“So who killed Marland? One of the Butlers? Peter?” The thought that Mike would order his own son to commit murder chills her.

“The Butlers say it was Mike himself. He knew the neighborhood; it was easy for Butler to direct the patrols away from the house while Marland and Julia were there. Plus, we’ve seen his Russian intel files. Mike was skilled in using a knife for assassination. Marland got used. The video on his phone that he had of Kyle and Danielle leaving that so frightened your daughter? The time stamp had been digitally stripped, but it was from last Halloween. The two of them went out to walk the neighborhood and hang out with other parents supervising the trick-or-treating.”

It was a Winding Creek tradition—parents walking, sometimes drinking a glass of wine, keeping a distant eye on the kids. “Yes. I remember that. I left before Kyle did. Neither wore a costume. Mike was there that evening, too. A big group of us.”

“Mike must have filmed them walking then and tried to make Julia think it was from the night of the murder. He had Steve Butler primed to ‘discover’ Julia at the scene of the crime. That was the actual purpose of his neighborhood watch—to catch Julia as soon as Marland was killed and make her look guilty.”

“He killed him in the few minutes Julia was upstairs?”

“He was a pro and he knew that was his chance. He eliminates someone who could testify against him and takes another huge step in his revenge.”

Iris meets Jill’s gaze with her own. “A pointless revenge. Anya’s death was an accident.”

“But who really pulled that trigger? You or Danielle?”

“Does it matter?”

“Your husband was very ready to sacrifice himself for you, Iris. Kyle put everything on the line to protect you all.”

“I know. I love him so much.”

“That’s sweet. But it makes me wonder. Was that devotion because Kyle knew something you’d done in the past for the whole family, something that he felt he owed you for?”

Iris dares a smile and says, “We’re a team. Always.”

“This journal that ‘Anya’ mentions in the emails. Danielle must have told him about it. I’m sure he wanted to read it.”

Iris won’t look at Jill. “I don’t know what you mean. If I had kept a journal, it would have been to give to my son if I ever had to dissuade him from going back to Russia. To help him understand why he absolutely could not. What the stakes would be.”

Jill waits for her to say more, but Iris doesn’t. Finally Jill says: “But you shot Mike.”

“Yes,” Iris says immediately. “I feared for my life and my son’s life.”

“The pilot and the Russian nurse aboard didn’t see that.”