He slammed his palms on the desktop. “That’s enough! None of this is true. Show me these ridiculous photographs. It can’t be Alex or me. We weren’t there.

“Both of you, listen to me. You misunderstood Alex, that’s all. Yes, Alex mentioned a couple of photos to me. He said Coach Wiliker called him about your showing them to him. They were blurry and who knew who the men were? I wasn’t there. Alex wasn’t there, at least not that I know of. He had other friends. Ask him. I don’t know.” He rose, his hands clenched at his sides. “I will say it one last time. I wasn’t ever at Godwyn University. I wasn’t at this stupid rave. I know nothing about this girl. Now, leave, both of you.”

Already throwing your lifelong friend under the bus, Kent?

Mia heard the panic in his voice, kept pushing. “Serena described you to me that night, Kent, when she met you. She was so excited, full of your praises for knowing as much about gaming as she did. Imagine my surprise when I saw those photos and then saw a silver link bracelet on Alex’s wrist when I interviewed him at his campaign headquarters on Tuesday, only two days ago. People who knew you then, like Juliet, can testify that it was Alex and you in those photos at the rave. It’s only a thirty-minute drive north from there to Valley Forge National Park. That’s where you buried Serena, isn’t it?”

“I’ve never been to that park, either. I didn’t even know it’s a national park. Stop this now!”

Juliet said, “You’re forgetting the Revolutionary War belt buckle and two buttons Alex found there. He was stupid to have kept them because I saw them, Kent, many people have, displayed in his living room trophy case. I asked him about them, and he told me he’d visited Valley Forge National Park with you a couple of times. Did he find them in the dirt while you were digging Serena’s grave? Or nearby?” Juliet leaned forward, raised her finger at him. “Ring up one lie.”