“Yes, and you can hate me for that tomorrow. But tonight you have to think about what you saw in Raven’s orchard. Dr. Holloway was up in the trees, and he was wearing gloves. He was pruning the branches. If he found the Recipe for the Perfect Murder in a tree hollow—”

“No,” Raven broke in, voice shaking. Hands shaking too.

“He would’ve already known how to poison Evelyn. He just wouldn’t have known why, until he found the loose vent the day I snuck over to your house.” Belle reached for Raven’s hands, but he jerked away from her.

“No. He would never—”

“He must’ve found the tape recorder,” Jack said, “and recognized your mom’s voice. He must’ve realized you’d been telling the truth about hearing her in the middle of the night.”

“Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?” Raven clutched his head in his hands, taking a step backward. He looked like a fawn that had been cornered in the forest. Shaky limbs. Glittering eyes. “Lily’s dad killed my mom in cold blood, and then he came back here to keep Evelyn from taking Lily away. We know he’s a killer.”

“My dad was home that entire night,” Lily said. “And he never knew anything about the recipe I’d hidden in the orchard. I didn’t tell anyone where it was, not even Belle. The only person who could’ve found it was your dad. Then, three days ago, it was sitting on your kitchen table, and my mother was lying on the floor beside it. Whoever killed her had to have planted it there.”

“This isn’t true. This isn’t real.” Raven leaned against the wall, taking long, slow breaths. “I lost my mom. I lost all of you for three years. Please don’t take away my dad.”

“He let me get arrested,” Belle snarled. “He would’ve let me rot for years—”

Jack held up a hand. Cautiously, he stepped forward, cupping Raven’s face. At first Raven flinched, but then he leaned into Jack’s touch, letting himself be cradled. Letting himself be held. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Jack whispered, forehead touching Raven’s. “We won’t take your family away from you. Whatever happens, you get to choose—”

“You’re my family.” Raven’s head snapped up. His voice was calmer than before, though his legs still trembled. “You’ve always been my family. And I think… I need to know the truth.”

Jack nodded, wrapping an arm around Raven’s shoulders. “We’ll confront him together. Maybe we’re wrong, and there’s an explanation for—”