“Ms. Banks?”
“Sorry, um.” My mouth goes dry. “I think, uh, around one to sevena.m…. something like that. A noise woke me up at some point. But I fell back to sleep.”
“What kind of noise?”
I look down. “I don’t know…”
Detective Gary narrows his eyes. “Was your husband with you?”
I freeze. Where was Nate?
Looking for Matthew,a voice answers.
No. Nate wouldn’t do that. I should cover for him. He would do the same for me.
“Yes,” I answer, meeting Gary’s eyes.
Gary doesn’t look away. “Mr. DuPont’s body was found near the edge of the St. Clairs’ property. We think whoever attacked him was staying here last night.”
My eyes fall on my shoes, caked in mud, by the door. Something happened in those woods. Detective Gary’s eyes follow, and I look away, but not soon enough.
The room is suddenly too hot. “Mind if I open the door?”
He nods, and I open the door, letting in some air. I hover there, trying to block the shoes with my body.
“If you remember anything else,” Gary says with one last glance around the room, “don’t hesitate to call.”
Simmons follows him out the door, and I think it’s over, until she stops and looks down at my shoes. “Mind if we take these?”
—
I’m left standingthere in the doorway, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach, as Detective Simmons and Detective Gary cross the lawn for the main house. They reach the back stairs at the same time that Nate and Dani emerge.
Nate sets Dani down and is saying something to the detectives, gesturing toward the pool house.
Wait!I want to run over there and tell him to corroborate my story, but it’s too late.
—
While the detectivesare talking to Nate in the main house, Daisy arrives at the pool house with the girls.
The moment I see her, I wrap Dani into my arms. Thankfully she seems fine. “Are you okay?”
She nods, squirming in my tight grasp. “Areyouokay, Mama?”
“Of course.” I force myself to smile as convincingly as possible.
As I help Dani change into a clean shirt, I ask Daisy about her meeting with the detectives. “Did they ask where Scott was?”
“No…why?” Daisy frowns, confused.
Dani runs off into the corner toward our luggage.
“Do you think whoever did it was on the property?”
“The detective seemed to imply that.”
“That’s awful.” Daisy checks her phone. “Marta’s not picking up,” she says. “I’m going to go over to her house.”
