangerment, and felony distribution. As for you, Sarah... you're an accessory to a federal drug investigation."
The door opened behind Miller. A junior officer whispered something into the detective’s ear.
Miller’s expression shifted. "Well, Mrs. Ward. It looks like you're getting out on conditional release. Someone just posted your fifty-thousand-dollar bail."
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"Who?" I asked, frowning.
"Your sister," Miller said. "Rachel is waiting for you in the lobby."
