I swallow. “I…had trouble sleeping again, so I thought to come here, watch the sunrise, get some ocean air. It helps me sleep…and write.”
“Could you not get the same from your terrace or the sunrise and ocean air here are different?”
The air rushes out of my lungs. I open my mouth to speak, but Tristan rolls his gaze at Jacob. “They are for her. This is her favorite spot on the island. Don’t you know that from theinvestigations? The whole town does, so you must have already been tipped off.”
“I must have forgotten.” Jacob starts a staring competition against Tristan. “But thanks for the pointer on my next date, Morra.”
Tristan’s fist clenches on his thigh. “What areyoudoing here, Detective? This is Edgartown. Last time I checked you’re with Oak Bluff Police or did you transfer? Again?”
Yeah, why is Jacob on Gia’s case?
Neither Jacob nor Tristan blinks. “I was called in because of Saldana’s case,” Jacob says finally without breaking the menacing eye contact, his voice low. “There are...similarities in the crime scenes that can’t be ignored.”
Similarities. My mind races. What has Butterfly Man done? What clues has he left behind this time?
“There might be a connection between Connelly’s murder and Saldana’s,” Jacob adds.
My blood runs cold. “Connection? But Saldana wasn’t murdered; she committed suicide. It’s official. You told me and the whole country that.”
Jacob studies my reaction. “Then you can imagine the spot that puts me in. I don’t like it either, but the investigation has reopened. Let’s hope Saldana’s manner of death is the only thing I got wrong.”
Tristan tenses beside me as I struggle to keep my face neutral. “What do you mean, Jacob?”
“It means I’m going to need both of you to come down to the station. We have a lot to discuss.”
“So I’m a suspect again?”
“Right now, everyone is a suspect.”
CHAPTER 7
Tristan
“What are you gonna do, Birdie?” I keep my eye on the road, heading to the station.
She purses her lips at the sky. The sun peeks over the horizon, painting the sky in hues of pink and gold. A new day or the beginning of the end? “We don’t have a choice. We have to talk to the police or we’ll look guilty.”
“Are you sure about this? We’re walking into dangerous territory. You’re not under arrest. You don’t have to go. Let them come to you. That will give you a chance to, at least, talk to your lawyer first. Besides, at home, I can be with you when they ask their questions but not at the station.”
“They want to question you, too, Tristan, and I bet there are more reporters blocking my driveway by now. It’s all about the optics. It’s best if we go willingly instead of being dragged out of the house in cuffs in front of them.”
“But what are we gonna tell the police? We need to get our stories straight.”
“There’s only one story to tell. We don’t know anything about the murders, and they can’t be connected. Saldana killed herself out of guilt. Gia was unexpectedly and tragically shot.”
“You serious? That’s what we’re gonna say?”
“Of course. What else?”
“The truth for once.”
She chuckles a humorless laugh. “The only truth you can count on is that I’m being tested. This whole scene, whatever leads left purposely to tie the two murders together, is nothing but a punishment, and the only way to make it stop is to pass the test and prove my loyalty.”
“You can’t let your stalker control your life like that. This is getting out of hand. We have to come clean and let the police handle it before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late, don’t you think? We passed the point of no return many chapters ago. You want to tell the police the truth, here’s one. Neither of us could have killed Gia or Saldana.”
“But how can we prove it? We don’t even know when Gia was killed to confirm an alibi.”