“Then promise me you’ll say nothing.”

“I can’t promise that,” Nora said with a dismissive shake of her head.

“Now, I’m being serious. This hall is not a courthouse, but you can rest assured every word that comes out of your mouth will be in the meeting notes, and you do not want anything you say to be misconstrued.”

Nora narrowed her eyes. “I’m certainly not going to sit back and say nothing.”

“You will if you know what’s good for you,” Beatty said in the firmest voice I had ever heard him use. “And that goes for all of you. From what I’ve heard, Liz Coleman is going to try to get a rise out of you, and she’s a smart woman with a bit of a mean streak, so don’t take the bait. Is that clear?”

Nora took a long breath, then said, “Crystal.”

Beatty studied her face, but she was revealing nothing. “Well, good. I hope you mean that. I’m going to go sit back down, but keep in mind what I’ve said. All of you. Just lay low.”

Beatty walked back over to his seat beside Roxie, who gave us a big smile and wave. At least she wasn’t worried.

“Okay, everyone, please take your seats. We’d like to begin,” a familiar voice called out.

Williams stood at the podium placed at the front of the room. A few other council members sat behind her at a long table. They looked pretty uncomfortable.

My aunts and I hurried to the only three seats left.

Williams clapped her hands to quiet the crowd. “Now, before we get started, I’d like to say a few words on behalf of the council. We know this has been an upsetting time for everyone. Constance Graves was a beloved member of our community, and we will dearly miss her.”

There were a few awkward coughs, and a couple of chairs scraped against the floor.

“That being said, and despite what may have brought some of you out here tonight, this is not a trial.”

I felt my eyes widen. By saying this was not a trial, this meeting suddenly felt a great deal like a trial. I exchanged looks with Izzy, then looked over to Nora, but she was staring straight ahead.

“Unlike previous town hall meetings, tonight will be an open forum for citizens to express their safety concerns. The council, however, has requested that comments be solely limited to town safety. Any references to the ongoing criminal investigation will be shut down.”

“That’s a laugh.”

The room fell silent as we all looked over to the man who had spoken.

Rip Graves Jr.

“I don’t see how we can talk about town safety,” he began, whirling around in his seat to face Nora, “without discussing the fact that my sister has been murdered.”

Chapter 27

Nora stiffened beside me, but to her credit, she said nothing. I looked down at her hands just to make sure she wasn’t working some sort of charm with her fingers, but no, her hands were folded neatly, albeit a little tightly, on her lap.