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Aroostine couldn’t shake Lily from her mind.
    “Pull over, okay?”
    Joe gave her a curious look but edged the Jeep to the side of the
    road. He put the vehicle in park and turned on his blinkers.
    “Too much cake?”
    “Nothing like that.”
    36
    CHILLING EFFECT
    She unbelted her seat belt and turned to face him full on. She
    inhaled deeply then exhaled.
    “Uh-oh, you’re gearing yourself up for a big pronouncement.
    I can tell.”
    She ignored the commentary. “Joe, I don’t want to go back to
    our hotel.”
    “Okay? What do you have in mind? I’m game for a late night
    of carousing if you are.”
    “No, nothing like that.”
    “Well, what then?”
    She gnawed on her lower lip and considered what she was about
    to say. Was she sure about this?
    Palmer and his blank, staring eyes. Th e long-eared rabbit, lying
    supine in the fi eld. Th e uninterested police response. Lily’s small face, so somber even with all her fairy fi nery surrounding her in a cloud of glitter.
    “I want to stay here and get to the bottom of Isaac Palmer’s
    murder. I have
    hav to, J
    e
    hav
    oe.”
    She braced herself for his reaction.
    He just sat there, unmoving and staring out into the dark night.
    Finally, he turned the key and switched off the engine. He checked for cars and then opened his door.
    She got out the passenger side.
    He headed around the car, head down, and started toward a
    gravel path near the side of the road. She jogged after him.
    “Joe? Where are you going?”
    He looked over his shoulder and pinned her with a look that
    tore at her heart. His face was a study of anguish.
    “I need a minute. I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret. Th ings have been so good between us. I’m trying not to screw this up. Please.
    Just go back to the car. I want to clear my head,” he nearly pleaded.
    37
    MELISSA F. MILLER
    “Wait, please. I have to tell you this—it’s important. Th is isn’t
    about Sid or getting back in good graces at Main Justice. Th is is about me, something I have to do to be at peace with myself.” As she said the words, she was thinking of the little girl with fairy wings hiding in the bushes.
    He shot her a look that she couldn’t read but nodded. “I hear you.”
    He turned back to the dark path and walked into the woods.
    38

CHAPTER SIX
    Joe clenched and relaxed his fi sts as he trudged along the dark trail.
    Clench, relax. Clench, relax.
    His thumping heart and the sweat beading at his hairline were
    signs either that his body recognized that his nighttime promenade
    through a strange fi eld was ill-advised or that his anger at Aroostine was bubbling to the surface despite his eff orts to quell it. Or maybe both.
    He stomped farther along the path and paused near a copse
    of trees. He glanced back. He didn’t see Aroostine’s tall, lean fi gure near the road. He blinked in surprise that she apparently had done
    as he’d asked and gone back to the car. Not so long ago, she would
    have pushed the issue and followed him. But not anymore.
    He leaned against a tree trunk and focused on slowing his
    breathing.
    It’s progress that she’s consulting you, asking for your input, he chided himself.
    MELISSA F. MILLER
    It was true. Ever since she’d returned from DC, she’d been close-
    lipped—even for her. She was warm and attentive when they were
    together, but she didn’t ask what he thought about anything that
    didn’t involve their shared home life.
    Switching Rufus’ brand of food? She’d engage in a heartfelt
    discussion.
    Agreeing to the assignment at the US Attorney’s Offi ce in John-
    stown? She hadn’t even mentioned her new position until she’d been
    working there for almost a week.
    And that was the way it had been with everything. If it involved
    their marriage, their home, or their families, they were a team. If it related to her career, he was persona non grata.
    He understood. How could he not? She’d asked him to support
    her when she’d moved to Washington, DC,