"It's very important," Maria said. "It establishes a connection between this woman and Victor beyond what we previously knew about."
"Who is she?" Tessa asked again.
"Her name is Diana Gray," Kari said. "She's involved with Charles Sterling, who developed the resort project that all three victims were connected to. We've been trying to understand the relationships between everyone involved."
"And you think she might have killed Victor?" Tessa's voice was quiet. "That she wore that bracelet when she was at his house, lost it, and then came back later to kill him?"
"We're still investigating," Maria said carefully. "But what you've told us—about seeing her there, about the messages, about the bracelet—that's all evidence we can use."
Nobody spoke for a few moments.
"What happens now?" Tessa asked. "Do I need to stay here, or...?"
"We're going to arrange a hotel room for you under a false name," Maria said. "Protective custody, essentially, until we make an arrest. You'll have an officer nearby at all times. We'll need you available to testify eventually, but for now, you just need to be safe."
"And I'm not being charged? With leaving the scene?"
"That's up to the prosecutor ultimately, but I'll be recommending no charges given the circumstances and your cooperation," Maria said. "You did the right thing coming forward. That matters."
After Tessa was escorted out to be settled into protective custody, Kari and Maria returned to Maria's desk, both energized by finally having concrete evidence.
"We've got her," Maria said, pulling up files on Diana Gray. "The bracelet places her at Victor's house. The timeline works—she loses it a week before the murder, either doesn't realize it's gone or can't risk going back to get it. Then she comes back to kill him, and by then the bracelet's been found and moved by Tessa."
"It explains why Diana was uncomfortable when I asked about Victor during our interview," Kari added. "She was worried we'd discover she'd been at his house, that their relationship was more than just business."
"So what's our approach?" Maria asked. "We could get a search warrant for the Sterling house, try to find the bracelet in Diana's possession. But if she's smart, she's already gotten rid of it—either realized it was missing and ditched it, or just doesn't wear it anymore."
"I don't know. She was wearing it when I interviewed her. You'd think that if she was going to ditch it, she'd have done it by now." Kari chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I think she'll keep wearing it, keep acting like everything's normal. That's been her strategy all along—stay close to Sterling, maintain the appearance of the supportive girlfriend, deflect any questions smoothly."
"Then we confront her directly. Show her the evidence, tell her we have a witness who found her bracelet at Victor's house, and watch her reaction. We'll see if Sterling still vouches for her when presented with all the facts."
"We need to be strategic about it, though," Kari said. "If we bring her here to the station, she'll lawyer up immediately. But if we approach her at the Sterling house, where she feels safe and in control, she might slip. Might say something incriminating before she realizes how much trouble she's in."
Maria nodded slowly. "Okay. So we go to the Sterling house, ask to speak with Diana, confront her with the bracelet evidence. If she tries to explain it away, we press harder. If she lawyers up, we at least know we're on the right track and can start building the formal case."
Kari rose, eager to get going. "Let's get over there. If there's anyone else on her kill list, I have the unsettling feeling she'll want to cross off another name soon."
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Kari had interviewed enough guilty people to recognize the signs—the micro-expressions, the defensive body language, the careful parsing of words to avoid outright lies while still deceiving. Diana Gray had displayed all of them during their first conversation, and now they were returning with evidence that would force her to stop performing.
The question was whether Diana would break or whether her control would hold.
Maria drove through Paradise Valley's increasingly expensive neighborhoods, past estates hidden behind walls and gates, past the kind of wealth that insulated people from consequences. Or at least made them believe they were insulated.
"You think she'll lawyer up immediately?" Maria asked.
"Maybe. But she's been living with this for over a week, carrying the weight of three murders while pretending to be the supportive girlfriend. That kind of pressure builds." Kari thought about the way Diana had deflected questions about Victor, the tightness around her eyes. "Everyone has a breaking point."
They pulled up to the Sterling estate's gate and Maria pressed the intercom button. The same voice as before answered.
"Detective Santos and Detective Blackhorse to see Ms. Gray. She's expecting us."
The gate opened without the interrogation from Kari's previous visit. They followed the winding driveway to the house, where a different security guard met them at the door—younger than before, less suspicious.
"Ms. Gray is in the sunroom," he said, leading them through the house. "Mr. Sterling and his daughter are out walking theproperty, but they should be back within the hour if you need to speak with them."
Kari felt a pang of disappointment. She'd wanted to see Sterling's reaction when they confronted Diana, wanted to watch his face when he learned what his girlfriend had done. But maybe this was better—Diana alone, without Sterling's protective presence, without the buffer of his wealth and authority.
