I put my hand on his arm, trying to soothe his temper. He had every right to be angry. I thought about the smarmy Dooney who had knocked on our door to talk to Viv. He’d clearly wanted her to feel jealous that he was marrying Piper, which was ridiculous. It had been so obvious that what he accused Viv of—pining for him—was what he’d been doing, pining for her. Dooney was not someone who felt empathy, and the idea that he’d wanted Andre to be his photographer to make amends was laughable. I knew in my heart Andre was right. Dooney wanted him there to torture him.

“Yeah, I don’t think he changed either,” I said.

“I appreciate your support,” Andre said. He put his arm around my shoulders, pulled me into a half hug and kissed the top of my head. I hugged him back.

“It’s not just that I support you, although I do one hundred percent,” I said. “The fact is, he was murdered. That seems a solid indicator that he never changed his bullying ways and someone had finally had enough.”

“Agreed.”

“The question that remains is, Who else is here that he bullied to the point where they felt compelled to murder him to be rid of him?”

We stared at each other for a moment and then glanced up at the castle. The centuries-old pile of rocks was keeping secrets, and if we wanted to get out of here, we needed to try to figure out exactly what they were.

*   *   *

“Why do we have to eat in the dining room?” Viv asked. We closed the door to our suite and walked down the passageway to the stairs.

“I suspect because the detective wants it that way,” Andre said. “What better opportunity will he have to observe everyone all together?”

We’d been informed by one of the castle staff that tonight’s dinner was being served as if it were the rehearsal dinner because they already had the menu planned and the food shouldn’t go to waste. The dining room had been set up for the rehearsal dinner well in advance, so it was also easier on the staff to stick to the original plan. It was sound reasoning, but I suspected that Andre’s theory was more accurate.

“But we’re just hatmakers and a photographer,” I said. “And I’m not even really a hatmaker. I’m just here to . . .”

“Smooth things out when I’m rude to people,” Viv said.

“Yeah, that,” I agreed. Viv smiled at me, and I felt our unbreakable cousin bond thrum between us.

“I suppose we need to look on the bright side,” Andre said.

“A man was murdered, you two are potential suspects, and you think there’s a bright side?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Which would be what?” Viv asked.

“There’ll be free booze with dinner,” he said.

He wasn’t wrong.