“Who was she talking to?” Jessie asked quickly, not wanting the vibe to get too accusatory.

“I don’t know. The other voice on the line was loud. But I was in a different room. I didn’t want Claire to know I was listening in. Can’t you guys trace that kind of thing?”

“Yes, we can, Gabby,” Jessie said reassuringly. “What else can you tell us about last night?”

“I already told the other detectives about the date she had that night. She usually kept all the details in her phone.”

“Is it possible that she brought her date back to the house, as you did with Carter?” Jessie asked.

“I doubt it,” Gabby said, settling into the chaise a little more. She looked like she was fading a bit.

“Why not?” Jessie asked.

“She didn’t like to bring guys back to our place. If she was feeling…friendly she’d usually go to theirs. She didn’t like people knowing where she lived. She’s had a few bad experiences, you know?”

“Actually,” Dolan said, looking peeved, “we don’t know. But it sounds like exactly the sort of think we’d want to pursue. Can you give us any names?”

“None jump to mind,” Gabby said, oblivious to the fact that she was contradicting herself repeatedly. “I didn’t really keep track of her dates unless she mentioned a name a few times. I figured that if it wasn’t important enough to her, I didn’t need to commit it to memory either.”

Jessie got the sense that there were enough “dates” between the two of them that keeping track of names might be challenging. She looked over at Carter Harrington, who was shifting the weight on his feet back and forth uncomfortably, as if the conversation was getting into territory he’d rather avoid. She was debating whether this was the moment to go to those places when Dolan dived in.

“Ms. Cantu,” he said, his tone dropping any pretense of warmth, “it’s pretty clear you’re hiding a few things from us. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but lying to a federal agent is a crime.”

Jessie’s heart sank. The girl was already fragile, and threatening her seemed counterproductive

“I’m not lyi—” Gabby started to insist.

Dolan cut her off.

“Even saying you’re not lying could be construed as a lie,” he noted. “There is clearly something going on with your and Claire’s dates that you are holding back on sharing with us. I get it. You don’t want to incriminate yourself. But here’s the thing, we’re going to find everything out anyway, eventually. The only questions are: will it be sooner or later and will you be helpful or not. If it’s sooner and you’re helpful, we can be very accommodating. If it’s later and you’re not, we can be very tough.”

Gabby looked terrified. Jessie tried to tamp things down a bit without stepping on Dolan’s toes too much. She decided not to play good cop so much as less terrifying cop.