She leaned back, drumming her fingers over the table. “I remember the fire, the sound of the waves, and everyone laughing at first. Gabriel being Gabriel, telling jokes, keeping things light.”
“And Anne? What did you think of her?”
“She seemed a little overwhelmed with us at first, maybe. But she was nice and polite.”
“That’s not how Aiden described her,” I said.
Her brow furrowed. “What did he say?”
“He said Anne was flirty, and that she talked most to Gabriel and Vaughn that night.”
Brianne frowned. “I don’t remember that. I remember her laughing. I’m embarrassed to admit I threw up a few times, so I wasn’t around for everything. I spent part of the night away from everyone, sitting on the sand, trying not to pass out.”
“When was that?” I asked.
“After Tilly told everyone about the affair. Everything got loud and emotional, and I couldn’t handle it.”
“Do you remember Anne talking with Vaughn?”
Brianne hesitated.
“I do,” she said. “But it’s blurry. I remember them laughing together.”
“When?”
“I think it was later on, after Vaughn came back.”
Vaughn returning had now been confirmed by Brianne as well as Aiden, and I assumed the two of them hadn’t been in contact to get their stories straight.
“Did you see Anne leave?” I asked.
Brianne shook her head. “I left before she did.”
“With whom?” I asked.
“I’d told my mom we were having a bonfire that night. She knew how crazy those nights could get. She always told me I wouldn’t get in trouble for anything as long as I told her the truth, so at some point, she picked me up.”
Maybe Brianne’s mother could fill in the gaps of what happened that night.
“Does your mother still live in the area?” I asked.
She shook her head. “She died last year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. We spent a lot of time together during the last year of her life. Made a lot of good memories.”
She went quiet, staring out the window as if reminiscing about old times.
“I don’t believe Audrey was killed by a stranger,” I said. “I believe she told the wrong person about what she’d found out, someone she thought she could trust.”
Brianne stared at the table, her shoulders slumping. “I keep thinking, if I’d gone to the police back then, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”
“Or maybe it would’ve happened sooner,” I said. “We can’t know that for sure.”
She nodded.
“I was hoping to talk to Talia,” I said. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
