In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson (ebook reader for pc and android TXT) 📕

that why Robert wanted to take me out to dinner on the night of the break-in? Did he think we’d all be out and it just went badly wrong? I think about how he cried at the hospital when he told me about June. Was it sorrow or was it guilt?

Horowitz starts to gather up his papers. ‘Listen, if I were you I’d speak to your husband and get him to admit it. If he does we can plea bargain, especially if he gives up the names of the men he hired to carry out the burglary. He might get ten years, maybe less, but the conspiracy charges, they’re likely going to stick.’

He clicks the locks on his briefcase shut as though to signal the conversation is over.

‘Ten years?’ I stammer.

He swings his bag off the table and walks to the door. ‘I’m due in court,’ he says, glancing at his watch.

‘But . . . What will they do to him?’ I ask. ‘What happens now?’

‘They’ll arraign him in the next twenty-four hours and then he’ll be transferred to the county jail to await trial.’

‘Jail? He’s going to jail?’

‘Yes, unless you can make the bail payment.’

I turn around, feeling dizzy, the walls closing in. All I can think about are the crime shows I’ve watched. How will Robert survive even five minutes in prison?

‘How long until the trial?’ I ask.

Horowitz draws in a breath and shrugs again. ‘How long’s a piece of string? If he pleads guilty, then it’ll just go to sentencing, so it’ll be quicker. Maybe a couple of months. If he doesn’t, then you’re looking at a year to eighteen months before it comes to trial.’

I collapse onto the nearest seat. It’s a dream. A nightmare. It has to be.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘If you need me, here’s my card. Office hours are on the back, otherwise I’ll be in touch as soon as I have news.’

I put my head in my hands. This can’t be happening. I can’t believe it. I know Robert. He wouldn’t do this. He pawned my jewelry though. He lied to me about our finances. He stole money that was rightfully mine. He did so much behind my back. Maybe he is capable of this. I always thought of Robert as a gentle, honest man, but, looking back, weren’t there signs?

What about how he dealt with that person who tried to claim the idea for his app was stolen? He left him penniless. Even when the man dropped the case and offered to pay costs, Robert insisted on suing him for slander and emotional trauma. He can be ruthless when it comes to business.

But I saw how scared he was during the break-in. I saw him cowering in terror. He was smashed in the face and hurt. He didn’t do that to himself. God, I don’t know what to believe anymore.

‘Ava?’

I look up. Nate is standing in the door to the interrogation room. At least he has the good sense to look sheepish. ‘Do you mind?’ he asks, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

I glare at him as I swipe at my tears. How could he not have warned me this was coming?

‘How did it go with the lawyer?’ Nate asks.

I shake my head.

Nate grimaces. ‘Yeah, public defenders vary. You pulled a dud, I’m afraid.’

I glare at him, my eyes burning. ‘How could you?’ I ask.

‘I’m sorry you had to find out the way you did,’ Nate says, sitting down opposite me. ‘It did not play out how I wanted it to at all. Someone leaked the news to the press, someone inside my department, I’m looking into who, but it meant we had to move faster than we had planned.’ He sits down at the table opposite me. ‘I wanted to be the one to break it to you. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to before you heard.’

I purse my lips, anger building. I want to scream, punch something. ‘How long have you suspected Robert?’

His eyes flash hurt. ‘When we discovered the truth about your financial affairs. We did a little more digging after that and . . .’

My face flushes. I’m not sure if it’s due to embarrassment or anger and I find myself leaping to Robert’s defense. ‘Just because we’re broke doesn’t give him a motive. How could he be involved anyway? You saw him. Is he supposed to have done that to himself? Did he punch himself in the face? I was there, Nate. You weren’t. I saw how scared he was. I saw! And God, if he wanted to make an insurance claim, if this is what you think it’s about, then why not just set fire to the house when we were all out? Why not just fake a break-in?’ I take a deep breath. ‘This is crazy. Why would anyone do this to their family?’

Nate studies me for a beat, his lips pressed together into a tight line, then finally he exhales softly. ‘Ava, I’m afraid it’s not all. We’re about to file another charge. I wanted to make sure you heard about this from me, now.’

I can hear my heart starting to thud louder and louder. ‘What do you mean? What other charge?’

Nate takes a breath and swallows. ‘The prosecutor’s given us the go-ahead. We’ve got enough evidence to charge him with conspiracy to commit murder.’

I have to play the words over in my head a few times. ‘Wait, what are you talking about? Why would Robert have wanted June dead?’

He shakes his head slowly. ‘Not June. We’re charging him with conspiracy to commit your murder.’

I stare at him blankly and then I laugh. ‘What? But . . . that’s . . . oh my God. You think he was trying to kill me? Why would he want to kill me? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.’

Nate opens a manila folder and hands me a sheaf of papers. It’s the same insurance policy Horowitz handed me but with a separate part highlighted.

‘Robert made a request for cover in