“So you know you have the right to remain silent.” His eyes widen a little at the Miranda warning, but he nods again. Hurry up, I see him think. “And anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you want to call your father?” I’m hedging my bets here. Something about Cade’s softness, the mothering tendencies we already saw from Samantha, tells me he’s a mama’s boy and would prefer not to involve his dad in any way.

Sure enough, he shakes his head. “I don’t need an attorney.” Right. Not like Michael, his steady gaze says. Not guilty.

“You and Jay Kemp have been roommates at the Kappa Phi Omicron house since last fall, correct?”

“Yes.”

“How would you categorize your relationship with Jay?”

“Fine.”

I raise my eyebrow. “This morning, the fourteenth of November, you told us that Jay was a messy roommate. He was, in your words,” I thumb through my notes, “a slob, and his behavior was making you ill.” I pause. “I wouldn’t call that ‘fine.’”

He shrugs.

“Care to elaborate?”

“It was fine because I stopped sleeping there and didn’t have to deal with him anymore.” A slight flush spreads across his cheeks.

“Because for the past two months, you’ve been staying with your girlfriend, Samantha Barron, at a condominium on Downing Way.”

“Yes.”

“And this morning, Samantha described Jay as”—I make a show of skimming my notes again—“an asshole. Is that correct?”

He nods warily, and I point to the recorder. “Out loud, please.”

“Yes, she said that.”

There’s a tap on the door and Oliver strides in. He doesn’t look at Cade but whispers something in Teddy’s ear. Michael’s lawyer has arrived.

Teddy nods. “Right, Cade, I have to step out.” He stands and puts his hand on my chair. “Need anything? Water?” He smiles at me. “Coffee?”

“Coffee would be great, thanks.”

“Cade?” Teddy turns to Cade, who’s looking between the pair of us. I see him wonder—people in love think they see romance everywhere—and then shake his head.

“All right,” Teddy says brightly. “Be back in a few.”

The door shuts behind him. I stare at it a moment, wondering if he’ll get anything good out of Michael with his lawyer present.

Cade clears his throat.

“Right. We were talking about your relationship with Jay Kemp. You thought he was a slob. Samantha thought he was an asshole.”

“Yeah,” he says, voice tired all of a sudden. I wonder what time he had plans with Samantha.

“You also confirmed Samantha’s report that Jay thought brothers should have sex with each other’s girlfriends.”

Cade fidgets with his sleeve, folding and unfolding the left cuff.

I lean in. “How did it work?”