Half an hour later, his sandy head popped out the front door. He really did look like his author photo.

“Ben!” I called.

His head swiveled in my direction. He frowned.

“I’m Deirdre,” I said. “Caroline’s sister. I wanted to meet you.”

“Hey,” he said, coming toward me. “I was going to reach out later tonight. I wish we could talk now, but I’ve got to meet with someone.” He glanced at his watch. “Could we talk tomorrow?”

“Sure. I just—”

“Great. I’ll text you.” He started moving away, down the steps. I realized he didn’t even have my number. He was blowing me off.

“Was Caro meeting you the morning she died?” I yelled after him.

He stopped suddenly and turned. “Don’t.”

“I need to know. Was that why she came here? Because she was seeing you?”

He trotted up the steps so we were face-to-face again, glancing to either side, even though the street was empty. “Keep your voice down.”

“I talked to the police this morning. They need to know Caro was coming here to meet you.”

“How does that matter?” He sounded exasperated.

I lowered my voice. “My sister sent me a message saying her husband was going to kill her. She wrote it before she went out, the morning she died. On the day of her funeral, I confronted Theo, and he told me Caro was seeing someone else. Clearly, he meant you.” We stared at each other. “You need to tell the police about it. It changes things. It gives Theo a motive to hurt Caro.”

“I know Theo’s responsible for her death,” Ben said. “But it’s not that simple. I can’t talk to the police.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“How much did Caroline tell you about what she was doing?”

I didn’t understand the question. “Meaning what?”

Ben shook his head. “I know your sister loved you, but I don’t think she told you what was really going on. I don’t need a loose cannon blowing shit up.”

“You can either tell me what you mean, or you can tell the police. I’m not keeping secrets about the affair you two were having. If that’s why Theo killed her, the cops need to know.”

Ben leaned forward, so close I could smell spearmint on his breath. “What Caroline was doing was illegal. You want to make that fact public and burn down your sister’s reputation? Go ahead. But that’s on you. You should think about what she wanted, not what you want.”

He turned and rushed down the steps, leaving me speechless. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I was afraid to find out.

CHAPTER 19 THEO

CHAPTER 19

THEO

When I walked out of my father’s suite, I thought I was done with my visit to Thraxton International. But an invisible cord pulled me toward Caroline’s office.