“Bridget has some type of disability. It worsened as we were growing up.” Bethany shook her head. “We all used to play together when we were kids. Then one day Bridget no longer played with us. In my opinion, I think she needed to be institutionalized but the Morgans refused to do that.” Bethany crossed her arms. “I still remember seeing Bridget, medicated out of her mind. I always felt sorry for her, that maybe she would have been better off at an institution.”

Val opened her mouth to speak but Bethany cut her off.

“Oh, please don’t get me wrong, the Morgans are wonderful parents but they didn’t know how to care for Bridget. And neither did Claudia, her nanny.” Bethany curled her upper lip up as she said Claudia’s name. “Anyway, I think the Morgans thought if they kept Bridget at home, they kept her normal. At least to them.”

“Could you guess what kind of disability…” Val trailed off on the sentence, really not knowing what to say here. Perry Logan said Bridget was insane and Val was wondering how to ask this question in a roundabout way without herself looking insane for bringing such a thing up at a funeral.

“Sorry, I’m not sure what she had exactly. Gabrielle didn’t talk about it and neither did the Morgans. There was a time that Bridget at least could function somewhat, but after the death of the twins…” Bethany’s eyes shot up as if she just said something she shouldn’t have.

“It’s okay, the Morgans told me about them,” Val said.

“They did?” Bethany sounded surprised.

Val nodded, wondering why Bethany was shocked by this.

“…anyway, after the twins died, I only saw Bridget on a few occasions. As I said, Gabrielle never talked about her and when I brought Bridget up, Gabi changed the subject.” Bethany tensed. “She really hated talking about Bridget. So, I stopped talking about her too.”

“Bethany, oh my God, I can’t believe it.” A young, tall, very attractive woman with long, wavy blonde hair, green eyes, and black fitted suit came up to Bethany and hugged her. Once the tall woman pulled back, she glanced from Bethany to Val and then to Gwen, as if she just realized that Bethany had been speaking to other people. Her gaze narrowed as she scrutinized the two strangers standing before her. Val felt like she was in high school again and the queen bee was judging whether to accept her into the clique.

“Melinda Holbright, this is Valentina Knight.”

Val’s attention shot straight up as she stared at Melinda. Melinda Holbright… the person that Bethany named in the photo. “And Gwen… I’m sorry, I don’t remember your last name. They work for the medical examiner’s office. They’re trying to figure out what happened to Gabi.”