“Of course, I thoroughly considered the rest of you Buttons and your alibis—or awful excuses for alibis, that is. It probably helped that there was that error in the system that logged every guest’s departure time as 00:00—midnight. This meant the police were reliant on unreliable estimates from suspects. You could get away with anything in that unrecorded time, convince anyone of any story, even when the dots weren’t connecting.” She turned to face the fencer, now standing in the middle of them all. “I mean, speaking of the dots not connecting, there was Bilal and his suspicious outfit change.”
“I obviously had to change. I’d fallen into the ocean, something the police already know,” Bilal replied tersely. He shifted, wincing in pain as he did.
“Notthatoutfit change,” Evie said sternly, her eyes meeting those of the other guests in the room, all of whom looked as disturbed as she’d hoped they would. “There was another one, wasn’t there? While everyone was distracted by the fireworks display, you made sure you were swift with your exit, ducking down, making sure no cameras saw you. ButIsaw you—afterthe time you said you’d gotten off the yacht. You were wearing an old crew shirt… It definitely looked a little snug, like it belonged to someone else.”
Bilal said nothing to that, and Evie continued merrily, turning to Fola now. “And you, Fola. I honestly have to say how disappointed I was that you hadsucha flimsy alibi. I expected a lot more from you.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Fola asked. She folded her arms, her face squished into an expression of immense irritation.
“You said you’d left around the same time as Octavius and gone to visit your laboratory in the city. I checked the traffic patterns and even with perfect traffic conditions, it would have been impossible to make it to the lab by the time it registered that you had swiped in. Not only that, but last night, given there were two significant accidents on the only two available routes, the traffic to the city was also particularly miserable. It would have taken you at least another extra half an hour to get there… meaning you must have gotten someone else to swipe in for you.”
At this, Fola had nothing to say.
“And Perdita, the prodigal daughter.” Evie looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. She could kind of see the resemblance the girl had to her father—it was always the eyes. “Statistics would suggest it was you who killed your father. But I’m inclined to believe your alibi about watching the drone show. I spoke to your friend here and he is adamant that you guys were together at that point.” Evie nodded at Thorin, who was standing next to Perdita now, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.
“What I’m saying is, it could have been any one of you. But I’m 95 percent sure it was Octavius. His behavior gives him away. I’ve never seen someone look and act as guilty as he has today. And the cherry on the cake? Earlier this evening, I overheard him in the garden practically confessing to doing it. He was drunk out of his mind, lying on the grass, and mutteringI killed himover and over again. I guess even alcohol can’t soothe a guilty mind.”
Bilal openly grimaced at this new information.
“What about me?” a voice suddenly spoke out.
Evie turned to find Romeo looking at her, his gaze narrowed and determined.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I might not be as important to you or anyone else, but Iama Button,” Romeo said, his voice unwavering. “If you’re going to pick on my siblings, then you’d better pick on me too.”
Evie watched him, steadfast in his convictions, and felt a strange pang as she took him in. Romeo Button, the boy she’d grown up with, who she’d spent hours and hours watching detective shows with, who, despite never giving her any reason to dislike him, was still unfortunately a Button, and therefore had to pay, like his siblings, for what their father had done. He was collateral in this game of justice, in the same way both Adelina and Adam were collateral.
More than any of his siblings, and probably because of how close they’d been as children, Evie did notwantto pick on Romeo. That was why she’d avoided confronting him, not because he wasn’t important.
“Romeo,” she began, but was cut off by the inquisitive voice of Anwar Shah.
“You said you suspected that the murder weapon was the bow. I thought the police said the murder weapon was thick and curved?” Anwar asked. The boy was now standing next to Bilal, Henry no longer where he had been before.
“I suppose that will be something for the police to figure out when the time comes,” Evie said with a shrug, her eyes still dancing over to where Romeo was standing. “But anyway, unless any of you have proof that it wasnotOctavius, I feel inclined to inform the authorities about my findi—” Evie was cut off by the rising sound of voices from beyond the drawing room.
She turned to find Henry being surrounded by a swarm of police officers in the foyer.
Too caught up in her pronouncements, she hadn’t noticed what was happening behind her.
Chief Waxler was handcuffing Henry.
“What’s going on?” Bilal asked, walking quickly to where the police were standing with a sullen-faced Henry in the foyer. Evie followed Bilal out ofthe drawing room, feeling the other Button heirs and remaining five guests edging behind her as she moved.
“I confessed,” Henry said simply.
“Confessed to what, Henry?” Perdita asked.
Henry looked down at his shoes, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry, children.”
“Confessed towhat, Henry?” Fola repeated, stepping forward now.
Henry looked back up, his eyes wet in the corners. “It was me. I was the one who killed your father. I am so sorry,” he said in a low, gravelly voice, remorse clawing at his throat as he spoke.
Evie’s eyebrows shot up.
That can’t be right, she thought. “What? Why would you—” she said before she could stop herself.
