The Good Girls

Chapter 33

AN HOUR LATER, UMA STOOD with Jane and Audrey in the lobby of the police station. Officers were rushing here and there, and the place seemed in pandemonium, phones ringing and printers blaring and everyone talking at once. Uma's heart was still racing. She'd been by Jane's side shortly after Lonnie was mowed down by that car, but the EMTs and police officers had shooed them all out of the way, sending them home. But they couldn't go home. They had to come here . . . and tell the truth.

McMinnamin appeared in the doorway, his gaze settling over the girls. "Come on back," he said gruffly.

Wordlessly, everyone followed him. Uma's nose twitched with the stench of stale coffee and too-sweet pastries. She searched the officers' faces for signs of what had happened that night. Was Lonnie okay? No one had heard anything after she was loaded into the ambulance. Had it really been Evie who'd tried to hit her? Surely the cops didn't still suspect them, did they?

The officer led them into an empty room and gestured for all of them to sit. "So. Busy night, huh?"

Everyone nodded. Audrey's breaths came out in little gasps.

McMinnamin put his hands on his hips. "You know something, right? Is that why you're here?"
Uma eyed Jane and Audrey. Everyone nodded. It was time, Uma knew, but she still felt a pang. It felt wrong to give Evie up. They had promised to stick together.

Jane took a deep breath. "We think it's Evie Grimhilde."

McMinnamin nodded. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Okay, then."

Uma stared at the floor. "She kind of. . . confessed," she admitted.

It was still hard to process what had happened . . . and who Evie was . . . and what had actually gone down in Freddie's house. But yes, Evie had confessed. Sort of. She'd said Mal had done it, but Mal wasn't here.

"But then she ran off," Audrey added. "We're afraid she was the one who hurt Li Lonnie."

McMinnamin nodded. "That's what we're afraid of, too."

Uma whipped her head up. "Wait. You are?"
"Yes, we've been watching Evie for some time."

Uma squinted at the cop, still so disoriented. "I'm sorry, but how did you figure all this out?"

As if on cue, Dr. Smith, the psychological profiler, appeared in the doorway. She wore a tan pantsuit and a serious expression, and held a cup of Starbucks in her hand. "Detective. Girls." Dr. Smith nodded at each of them as she crossed the room.

McMinnamin gestured for her to sit. "Uma was just asking me how we knew Evie Grimhilde was our suspect, Doctor. Would you like to fill them in?"

"Sure." The doctor sat down and collected her thoughts for a moment before speaking. "When Evie and I had our private session at the precinct the other day, I got a sense of what might be happening with her. She lives in a chaotic, abusive home. She's looking for some sort of anchor and stability. I've worked with a lot of patients who have what we call 'dissociative identity disorder,' and I recognized the signs in her immediately."

"Is that, like, when people think they're more than one person?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, Audrey. It's what we call it when someone—in this case Evie—believes she has two or more distinct and separate identities. And not just two names, but two separate personalities. It's almost like having two entirely different people living in one body. And for Evie—"

"The other person is Mal," Uma interjected.

"Yes. Evie is Evie, and she is Mal, at different times—and sometimes at the same time, too."