Finally, with a voice resembling that of a tiny bird, Tinsley said quietly, “I only did it because I felt like she needed to be honest. Honesty is everything, you know? How was she going to marry that man and join his family, how could she call those people her friends… if they didn’t know the truth about what she did?”

“What she did?”

Tinsley frowned.

“Maybe I should get a lawyer,” she said suddenly, sticking out her chin.

The detective shrugged, leaning back in her chair. She said nothing.

But Tinsley was stubborn too, letting the minutes pass by slowly, and quietly.

“You think the truth should be out in the open. That’s why you wrote the note about Rosalee’s secrets… well, come on then, Tinsley. Let’s hear it. Tell me what Rosalee did that was so bad.”

Tinsley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Rosalee killed her father.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Interview: Suspect #4

“Where were you when the lights went out last night?” the detective asked.

Bri Beake, like so many of the other women from the party, was shaken and distraught. But her shakiness seemed less like nervousness, and more like the telltale signs of someone who needed a stiff drink or a hit from their favorite drug. Detective Nina Smalls should know—her father had suffered from alcohol addiction throughout most of his career. That’s why she refused to touch the stuff now.

“I was upstairs in my room, trying to sleep. I’d had too much to drink. We all had. And things were tense when we got back to the house from Bourbon Street. Mara seemed determined to get everyone riled up and we all went our separate ways after the gathering at the firepit,” Bri said.

Detective Smalls said nothing.

“Do you know who did this?”

“Not yet,” the detective answered, honestly.

“Well, why are you wasting your time on me, then? I certainly didn’t do it. What reason would I have for killing her?”

“You tell me.” The detective shrugged.

Bri groaned. “We’ve been here for nearly twenty-four hours now, it seems! This isn’t right. We are in shock, and we’re traumatized… and we’ve already missed our flight home! If you don’t release me soon, I’m going to call my brother. He’s a lawyer. Did you know that?”

The detective clicked her pen, open and closed.

Finally, she said, “No one is accusing you of anything, Bri. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of things. When the lights went out, you stayed in bed. Correct?”

Bri drummed her fingers on the desk, impatiently. “Yes, I told the other detectives that when they wrote down my initial statement.”

“The lights went out a little after midnight. But you didn’t find the body until almost 3:30 a.m.”

“Yes. For the millionth time,” Bri cried in exasperation.