“Sì,” agreed Sonia. “Both of you. Tonight.” She held up a hand. “But you need to tell me: What was the plan? What were you doing with Kevin Walker and Theodore Sexton? What did you know about Claire Sexton?”
Monica looked at her lawyer. He nodded, and she took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
“We didn’t know about Claire,” she said. “I swear. Kevin was supposed to meet us up in Naples. We were just gonna have fun. Then, on Saturday, he calls…says his friend’s sister is stuck in Naples, and can she stay with us until he gets there?”
“So, Claire stayed with you?”
Monica nodded. “She slept on the couch. She was sweet. Super quiet. Shy. We asked her questions, but she didn’t want to talk. We thought she was backpacking across Europe—”
“But she wasn’t the type,” Kami interrupted. “No way was she out on her own. She was an indoor cat. Nervous all the time. Scared.”
“We talked her into going with us to a club,” said Monica. “Sunday night. She hated it. Couldn’t wait to get back. It was like she was hiding.”
“Did she say from what?”
“No. She hardly said anything.”
“Tell me about the cocaine,” Sonia said.
“We freaked out when we found out she had it,” Monica said.
“She needed cash, okay?” Kami interrupted. “So yeah, we bought some. We were just trying to help out.”
Sonia flipped to a new page. “Her backpack. Did she leave it with you?”
“No. She took it with her wherever she went.”
“What happened at Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo last Tuesday?”
Monica started crying again.
Kami answered. “We were supposed to meet Kevin at the church.”
“Was that his idea or yours?”
“His idea.”
“Was Claire with you?”
“No. She stayed at home.”
“Did you meet Kevin Walker at the church?”
“We were late getting there. He didn’t answer his phone, so we went inside to look for him.”
Monica’s sobs deepened.
“Claire was on the ground…covered in blood. A knife sticking out of her chest,” Kami said. “Kevin was standing over her. He saw us and…just ran. It was like a nightmare. We tried to help her. We really did.”
“Why would Kevin do that?” Monica sobbed. “Why would he kill her?”
Sonia’s voice was cold. “Have you heard from him since?”
Both women shook their heads.
“You have to protect us from him,” Kami said. She was trembling. “He’s gotta be super mobbed up or something. He knows everything about us.”
—
