“No, Meggie’s boyfriend, Patrick, was here too, and so was Andrew, Bev’s husband…” She paused. “How is he? I should go up and see him.”

“I don’t think right now is a good time. He’s getting some medical help at the moment.”

Emma leaned forward, and suddenly, a sob racked her body, her entire frame shaking as she rested her forearms on the table in front of her. “I just can’t believe it.”

“I’m sorry,” Claire said, leaning back in her chair and waiting a few moments for Emma to compose herself. “Were you celebrating something special?”

When the sobs subsided, Emma spoke again. “Well, no… I mean, yes… Well, sort of. We have a family clothing line, and we’re going to be launching our spring collection at Klein’s in July. The owner, Joshua Burlap—he was here as well. The dinner was sort of last-minute. I just wanted to have a few people over to celebrate. I like to host and… I don’t know, it wasn’t anything huge.”

Claire took a note. “When did Beverly and her husband move in upstairs?”

“Two years ago,” Emma replied. “They’re perfect tenants. Quiet and respectful. Bev and I started having each other over for dinner and drinks and became really fast friends. She’s a lawyer, and when I needed some legal advice for the company, she was the obvious choice.”

“What time did Beverly arrive at your party tonight?”

Emma used her palm to dab at her eyes and then sat up straighter. “Um, I can’t really remember. Maybe around seven thirty? We ate dinner around eight, and she wasn’t here that long before that. She had been at the office earlier today.”

“On a Saturday?”

“Bev worked all the time,” she said. “The firm was her life.”

“What time did she leave?”

“Oh, wow, I don’t know,” Emma said, looking down at her hands for a moment. “Maybe around twelve? She was one of the first people to leave. Said she was feeling tired.”

“And the last guest?”

“My sister and Patrick were the last ones here. They left at about twelve forty-five.”

“What did you do after that?”

“I cleaned up a little and then went to bed. I’ll be honest, I had a bit of wine,” she said. “I didn’t wake up again until I heard all the commotion out in the hallway.”

“Did anything seem out of the ordinary to you tonight? With Beverly or anyone else at the party?”

Emma frowned, and her eyes narrowed as she jerked back in her chair. “What do you mean out of the ordinary? Wait, you don’t think that someone who was here tonight did this, do you?”