“You’re drunk, Henry,” Steve said dismissively. Then he turned to Zara. “It really only matters what you think. Would you be comfortable living in the same spot where two people savagely killed each other?”

The whole room turned to look at Zara.

“Well, as long as the place isn’t haunted, right?”

And just as she said that, the lights went out.

Months later, I went back to see the detective—the one I had spoken to before. I knew it was pointless to mention the sale of the land to the Calhouns. That wasn’t why I was there.

I told him about my situation. Not that I needed to. I was eight months pregnant and huge. I sensed that he felt sorry for me. He believed Tommy was a killer and that one day I would have to explain this to my child. I used his sympathy to my advantage. I asked him about the statue. What happened to that kind of evidence when a case was closed? Was there any way I could get it back? My father had sculpted it and I wanted to pass it down to his grandchild.

He said usually they kept that kind of evidence permanently. I just stood there looking at him until he sighed and left the room. When he came back, he had the statue in a clear Ziploc bag. I didn’t even have to sign a piece of paper.

I wasn’t lying. This was an heirloom, I wanted my child to feel a connection to our ancestry. But I also wanted it in case the time ever came that it could be used it to clear Tommy’s name. I had no idea how that could happen. Certainly not without putting myself in jeopardy. The Calhouns were dangerous people. They couldn’t be underestimated. But maybe one day an opportunity would present itself. Maybe one day the statue could be used to bring them down. To find some justice.

Henry

They were all in on it.

That was what Henry was thinking as the group discussed the Miller murders.

Wasn’t that how that Agatha Christie train mystery ends? They all did it? So fed up with Claudine’s bullshit, they had banded together and came up with this scheme to ruin the two of them in the most cruel way possible? Maybe they hired Zara to play her part. He’d heard of pop stars getting paid seven figures to play birthday parties for rich people. Maybe Zara cut them a deal, since it was for a good cause: finally bringing the Calhouns to justice.