“Were you talking to someone?” Copper asked, glancing over her shoulder.
Frannie shook her head and laughed. There was a coldness in it that he didn’t seem to notice.
“No. It must be the echoes from the party.” She glanced over the edge of the balcony toward the waterways and lagoons beneath them. “Has the president arrived yet?”
“He was just coming in,” Copper said. “Lillie said you wanted to see me?”
“I just needed a moment alone,” Frannie said, smiling sadly. “With you.”
He took her hand, then seemed to realize what was in it.
He stilled.
For a long moment, he was quiet.
“Why do you have that bag, Frannie?” he asked slowly. Grace could just see his face, limned in the light. He almost looked frightened.
The organ pipes began to ring out in the distance from within Festival Hall.
“That night of Harriet’s murder, you put this in my brother’s drink,” she said. “Why?”
A look of disbelief crossed Copper’s face.
“Is it possible you were the one to kill Harriet?” she asked. “Even accidentally?”
The athlete stepped toward her menacingly. His face twisted into something cruel. “You’re not going to try to pin this on me, are you, Frannie? I’d stop looking, if I were you. If you don’t, you’re not going to like what you find.”
“What are you saying?” she asked.
“What doIgain out of Harriet’s death?” Copper shook his head, his smile dark and glittering. “I thought you were ruthless,” he said. “And then I met your brother.”
He turned his head as Earnest stepped out from behind him.
Grace bit back a sound. Theodore grabbed Grace by the waist and held her to him. She could feel his heart beating hard beneath his shirt.
“Don’t. Move,” he whispered on the barest hint of breath into her ear.
She nodded, her hand pressed to her mouth.
Earnest walked toward where Frannie and Copper were standing.
“Frannie,” Earnest said. “You look cold.”
But it was his voice that sent a chill down Grace’s spine. She shivered and Theo pulled her closer to him.
“What is this, Earnest?” Frannie asked. She stole a glance over her shoulder, where Grace and Theodore were hiding. Her voice was shaking. “Did you know Copper was going to kill Harriet?”
“Whose idea do you think it was in the first place?” Copper said roughly.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“I never wanted you to know about this,” Earnest said, sounding apologetic. He frowned. “Did you come up with these accusations all on your own?”
“Earnest, no,” Frannie said desperately. “What are you saying? You couldn’t possibly have done this. What reason would you have?”
“Why do you think, darling sister? It was the only way I could see to save our family from ruin.”
“From ruin?” Frannie asked faintly. “Surely you don’t mean that.”
