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The cop slammed the door and hauled ass to the driver’s seat, pulling away from the curb before Aiden reached us. The officer looked in the rearview mirror and gunned it down Main Street toward the police station. I turned in my seat to peer out the back. Aiden had his cell to his ear, and Poppy was running back down the block toward her hearse.
Max sat perfectly still beside me.
“Did you do that on purpose so you could ride with me?” I asked.
“I lost my head there for a minute, but since I’m here, I’m doing whatever I can to help you through this until we can call a lawyer.”
“Pretty sure Aiden already has,” I said as the cop turned into the station parking lot and pulled into a spot facing Main Street.
By the time the officer removed us from the cruiser, Poppy and Aiden were on the sidewalk in front of the station. No doubt they’d broken a few traffic laws to get there so fast. Poppy stepped toward me, but I shook my head. She shrank back to Aiden’s side and watched as the cop led us to the entrance.
“Everly is on her way,” Aiden shouted after us.
The cop put Max in a holding cell but walked me straight into an interview room and closed the door.
“Have a seat,” he said motioning to one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs. I did as he asked and tried not to hurl while he read me my Miranda rights. Just as he finished, the door flew open and Everly Hendricks breezed in.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” she said to the cop as she extended her slender hand. “I’m Everly Hendricks. Mr. Markis’s attorney.”
The cop looked stunned and left her hand in the air an uncomfortable moment before he shook it. “Officer Stafford,” he said, studying her carefully. “How did you get back here?”
“I told Peggy you were interviewing my client without representation. She sent me right back.”
“We haven’t started the interview,” he said, sitting down in a chair so close to me our knees brushed.
“Great,” Everly said, pulling a chair from around the table and wedging it between us. Officer Stafford and I were both tall, and Everly was a good five foot eight without her heels. “Let’s get started,” she said as though she wasn’t practically sitting in both our laps. “Could you please tell me why you brought Mr. Markis here today?”
Office Stafford cleared his throat and had the decency to scoot back a foot. Everly adjusted her chair enough so our legs weren’t pressed together.
“Your client has been accused of violating Section 18.2-371.3, which is—”
“I’m well aware of Section 18.2-371.3. I’m confused why he wasn’t released on summons,” Everly said.
“He’s a convicted felon, Ms. Hendricks.”
“With a spotless criminal record since he served his time.”
“Look, ma’am, we take repeat offenders seriously in Peace Falls.”
Everly’s eyes hardened. “Theo is not a repeat offender. He has never once been arrested for tattooing a minor. And if you knew anything about Peace Falls, you’d know his felony conviction was based on a technicality, not criminal intent.”
“Tell that to the guy he killed.”
“I’m sure my brother would have agreed,” Everly snapped.
Officer Stafford looked utterly perplexed.
“The guy I killed was Logan Hendricks,” I said. “Ms. Hendricks’s brother.”
“My brother died in the accident that led to Mr. Makris’s unjust conviction,” Everly amended. “Now, can we please discuss the current charges?”
Officer Stafford shifted in his seat and shuffled some papers in front of him. At Marked the man had remained calm and controlled while Max attempted to rip his head off, but Everly had clearly knocked him off his axis. “He tattooed a sixteen-year-old without parental consent.”
“Allegedly,” she said.
Officer Stafford flipped open a folder and slid a single photograph across the table. A lower neck tattoo of a Sagittarius zodiac sign. Sarah.
“Do you recognize this?” he asked me.