“You know what I think?” Lily strode past her and sat on the bed. Her fingers brushed the petals of the rose with so much tenderness, Belle swore she felt movement in her chest. Not quite a beat. But a definite pulse. “I think you cast a spell that day, standing in the rose garden and feeling your heart break. I think you let it go because you thought it would kill you to feel that pain. But you’re stronger now.” She patted the bed, and Belle sat beside her, her stomach tightening in anticipation. Lily turned to her. She turned to Lily. “There’s only one way to break the spell,” Lily said. Miraculously, her hand was no longer caressing the rose, but rather had come to rest on Belle’s.

That time she felt more than a pulsing inside her chest. She felt a thud. “How?” she asked, turning her hand over so they could lace their fingers together.

“You have to kiss someone.” Lily looked up, a slight quirk in her lips. “Someone you love. Do you think you can do it?”

Belle sucked in a breath, forcing herself to look Lily in the eyes. “I can try,” she whispered, and though nothing happened between them that night, the possibilities unfolded inside her like pathways twisting in a forest. They could have adventures together, and maybe someday her heart would be healed enough to let Lily in.

Now, sitting in a cold gray cell, she thought of what that hope had cost her. Lily had left her in this place, and Lily had not even tried to provide her with an alibi, because Lily was protecting her dad.

“We need to call Raven,” Belle whispered to Jack. “Lily hid the Recipe for the Perfect Murder in the orchard, and if she mentioned the location to her dad, he must’ve gone looking for it. Maybe he left evidence out there. A strand of hair or a piece of his jacket.”

“It’s a long shot,” Jack replied. “And if Lily told her dad where to find the recipe, she’d have to know he poisoned Evelyn. Maybe he overheard her talking about it.”

“Where? She’s been at the facility for the past three years, and the walls there are thick. It’s not like at Raven’s house, where you can hear people talking through the vents.” Belle frowned, her brow furrowing. “I went over there the day Evelyn died, you know. To search Raven’s room.”

“Raven told me,” Jack said, taking a deep breath. “They got you on camera entering the estate. I assume you wouldn’t have gone through the front gate if you were planning to murder someone.”