"We've talked with the other girls as well, and now we'd like to hear from you, in your own words, what happened that night," King said.
Uneasiness slithered through me. What had the other girls said? Did their stories match Mia's? What would happen if they didn't?
"Can you tell us what happened when you arrived at Chloe's house?" King asked.
Mia took a shaky breath. "We got there around 5 p.m. We got ready in Chloe's bathroom, did our hair and makeup, put our dresses on, and went out to the bluff. I took a bunch of pictures of all the girls. Then we went back inside and ate the chicken tacos that Mrs. Westinghouse ordered from Azul Tequila. We watched the newest Hunger Games movie, talked about school and the dance, and went to bed around 11:30 p.m."
"Did you go down to the beach for photos?" King asked.
"No, we stayed on top of the bluff. It was more dramatic high up with the lake in the background."
"So, you never went down to the beach?"
Mia shook her head. "No."
I went still, thinking of Mia's sandy slippers in her closet.
"Mia," King said mildly, "did you and Leah have any disagreements Friday night? Even a small one? It's okay if you did. Friends argue. That's normal."
"We… we were fine," Mia said. "Everyone was just laughing and goofing off. Taking pictures. No one was fighting." She blinked and looked down at the table.
I glanced at Camille. She maintained her composed façade, her expression unreadable. Her gold hoop earrings glinted under theharsh lights. She looked unflappable, while my heart hammered in my chest, each beat echoing loudly in my ears.
"Did you or the other girls drink any alcohol or smoke some pot or anything else?" Callahan asked.
"Not that I know of."
"Have you ever sleepwalked or are you on any sleep medication like Ambien?" Callahan asked.
"Don't answer that, Mia," Camille said. "Detective, you told us this was a witness interview. If you consider Mia a suspect, we're done here."
Callahan smiled, showing too many teeth. "We're simply trying to determine if there was any impaired behavior that may have affected memory or altered normal behavior with anyone at the sleepover."
Mia jumped in. "No, we didn't do anything like that."
Camille gave the detectives a sharp look. "You have your answer. Now move on."
"What time did you go to bed?" King asked, though Mia had already answered that question.
"Around 11:30 p.m., I think. Around then. We were tired. It was a busy week."
"And you stayed in your sleeping bag all night?" Callahan asked.
"Yes," Mia said. "I was tired. I didn't get up."
"And you didn't see Leah again after you went to sleep?" King asked.
"No. She was in her sleeping bag when I fell asleep. That's all I know."
"Alexis mentioned waking up around 12:30 in the morning to get a drink of water," Callahan said. "She says your sleeping bag was empty."
"Alexis is wrong," Mia said quickly. "She must've… gotten confused."
"She was quite specific," Callahan said. "She remembers being annoyed that she had only slept for an hour, and she claims Leah's sleeping bag looked empty, too."
Mia looked affronted. "Alexis was the one not in her sleeping bag, not me!"
"I thought you were sleeping the whole time?" Callahan asked.
