“Hello, Ava. I’m Detective Calvente, and this is my partner Detective Powell. We are very sorry for your loss. We can imagine the pain you’re going through, and we want very much to help find your mother.”

Imani stiffened. Where had this empathy been minutes earlier? Had the sight of Ava softened the woman or was this some manipulation tactic?

“Thank you.” The phrase barely made it past Ava’s lips.

“Can you tell me the last time that you saw your mom?”

Imani rubbed Ava’s back, trying to coax out an answer.

“Last night.” Ava’s voice sounded tinny and rough, metal scraping metal. “My mom came into my room around ten and kissed me good night.”

“And when was the last time you, um, saw your dad?” Detective Calvente didn’t add the obvious caveat—alive.

“Maybe an hour earlier?”

“And did—”

“I was working on math homework, and he came in to help. He’s good at geometry.” Ava continued, her voice strengthening. “He’s a great teacher. Everyone thinks of him as this big, untouchable director, but they don’t realize that he’s so good at that because he’s great at explaining things and getting you to see them. He volunteered to teach an online class at the school about visual storytelling. Everyone really loves him. My classmates have been reaching out to say…”

Ava’s speech dissolved into sobs. Detective Calvente’s face softened. Detective Powell, meanwhile, looked down at his meaty hands resting in his lap. He sat with his back hunched and legs pressed close to the base of his chair, as if he were trying to fold his large body into as small a package as possible.

“He wouldn’t have killed himself,” Ava said. “Online, people are saying he was depressed because he wasn’t working. But he’d been busy teaching and spending time with us. He loved us. He wouldn’t just leave.”

Detective Calvente smiled in a way that she clearly intended to be sympathetic, but Imani suspected was patronizing. “Do you—”

“Do you believe Nate was murdered?” Quid pro quo, Imani thought. “Because if you have evidence that Ava’s father didn’t take his own life, it would be helpful for her to hear that.”

Detective Calvente shot her partner a look. He shrugged, almost imperceptibly. “Ava, during an investigation, there are details that we don’t want anyone to know so that, if there’s a bad guy—or girl—out there, they don’t realize that we’re looking for them. You understand?”

Though the female detective spoke to Ava, she looked up at Imani, making sure she was on board with whatever agreement the child made. “Yes.” Ava nodded.