A sharp, painful scream ripped through the room, and I looked back, seeing Talia standing several feet behind us, eyes wide as she said, “Mom?”
39
The room felt like all the air had been sucked out of it.
Brianne was the first to speak, her tone stern. “I didn’t kill Audrey. How could you even accuse me of such a thing?”
Talia began sobbing, folding in on herself as if her body could no longer support her weight.
Gabriel reached for her.
“Don’t!” Talia cried. “Don’t touch me.”
The words hit him hard, as his hands fell back to his sides, his expression grim. “Please, Talia, I would never?—”
She shook her head. “I feel like I don’t even know you, either of you.”
Up to now, I wasn’t sure how much of our previous conversation Talia had overheard. Now I knew it was enough.
Brianne stood, her movements stiff and controlled.
“This is insane,” she said, turning toward me. “You’ve got some nerve coming into my house, accusing me of murdering a girl I loved.”
“She’s right,” Gabriel said. “Audrey was like a daughter to us. Brianne would never hurt her.”
I held my ground, looking Brianne in the eye. “Earlier, when I first arrived and we were talking, your behavior was far different than the visit we had before. I sensed something—fear—and your need to control the narrative, to spin things in a way that had me looking anywhere else, as long as it’s away from you and your family. That alone tells me you’re hiding something.”
“That’s not?—”
“You asked me why Anne matters so much in my investigation,” I said. “But I believe you know why. If Audrey figured out who Anne was and what happened to her, there was a good chance she’d also figure out who killed her. I believe Gabriel’s story about Anne’s death being an accident. I also believe he’d rather confess what he did than harm Audrey. You, on the other hand …”
Gabriel tipped his head to the side, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Brianne like he was seeing something he hadn’t before.
She turned toward him. “What, Gabriel? Why are you looking at me that way?”
“The detective has it all wrong. Doesn’t she?”
Brianne shook her head but said nothing.
“Look me in the eye and tell me she’s wrong,” he said again, louder this time.
“I … I …”
Talia lifted her head, the tears continuing to fall as she looked at her mother. “I remember now.”
“What do you remember?” I asked.
“Something I hadn’t before. You said her name, Mom. You said Anne’s name.”
In unison, we turned toward her.
“When?” I asked.
“The day before Audrey died. She came over after school. I was coming down the stairs, and you were talking to Audrey in the kitchen. You didn’t see me, not at first.”
“What all did you hear?” I asked.
“Audrey said Anne’s name and then something about a bonfire. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it.”
