Philip glared at her. “I thought you were going to stop playing detective. We agreed. It’s not your job. You’re supposed to be here taking care of our kids and helping—”

“He said that he contacted Melissa to tell her about Nate pressuring young actresses to sleep with him,” Imani said. “It happened to his girlfriend, and she got pregnant.”

Philip rubbed his forehead with his free hand, his signature processing gesture. “So you think Nate had an affair and Melissa killed him—”

“No. I—”

A crash cut her off. Her phone hit the wall with a dull thud thanks to the screen protector. She rushed over to the device and collected it from the floor. “Philip, why would—”

“Who did it, Detective Banks?” Philip shouted. “What theory have you developed running around, unarmed, after strange men who for all you know are murderers? What have you learned that’s worth our kids missing a parent, huh?”

Philip’s volume wrested Imani’s attention from the cracked plastic atop her cell screen. “It was nothing to worry about. I went to see a guy who worked for you.”

“You didn’t know that then, though. Or you would have told me.”

“I wanted to. But you’ve been so stressed—”

“I’m stressed because, instead of focusing on our family, all you care about is Melissa!”

Philip had never hit her. But Imani saw the desire in his stare. She’d seen that same focus and fury on the faces of other men who had later been revealed to be abusive.

Imani raised her hands in surrender. “Hear me out, okay? Tonya works at your restaurant and knows Micky or Mike or whatever. He said Nate pressured his friend when she was in her twenties. The friend got pregnant. Layla would be the right age.”

Philip drove both hands into his hair. “What are you getting at? Do you even hear yourself? Why does any of this matter?”

“Because.” Imani realized she was shouting to match Philip’s volume. She lowered her voice. “Because I think Tonya might have been blackmailing Nate for money to keep quiet about Layla. I think that’s why she lied about knowing him and why he paid for Layla’s schooling.”

Philip’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, as if he were running a marathon standing still. “So what if Nate was paying her tuition?”

Imani patted the air. Even if Tonya had left, Layla might be in the house. “Please keep your voice down and listen one second.” She took a deep breath, modeling the behavior she wanted from Philip. “Clearly Nate stopped giving her money at some point for child support. Otherwise, she’d still be in her apartment.”

Philip crossed his arms over his chest. “And…”

“And I think, maybe, she confronted him about it and things got ugly.” Imani took a deep breath. “I think it’s possible that Tonya killed Nate.”