The amount sounded huge, but her attorney had insisted she needed the insurance. Now that Gabby wasn’t getting a dime, she wished her attorney had required a few more protections on the money. She’d be fine, but not where she was before. She’d already started looking for legal jobs she might be qualified for after all these years of not practicing. “That amount was to cover future alimony and expenses for Kennedy and—”

“And it provides motive.”

“Wait . . . me? You just spent five minutes laying out a case against Liam.”

“I never said we thought he did it alone.”

The woman was relentless. And wrong. Gabby would be the first to admit she’d made mistakes. She’d been furious with Baines and his attitude during the divorce. She’d used old photos and recounted family stories to remind him of their life together, of all those years, but no plea blunted his need to grind her down.

But their marriage, all those years of friendship, meant something, and that’s why she couldn’t blindly agree to the suicide ruling. Now the entire family would pay for her persistence.

The juxtaposition of Detective Schone standing in front of a wall of posters, a sea of young male entertainers Gabby couldn’t identify if someone put a gun to her head, made it hard for her to concentrate. “At least you finally agree Baines was murdered.”

Detective Schone picked a stuffed teddy bear off the shelves above Kennedy’s desk. She fiddled with something in the back of it.

“What are you doing?” Gabby thought about grabbing the toy out of the other woman’s hands but settled for the question.

“We had to be proactive after someone ignored the police tape and came into the house a few weeks ago.” The detective held up a black square. “Can’t be too careful.”

“A camera? What is wrong with you?”

“There’s an easy way to end this, Gabby.” Detective Schone dropped the bear on the desk. “If you agree and point the finger at Liam, all this goes away. You get your money. You get your life back. You might even get this house, depending on how the facts go.”

A devil’s bargain. Her financial well-being in exchange for Liam’s life. Gabby couldn’t believe the detective thought that game would work. “He didn’t do it.”

“This is a simple answer to a complex problem.” The detective leaned against the back of the desk chair, looking calm despite the sick ideas she spewed. “I’m sure Liam can be convinced to confess if it means saving you and Kennedy. Then all those nasty secrets you want to keep hidden, stay hidden. No one knows your business. The dirty laundry doesn’t get dragged out for all to see, dissect, and whisper about.”