Then, Ruby spotted a figure matching Sylvia’s description. She was sitting with a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes, on a bench out of view, in the shade. It looked as if she were hiding from the world.

She bore a striking, heartbreaking resemblance to her sister. It must have made it that much harder for Sylvia to identify Alannah’s body.

Ruby elbowed Gabe and he followed her over to the bench.

“Sylvia?” Ruby asked, recognizing her from her photo.

The woman stood, clearly nervous, but she nodded.

“Sorry to make you come here,” Sylvia said. “I don't feel safe in private places anymore.”

Ruby exchanged a look with Gabe. She had seen this before. It took a long time for trauma to settle.

“Let's sit,” Ruby said, trying to set her at ease.

The three of them sat side by side on the bench, and Ruby noted Sylvia's knees bouncing, another nervous tick.

“I know who killed my sister,” Sylvia said. “Brett. Her ex. He's a creep. He was spying on her.”

Ruby and Gabe exchanged a look. Ruby was beginning to understand why Sylvia had been wary of coming forward sooner.

“Tell us more,” Ruby said.

“When I lived with her, I noticed he never took down his cameras,” Sylvia said. “In the bathroom. In the kitchen. All over the place. Alannah told me. She saw them. When she asked him about it, he threatened her. The way he looked at her … he's a monster. He must have killed her.”

All that circumstantial evidence did sound damning. Ruby pursed her lips, unsure what this new connection meant after Vallejo had given her that warning at the prison.

“Why didn’t you tell the police all this?” Gabe asked, “when you called 911 that night?”

Sylvia shrugged helplessly. It was a valid question, but Ruby could see plainly how overwhelming it must have been. Sylvia spoke to Alannah as it happened. That must have weighed heavily on her, on top of the truth of Alannah’s history that was steadily emerging. The guilt must have been crushing Sylvia. Ruby understood exactly what it was like to look at past events and wonder what small changes may have led to a different outcome.

“They already knew and didn’t do much. Alannah took out a restraining order, but then dropped it. She was embarrassed. Brett was jealous, possessive. Wouldn’t leave her alone. He was obsessed, even months after they broke up.”

“So, they broke up a while ago?” Ruby asked. It sounded that way. “If he was obsessed, then why now?”

Ruby would’ve expected to see more escalation before a jilted ex turned to murder. Sylvia’s description was very suspicious, and it seemed like too much to be a coincidence, but there was something off about it that Ruby couldn’t put her finger on.