“So, trust me,” I rasped—my sore throat lacing the words sinister. “I want you to be the ones to find him.Hewants you to be the ones to find him. Because if I get to him first... I’ll be the one going to prison for murder.”
Both officers stared at me, their poker faces blown. Her partner opened his mouth like he was going to say something. And then she opened her mouth.
Thinking better of it, their lips resealed, and they left.
HOURS LATER, WE WEREall back in the ballroom—spread out among the tables and chairs as three individuals stepped up onto the platform.
The full table was mine. Rhodes, Micah, Alex, and Courtney huddled around me—all of them touching at least one body part. My hand, shoulders, my thighs. All of them trying to will comfort into my bones.
But none of it touched the pit.
A woman in silk gray pants and a matching gray vest broke from the pack and stepped forward on the platform. “Hello, everyone, I am Detective Balogun,” she began. “I won’t say good morning, because it’s far from that. I’m deeply sorry for what has happened here, and I extend my sincerest sympathies to Madame Kim’s family.” She nodded in my direction. “I know you’re all tired and scared. You want to go home, and for those of you who are home, you want to know who came into it and violated it in the worst way.
“I swear to you that I, and my partner, Detective Kaplan, will do everything in our power to achieve those ends, but we’ll need your help,” she said. “My officers have been very thorough in pooling their recollections for the creation of this list.”
Micah brushed his hand across my thigh and slipped under my palm, lacing his fingers through mine.
Even with everything happening, my body responded to his touch—leaving a tide of goose bumps in his hand’s wake. Surrounded by him, Alex, Rhodes, and my best friend, the pit didn’t shrink, but it didn’t grow either.
“This list,” Balogun continued, “is you. With the exception of Mrs. Soo Min Kim, you are the people who left the party and went upstairs for reasons unknown before the time of death. And we will be speaking to you all now—one at a time—to discover why.”
“No, you won’t,” a voice spoke up, turning all eyes to Pixie. She was sandwiched between Button Nose and Chic Ghost like she had been all night. At the table next to her was Mr. Layton—Lily’s teacher. “This is an outrage. I certainly didn’t drive all this way to murder a woman I’ve never even met. I demand you release us,” she said, nodding to her friends. “Now.”
“Happily,” Balogun said smoothly. “As soon as we ascertain why you left the designated party area to wander around the home of a woman you’ve never even met.”
“I’m not answering any questions without my lawyer present,” she snapped.
“As is your right, Mrs. de la Fountaine.” She nodded to Davis, who nodded to an officer posted at the ballroom door, who stuck her head out the door to speak to someone. “We are returning all phones and devices at this time, so feel free to call said lawyer now, and then get comfortable. I hear the three-hour-drive becomes four hours thanks to the New York morning rush hour.”
Mrs. de la Fountaine bristled, clearly hearing the edge that snuck into Balogun’s tone.
“Are you also electing to wait until your lawyer arrives, Mrs. Kim?”
“What?” My head snapped up. “Me? But you just said—”
“You may not be on the list,” she sliced in, “but you did know the victim best. We need to interview you.” She gestured to the door. “After you.”
“Hold on a minute,” Rhodes cried, getting to his feet. “Anything you need to know about our mother-in-law, we can tell you. The last thing we’re going to let you do is interrogate our wife less than twelve hours after she lost her mother. Fuck’s sake, you can see for yourself that she’s in shock.”
What was written on my face that they all could see but I couldn’t?
“Have some compassion,” Micah barked.
Balogun didn’t twitch. “I do have compassion... for Madame Ha-eun Kim.” She pointed again. “After you, Mrs. Kim.”
“She—!”
“It’s okay,” I croaked, stopping Courtney with a hand on her knee. “I’ll talk to them. I won’t be the reason the investigation is held up.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Micah helped me up, and then he just held me. Pressing his forehead to mine, he dropped a light kiss on my nose. “I’m so sorry, baby, but we’re here for you. We’re not going anywhere—you’re not going anywhere—until we find the bastard who did this.”
A deal made what seemed like years ago, floated through my mind. “Just until we find him?” fell from my lips unbidden.
Micah rocked slightly back, brows rising. He tossed a glance at Rhodes and Alex, who looked back at him with the same surprise.
The surprise fell away from Rhodes’s eyes, and something else took hold. “And after.”
“And after,” Micah agreed.
