“Because I was telling myself I needed to do this on my own. To be less dependent on you—and everyone I know. In Hopewell, it’s like everyone still treats me like I’m the town’s little sister. What are you not telling me? Obviously, something that hairdresser said has you rattled.”

“Did you talk to her about her boyfriend?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. We were shooting the shit. I think I asked how they met because it seems like everyone meets online now, and the whole idea of it freaks me out.”

Lindsay decided to rip off the Band-Aid. “The hairdresser’s boyfriend was Alex Lopez. And she told the police that you sought her out, gave her a fake name, and then spent the whole appointment asking about him. She also told them that Alex recently mentioned that someone from his past had shown up on a boat trip. That he seemed upset, but then he wouldn’t give her any details.”

Hope’s shoulders slumped as she processed the implications. “And they know I was the one who made the fishing plans.”

Thanks to me, Lindsay thought. She was afraid of driving Hope back into hiding, but it was essential that she understand the gravity of her situation. It was becoming clear why they would suspect her of killing Lopez.

But Lindsay’s job was to differentiate a suspicion from actual proof. The police would need physical evidence. They’d need a concrete theory. Where did Hope get a gun? Where was the gun now? Where did the murder take place? How did she move the body? Lindsay saw reasonable doubt everywhere she looked.

“The keychain you used to defend yourself,” Lindsay said. “Do you still have it?”

Hope nodded, reached into her purse, and produced a key ring, the purple cat-shaped self-defense device. “I should probably dump it, huh?”

Hope had clearly washed it, but trace DNA evidence was still a possibility. And even without blood evidence, any physical cuts or bruises left behind on Lopez’s body could be matched to the shape of the two “ears” that Hope had wielded as a weapon against him.

As of now, Hope was only a potential witness, not yet subject to a subpoena or search warrant. And to Lindsay’s knowledge, no grand jury had been convened. As a result, Hope’s keychain did not officially qualify as formal “evidence,” which meant Hope could still dispose of it without facing criminal charges.

On the other hand, as a member of the bar, Lindsay was in dangerous ethical territory if she explicitly advised Hope to destroy tangible personal property that was obviously relevant to a homicide investigation.