“She wasn’t wearing clothes,” the detective said reluctantly.

“None?”

“Not a stitch.”

This surprised me, and then it didn’t.

“Why do you ask?” said Ray, intent on me.

“She grew up in a Luso-American farming community. Catholic and conservative,” I said. “Suicide is a violation of Catholic doctrine. To strip yourself naked, too—for a young woman, unmarried . . . I know this is the twenty-first century, but it’s still a huge statement.” Or maybe it wasn’t Brenae’s statement. It was someone else’s. Someone who wanted her not just dead but shamed as well.

The detective shifted; she hadn’t expected me to come prepared.

“Out of respect for the family,” she said, her words freighted with judgment, “we don’t always release details.”

There it was. The battle between Alicia Ruiz and Janis: involving Ray meant that the investigation stayed an investigation, but involving me meant that it could become a public story. Open, exposing, and potentially out of control.

“So what do you need me for?” I said.

No one spoke up immediately, and in their silence I heard the clatter of the restaurant, the whoosh of cars passing below.

“It’s a bit unusual,” said Janis. “Go ahead, Ray.”

Ray seemed to hold a brief consultation with his knuckles, and then nodded.

“Having a person on the inside can be an effective investigation strategy in sensitive communities,” he said. “People won’t let their guard down with known investigators, but the fact of an investigation often stirs them to talk to one another. An inside informant can glean a lot of information.” He paused. “Tomorrow Hal Giroux’s crew starts building his next show at the Westing Gallery. His crew—all four of them—are current or former LAAC students, and they were once close with Brenae. They may have insights into what went on at LAAC. I’ve approached them on Janis’s behalf, and they are willing to be interviewed. But meanwhile, we wanted to have someone observe them, too. Janis has worked out a deal with the Westing owner. For someone to work at the gallery and listen in. While they build Hal’s show.”

“You,” said Janis. “They know they’re talking to a private investigator when they talk to Ray,” said Janis. “But they won’t know they are also being watched by a second one during the day.”

“In other words, you would act as the Westing’s gallerina, but you would be an informant, too,” the detective said. “Eyes and ears for Ray’s investigation.”