Detective Ortiz did not raise her voice.
She didn't need to.
The hallway was narrow, the kind that amplified tension without assistance. Peeling paint curled away from the walls. A single flickering bulb buzzed overhead, casting uneven shadows across the floor.
"You didn't mention you were traveling today," Ortiz said mildly.
Evelyn adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder. "Grief makes people restless."
Ortiz studied her, gaze flicking briefly to the door behind her. "That apartment belongs to Mara Ellison."
Evelyn didn't flinch. "Does it?"
"It does," Ortiz said. "Utilities in her name. Rent paid in cash."
"Then you found her."
"No," Ortiz replied. "We found you."
The distinction landed heavily.
Ortiz took a step closer. "Why are you here, Mrs. Cross?"
Evelyn smiled faintly. "You already know the answer. I came looking for truth."
"And instead you found a fugitive."
"Or a victim."
Ortiz's eyes narrowed. "Which do you believe she is?"
Evelyn held her gaze. "Both."
Silence stretched. Somewhere below them, a door slammed. Footsteps retreated.
Ortiz glanced past Evelyn again, toward the locked door. "You're standing between me and a missing person."
"I'm standing between you and a woman who doesn't trust the police," Evelyn said. "With reason."
"Daniel Cross may have murdered her."
Evelyn's smile faded. "Daniel Cross is dead."
"That doesn't absolve him."
"No," Evelyn agreed. "But it doesn't damn her either."
Ortiz exhaled slowly. "You're protecting her."
Evelyn shrugged. "I'm protecting myself."
The truth, thin and sharp.
Ortiz tilted her head. "You're carrying her passport."
Evelyn's grip tightened on her purse.
"You didn't leave it behind," Ortiz continued. "Which means you intend to move her again."
Evelyn said nothing.
"You're obstructing an investigation," Ortiz said. "And potentially aiding someone connected to a homicide."
Evelyn leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Detective, if you open that door right now, she disappears for good. No statements. No closure. Just another name in your files."
Ortiz met her gaze. "And if I don't?"
"Then you get a chance to understand what really happened."
Ortiz studied Evelyn for a long moment.
"What are you offering?" she asked.
"A trade," Evelyn replied. "Time. Forty-eight hours."
Ortiz laughed once, quietly. "You don't get to bargain."
Evelyn reached into her purse and removed a folded piece of paper. She held it between two fingers.
"I do when I have this."
Ortiz's eyes flicked to it. "What is that?"
"A copy of Daniel's offshore account numbers. The money he used to silence people. Including Mara."
Ortiz's expression hardened. "You should have given that to us already."
"And you should have looked harder when he was alive."
Ortiz stepped closer. "If this disappears—"
"It won't," Evelyn said. "Because if anything happens to me, it goes public."
Another lie.
Or close enough to function as one.
Ortiz considered her. The hallway seemed to hold its breath.
Finally, the detective stepped back.
"Forty-eight hours," Ortiz said. "After that, I come back with a warrant."
Evelyn nodded. "That's all I need."
Ortiz turned, then paused. "Mrs. Cross?"
"Yes?"
"You're not as invisible as you think."
Evelyn smiled softly. "Neither are you."
Ortiz left.
Evelyn waited until the footsteps faded completely before unlocking the door.
Mara stood just inside, pale and shaking.
"You almost let them take me," Mara said.
"No," Evelyn replied. "I almost saved us both."
Mara stared at her. "You're terrifying."
Evelyn closed the door. "You should be grateful."
---
They packed quickly.
Evelyn handed Mara fresh clothes from a shopping bag she'd brought. Mara changed silently, movements stiff, eyes darting to the door.
"You killed him," Mara said suddenly.
Evelyn froze.
"No," she said carefully. "I didn't."
"You were there."
"Yes."
"You watched him die."
Evelyn met her gaze. "So did you."
Mara looked away.
"I won't run again," Mara said. "If they catch me, they catch me."
"They won't," Evelyn replied.
"Because you'll take the fall?"
Evelyn zipped the duffel bag. "Because I know how to make people look the other way."
Mara studied her. "You sound like him."
Evelyn didn't deny it.
They left through the back stairwell, slipping into the gray afternoon unnoticed. The city swallowed them whole.
As they walked, Evelyn's phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
> You're making the same mistake twice.
Evelyn didn't slow.
She typed back one line.
> I don't make mistakes. I make endings.
She slipped the phone into her pocket and kept walking.