“I didn’t.”

“So why were you so quick to hire a detective to look into his past?”

“That’s how lawyers win cases,” Peter said. “We dig up secrets.”

“I just wonder if you already knew what Serena would find.”

“I didn’t. Don’t go looking for conspiracy theories, Tish. I had no idea Finn was in the park, and I didn’t know a thing about his past.”

Tish said nothing.

“You may hate me, but wishing I was guilty doesn’t make it true,” Peter added.

“Ray Wallace thought you were guilty. So did your father.”

“They didn’t know about Finn.”

“If you were innocent, why did you let the police hide and destroy evidence for you?”

“Because plenty of innocent men have gone to jail,” Peter snapped. “I’m getting tired of this, Tish. People like you assume that being rich makes you guilty.”

He sounded defensive. Nervous. As if she had struck a chord.

“Pat Burns may be done with you, but I’m not,” Tish said. “I was planning to leave town, Peter, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe Finn only thinks he killed Laura, because he saw who did. Maybe he saw you.”

_______

Maggie was almost asleep when she heard what sounded like the angry chatter of an insect somewhere in her bedroom. Her eyes sprang open. Disoriented, she fumbled for the lamp on her nightstand and blinked at the bright light. The buzzing sounded like a june bug, one of those brown summer beetles that flies blindly into screen doors and then drops like a rock and beats its wings in agitation. She realized, however, that the muffled noise was too melodic. When it continued into a third chorus, she remembered that she had switched her cell phone to vibrate mode during the press conference and then left her phone in the pocket of her black slacks draped over a chair.

The phone was ringing.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was midnight. She climbed out of bed and retrieved the phone. The bedroom curtains billowed like sails in the lake breeze.

“Maggie Bei.”

“Ms. Bei, I’m sorry to be calling you so late. This is Donna Biggs.”

Maggie wandered to the window with the phone in her hand. Outside, the night clouds were black. She smelled a storm. “What can I do for you, Donna? Is something wrong?”

She heard hesitation in the woman’s voice. “I don’t know. I think so.”

“What is it?”

“Clark and I were together at a bar in Gary this evening. We saw the press conference that Ms. Burns held.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Maggie said. “I tried to reach both of you to tell you what you were going to hear, but I couldn’t connect with you in time.”

“I understand.”

“I hope you realize that I’m still chasing the peeping incidents aggressively. I’m not giving up on this case. I only wish I could be more encouraging about charges related to Mary’s death.”

“It’s not your fault,” Donna replied. “I’m just afraid that Clark is very upset. I could see it in his eyes tonight. He’s devastated.”