Friends Like These by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Author:Jennifer Lynn Alvarez [Alvarez, Jennifer Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2022-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

28

Jake

“Wait a minute.” Mom shoves Underwood’s evidence away from us. “You said my son’s not a suspect.”

Underwood smirks. “I said he’s not under arrest.”

Mom reaches for her purse. “Jake and I are leaving.”

Underwood shakes her head. “Not yet, Ms. Healy. Jake doesn’t have to answer our questions, but he can’t leave until these search warrants regarding Tegan’s missing-persons case are executed.”

She retrieves several official forms and hands them to my shocked mother, her smile turning grim. “We would have served these last Sunday but Judge Singh was reluctant to sign them then. Mainly because Jake is Tegan’s victim in another case and because we didn’t have enough physical evidence for probable cause. Judge Singh didn’t like the ‘optics.’ ” She puts optics in air quotes.

“But after learning that Jake disposed of broken mirror shards and bloody clothing in the garbage, the judge agreed that we have probable cause to search, and he signed these this morning.” She taps the papers. “These warrants give us permission to collect your son’s DNA, impound his truck, search your home, and inspect his person.”

Mom’s fingers clench around the papers, and her eyes blaze. “But you just said he’s not under arrest. I don’t understand.”

“I’m not arresting him, at least not yet. Your son is a witness, a victim, and a person of interest in Tegan’s case. Look at this.” She holds up the photo of Tegan’s bedroom. “A struggle occurred and a former senator’s daughter is missing. Your son was the last one with her. We’re not messing around, Ms. Healy.”

Mom recoils. “Can we decline the searches until we talk to someone?”

Underwood grunts. “A lawyer can’t stop this. It’s happening now.”

I glance at the papers and read the confident scrawl of Judge Singh across each one. My stomach slides out of me.

The detective taps the warrants that have whisked away my privacy. “We can do the physical exam here. We’re looking for cuts, bruises, offensive wounds, that kind of thing.”

Mom rights herself, her hands shaking, and I know exactly how she feels because my heart is racing too. We’re both thinking about the mirror shards she pulled out of my foot Sunday morning. The wound is still visible, still healing.

Underwood lifts her hands in a peaceful gesture that feels false. “You may remain with your son, Ms. Healy.”

Mom’s long eyelashes flutter as if she’s going to pass out.

“The warrant includes seizure of your cell phone, Jake, so hand it over, please.” Underwood wiggles her fingers at me and continues speaking. “You will need to buy a new phone. You’re not getting this one back.”

Everything inside me clenches and retracts. “But I need my phone.”

Underwood narrows her eyes. “You understand that a girl is missing, don’t you, a girl you know intimately?”

I slam my cell onto the table and meet Underwood’s sharp hazel eyes. “She can stay missing, for all I care.”

“Jake!” Mom cries. Lee snaps her head toward me, her eyebrows knitting together.

“It’s all right,” says Detective Underwood, placating Mom while palming my iPhone. “I

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