The words were hot coals pressed to her chest. “Melissa wouldn’t have stood for what you’re saying,” Imani conceded. “But she also wouldn’t have left her child. Even if she killed Nate because he started threatening her or something when she confronted him, she wouldn’t have left Ava. She would have made sure that her daughter understood what had happened.”

Imani didn’t know whether she was saying the words to convince Micky or herself. On some level, she needed to hear them aloud. She needed to see their impression in the air, to know that she’d spoken in her friend’s defense, even if she was no longer completely convinced of it.

“She could have panicked,” Micky said. “Or she might not have been thinking clearly. If she was drinking…”

The last word echoed in Imani’s mind, bringing with it an audible sense of déjà vu. She’d heard him say that before. What are you ladies drinking? Imani imagined the man before her, visible only from the waist up.

Suddenly, she knew where she’d seen him before. “You work for Philip!”

Micky’s cold-reddened face seemed to lose its color. He shook his head.

“You do. You were the bartender at Coffre.” Imani could suddenly see him passing her and Melissa two dirty martinis—extra dirty, as per Melissa’s request. She could see his hazel-brown eyes. His grin and quip that they were on the house. “Not only because you two are beautiful,” he’d explained, “but I hear you know the owners.”

Micky backed up.

“Melissa and I went in for drinks all the time when it first opened,” Imani called after him. “You were behind the bar.”

Abruptly, he turned around and took off toward the park exit. Imani didn’t dare follow. Just as she’d been spooked by his knowing her identity, he had to feel similarly scared that she could tell police exactly who he was. She knew better than to chase a frightened man.

Micky’s confirmation wasn’t necessary. She’d recognized him—and that meant she knew something else. Tonya was the only actress with a kid who’d been working with Philip for years. And she’d already admitted to auditioning for Nate.

Tonya’s sensitivity about her acting career wasn’t about professional failure, Imani decided. Nor had Nate’s scholarship for Layla been out of the goodness of his heart. For eleven years, Tonya had been raising Nate’s illegitimate child. She’d wanted Nate to own up to his responsibility. Or she’d wanted revenge.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

MELISSA

Imani floated above her, arms outstretched. She was saying something that Melissa couldn’t quite make out. I found you or I got you. Melissa reached for her, but her limbs weren’t long enough. The room blurred as if she were crying. Only she wasn’t. She was underwater. Sinking. Her voice couldn’t break through the surface.