He watched her. Her head was bowed, and she wouldn’t look at him. Maybe one day she’d be able to stare into his eyes and be her own person, but she wasn’t there yet. He exhaled in disappointment.

‘Serena talked to Curt Dickes tonight,’ he went on. ‘You know what he told her, don’t you?’

Cat chewed her lower lip. ‘Curt bought some things from me when I needed money. It was just a couple times.’

If Cat said it was a couple times, he knew it was many times. And that meant she’d been stealing.

‘What do you need money for?’ he asked.

‘Just day-to-day stuff. Buses. Music. Jewelry sometimes. I like jewelry.’

‘If you need money, you can come to us,’ he said.

‘I know, but I don’t like to do that.’

‘Are you buying drugs?’

‘No. How can you ask me that?’

‘Because you’ve been lying to me, and I don’t trust you.’

‘I’m not using drugs. I’m not.’

Stride tried to stay patient. He couldn’t deal with all of this now. There was only one thing that mattered. ‘Okay, listen to me. You sold a black pearl ring to Curt a couple months ago. Where did you get it?’

‘I don’t remember.’

Which was a lie. Her face was flushed, and she couldn’t look at him.

‘Was it just the ring, Cat? Or was there other jewelry? I can describe all of it to you. Matching black pearl necklace and earrings. A diamond-and-sapphire bracelet. A hummingbird pin. An emerald brooch. Does that sound familiar?’

‘I only had the ring,’ she insisted. ‘How did you find out about it?’

‘Because that ring is connected to a gun, Cat. The gun and all the jewelry I talked about disappeared during a murder nine years ago. Now we’ve found the gun again. It was used in another murder last month.’

Cat’s eyes widened. ‘You mean at the bar – when Serena—’

‘That’s right.’

‘No! That can’t be. That’s impossible.’ She wrung her hands together and looked close to panic.

‘That gun showed up outside the Grizzly Bear Bar, Cat. Now some of the jewelry that went missing along with the gun can be traced to you. You. Do you realize the situation that puts you in?’ He got up and sat down next to her on the other bed. ‘Do you know anything about this gun? Or about the man who used it?’

She shook her head over and over. ‘No! I don’t know anything about a gun! Nothing!’

‘Then where did you get the ring?’

Cat looked dazed. And then she looked angry. ‘Talk to Al.’

‘Al?’

‘He’s my boyfriend. At least he was. He cheated on me. The ring came from his house.’

‘Did he give it to you?’ Stride asked.

‘No, I – I took it.’

‘You stole it? Why?’