Eban pressed his lips together, not liking how this case was starting to circle around Darby.

“Her name is Adele. She’s lovely. Are you sure she’s dead?” Her voice broke.

Eban nodded. “According to Detective Torgerson and the local news she was murdered at St. Paul’s church last night.”

Darby was shaking so hard Eban worried she might collapse again.

“Two people I know are dead. I can’t believe this is a coincidence.”

“Me neither,” Eban agreed.

“Why would someone do this to them?”

He stayed silent.

Her eyes widened and shot to his. “Someone is trying to make it look like I’m responsible, aren’t they?”

“And doing a crappy job of it, thank god.”

Her eyes flashed. “Only because you’re with me and how many people knew that? Not many.”

He hated that she might be right. If she hadn’t had an alibi, if she’d hunkered down in a motel alone, the cops would have already locked her up. “But I was here, and we will figure this out. Now you need to eat breakfast and get ready so we can head into town and make official statements that will clear your name.”

And figure out who knew Darby well enough to make these connections and what was their end game? With luck they’d tripped up last night and the police could identify and track them down. One thing was for sure. Eban couldn’t leave Darby until this killer had been caught and locked up, no matter how long that might be.

* * *

Darby stared tiredly at the detective. Torgerson had changed her mind and called Eban during their drive in and insisted they meet at the police station. Darby met Elliot Byrne there, and the three of them were once again back in the interview room, exactly as they’d been yesterday. Darby felt the actuality of it all sucking at her soul despite Eban’s and Elliot’s reassurances.

It was a nightmare that never ended.

“SSA Winters says you were with him all last night.” Condemnation rang in the detective’s tone, designed presumably to make Darby feel bad or guilty or something. The detective didn’t seem to like her much. It was a small consolation that Torgerson had dark circles under reddened eyes and looked as if she hadn’t slept recently. Usually, Darby would feel bad for the other woman but somewhere between handcuffs and a rape kit her sympathies had died.

“Correct,” Darby said.

“Are you two personally involved?” Torgerson asked sharply.

“How is that relevant to your case?” Elliot cut in.

“It’s very relevant if SSA Winters is working on Darby’s case.”

“Darby’s case?” Elliot leaned forward. “Martin Carstairs’s murder is not ‘Darby’s’ case. From what I gather, all SSA Winters has done is make you collect more evidence, run more tests and ask more questions, which you should have already been doing.”

Hard blue eyes locked onto Elliot. Darby realized this was less about her and more about the detective’s hostility toward her lawyer. “SSA Winters attempting to divert suspicion away from his girlfriend would definitely be a problem as far as the authorities are concerned.”