Chương 12
“You’re agreeing with him?”
“Because that’s what happened.”
Nora’s face tightened.
“Fine.”
Reyes continued.
“After you added the substance, where did you go?”
“To the kitchen.”
“Why?”
“To put the bottle away.”
“You hid it behind the tea tins?”
Nora swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“I came back.”
“How long were you gone?”
“Maybe a minute.”
Marcus spoke from the doorway.
“Longer.”
Everyone turned.
He immediately looked uncomfortable.
Reyes said, “How long?”
Marcus rubbed his palms against his pants again.
“Three minutes, maybe four.”
Nora shook her head.
“No.”
“You were gone.”
“I know I was gone.”
“You asked me where Evelyn kept the mint.”
Nora frowned.
Daniel saw the memory arrive.
Her face softened with confusion.
Marcus continued.
“You went into the pantry.”
Nora looked toward Evelyn.
The cook nodded slowly.
“You did.”
Nora pressed her lips together.
Reyes asked, “Why?”
“I don’t remember.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You don’t remember why you spent four minutes in the kitchen after putting something in my drink?”
Nora’s eyes flashed.
“I had just committed an unbelievably stupid act.”
Her voice rose.
“I was panicking.”
Reyes said nothing.
Nora continued more quietly.
“I think I was trying to get rid of the smell on my hands.”
“You said there was no smell.”
“I said I didn’t notice one from the liquid.”
Daniel felt his anger sharpen.
“You’re changing the story.”
“No.”
“It keeps changing.”
“Because I’m remembering it in pieces.”
“That’s convenient.”
Nora looked at him.
“You want me to remember perfectly because then you can decide exactly what kind of monster I am.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“This isn’t about what I want.”
“Everything is about what you want.”
Warren exhaled audibly.
Reyes turned toward him.
“Do you have something to add?”
“No.”
“Then don’t.”
Daniel almost enjoyed the reprimand.
That irritated him too.
Lily tugged his shirt.
He looked down.
“I’m hungry.”
The words were so ordinary that Daniel stared at her for a second.
Then he looked at the untouched dessert plates.
“Of course you are.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“I can get her something from the kitchen.”
Reyes shook her head.
“Not from the kitchen until we’re done clearing it.”
Marcus nodded.
“I have granola bars in my backpack.”
Lily looked at Daniel.
He almost said no automatically.
Then he stopped.
“Okay.”
Marcus disappeared toward the service hallway.
Nora watched him go.
“You trust him.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“You trust Marcus.”
“This isn’t the time.”
“You barely know him.”
“He didn’t put anything in my tea.”
Nora flinched.
Daniel regretted the cruelty almost immediately.
Not because it was false.
Because Lily heard it.
Reyes said, “We need to separate everyone now.”
She pointed toward Warren.
“You’ll speak with my partner.”
Then toward Daniel.
“You and Lily can remain in the library.”
Daniel nodded.
“What about Nora?”
“She comes with us.”
Nora looked once more at the fragment container.
“Please test that separately.”
“We will.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Reyes guided Nora toward the hall.
Daniel watched her go.
Halfway to the doorway, Nora stopped.
Reyes’s hand tightened slightly on her arm.
Nora looked over her shoulder at Daniel.
“If there was something else in the cup, someone wanted you to drink more than what I put there.”
Daniel stared at her.
“That doesn’t make you innocent.”
“I know.”
The words came softly.
Then she left.
Lily watched the empty doorway.
“Is she going to come back?”
Daniel looked at the shattered evening around them.
“I don’t know.”
Marcus returned with two granola bars and a bottle of water.
He handed them to Lily.
She studied the wrapper.
“Peanut butter.”
“You don’t like peanut butter?”
“I do.”
Marcus looked relieved.
Daniel thanked him.
The young man nodded, then stood there as if unsure whether he was dismissed.
Daniel said, “Marcus.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Did you see anyone near my cup while Nora was gone?”
Marcus went still.
Daniel saw the answer before he heard it.
Reyes had nearly reached the hallway.
He called her name.
She turned.
Marcus swallowed.
“I don’t want to get involved.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You’re already involved.”
“I mean more involved.”
Reyes came back toward them.
“What did you see?”
Marcus looked around the room.
Most of the guests had been moved away now.
Warren was speaking quietly with the younger officer near the sitting room.
Evelyn stood with her arms folded near the kitchen door.
Marcus lowered his voice anyway.
“Mr. Kline was at the table.”
Warren turned immediately.
“What?”
Reyes lifted one hand.
“Do not interrupt.”
Marcus’s face had gone pale.
Daniel asked, “When?”
“After Ms. Nora went to the kitchen.”
Warren laughed.
It was too loud.
“I was looking for Daniel.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You touched the saucer.”
“I moved a chair.”
“You were by the cup.”
“That is not the same thing.”
Reyes stepped between them.
“Mr. Kline, stop.”
Warren’s expression tightened.
“This is getting absurd.”
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
“I didn’t think anything of it.”
“What did you see him do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Marcus.”
“I really don’t.”
Daniel heard the fear in the young man’s voice and forced himself to lower his own.
“Tell us only what you saw.”
Marcus nodded.
“He stood where Ms. Nora had been standing.”
“For how long?”
“Maybe ten seconds.”
“Was anyone else there?”
“Mrs. Bell was talking to someone by the windows.”
Daniel tried to place the name.
Janet Bell.
A board member’s wife.
She had left earlier.
Reyes asked, “Did Mr. Kline touch the cup?”
Marcus hesitated.
“He touched something near it.”
Warren stepped forward.
“I moved Daniel’s place card.”
Marcus looked at him.
“No.”
Warren stopped.
Marcus’s voice became smaller.
“There wasn’t a place card there.”
The room went quiet.
Daniel remembered the table setup.
Marcus was right.
The place cards had been removed before dinner because Nora hated the way they looked against the white china.
Warren realized it a second too late.
His face did not collapse like Nora’s had.
It hardened.
May you like
Daniel felt something cold move through him.
Reyes looked at Warren.
