“Her death is an apparent accident. Covering up an accidental death? That’s a crime, but it’s rarely prosecuted and often with minimal penalties. Candace? She was murdered because she wanted to tell the truth about what happened to Adele, and that’s because of you. Even if you didn’t know it, you brought Candace’s humanity to the surface, and she wanted to do the right thing. It’s easy to go along with the crowd, but we all have a conscience.”

She glanced over at Lucas. He still seemed disillusioned. “I think we should call Chrissy Swain. She knew Candace better than anyone.”

“She’s going to be heartbroken when she finds out what Candace did to Adele.”

“Maybe. But she also wants the truth.”

“Do we have to tell her now? She should know, but I don’t want to tell her. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“We don’t have evidence, and we don’t need to say anything until we do, but Chrissy will learn the truth.”

“Okay. Good. Just—let’s be careful here.”

Regan understood Lucas’s conflict. Sometimes, the truth wasn’t pretty. But it was real, and she had to show him it was better than keeping secrets.

Secrets got Candace killed.

They arrived at the library just after it opened. Lizzy wasn’t there, but Lucas texted her where they would be.

Regan closed the study-room door and Lucas called Chrissy. He put the phone on speaker.

When she answered, he said, “Hi, Chrissy, it’s Lucas Vega. I’m here with Regan Merritt, who’s been helping me with the podcast.”

“Lucas, hey. I just finished listening to the podcast from last night. You really are doing it. You’re going to find out what happened to my sister. Thank you so much.”

“We’re close,” he said. “But we need some help.”

“Anything.”

“A friend of Candace told us that she may have hidden her journal in the library, in a hollowed-out book.”

Chrissy said, “You think it’s still there, after three years?”

“Yes. If someone found it, they would have turned it in to the librarian, who would have turned it in to the police,” Regan said.

“Unless the person who killed her found it.”

“It’s possible but I think unlikely,” Regan said. “Lucas has received two threatening notes, and you know what happened to Taylor.”

“Was she killed, too?”

“That’s still being investigated. But I think if Candace’s killer found the journal, they wouldn’t care about the podcast. That journal is, potentially, the only evidence we have about what Candace was doing and might give us a motive for her death.”

“You’ve lost me.”