All the bedroom doors featured the same antique lock and key as Jasper’s, which meant Tim and I could lock everyone in. There’d be no way for them to get from the second-story windows down to ground level without breaking some bones, and no way to get through a locked door without breaking it down. I’d been having visions of a long, abysmal Agatha Christie–style night spent watching those doors and waiting out the storm. But help was finally coming, and not a moment too soon. We were getting off the island at last.

Bebe drained what was left of her wine. Ned nibbled at the skin around his flawless nails. When Tim was satisfied they’d comply with his orders, he nodded at me to follow him into the hall.

“Okay, Shana,” he said, out of earshot of the others, “start talking.”

I was determined to be professional about the situation. Everything Tim had said about Carson could wait. I wasn’t prepared to make a call about our killer, but I had some ideas. “It’s all about the money,” I told him. “Flynn and Bebe don’t have any, but Jasper does, and he’s in line to get more when Camilla’s gone. If Jasper’s not around to take it, there’s a good chance it goes to them.

“That explains Jasper’s disappearance, and Abella’s, too. She either knew who killed him or why. Something happened over the course of the day that tipped her off, because she hadn’t caught on this morning when I interviewed her, I’m sure of that. That’s why she wanted to talk to me. She had a lead on the killer, based on some behavior she saw in here, or some realization she had about her argument with Jasper. And the killer knew it.

“Now, who can we eliminate?” I went on. “Camilla, for one. She’s way too weak, and she’s got no motive. As for Jade . . . Jade’s trouble, and I’d be willing to bet she’s furious with Jasper and the girlfriend who took him from her. Could she move Jasper’s body? No—at least not alone—but she may not be entirely blameless.”

“That all sounds pretty reasonable,” Tim said, interrupting me. “A second round of interviews could get us closer, remove a couple more people from the equation. But this isn’t why I brought you out here.”

It took a second for me to catch on. “What,” I said. “Now?” I sounded like Bebe in the library, trapped and desperate to wriggle away, but I couldn’t help it. “Shouldn’t I be calling McIntyre?”

Tim glanced back at the parlor. We were shoulder to shoulder with clear sight lines, just a few feet from the door, but even that amount of distance from our suspects made me deeply uncomfortable, and I could tell Tim shared my apprehension. “You know how I feel about this case,” he said. “I never tried to hide it. I believed we’d find Jasper alive. I don’t anymore.” His gaze moved up the stairs toward the crime scenes, the second room we’d locked to preserve what we could. “These people are dangerous. Whatever’s going on with you, you need to tell me. I have to know you’re capable of doing this.”