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My mind flashes back to the video, to the suspicious way Doug looked around as he led Lucy from the dance floor. There was something happening there. Something that holds the key to this. I know it.
Neil immediately jerks upward, the intimacy vanishing, those freckled lips pursed into anOof surprise.
“I think it was Doug.”
I don’t know what I expect. Maybe for him to break down with the realization that he doesn’t know the friend he’s lived with for years or maybe to react with obstinate denial. But I certainly don’t expect him to laugh.
It starts with a mild giggle and evolves into something near hysteria. Loud gasps, rocking shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” he says eventually, trying to control himself. “I really shouldn’t be laughing. But Doug? Really?”
I nod, rushing to tell him about the video of Doug and Lucy, certain that will convince him.
“That’s just Doug,” Neil responds. “He hits on anything that moves. You know that.”
I fumble. I expected Neil, of everyone, to understand. “Yeah, but Lucy died that night. If anything, he was the last person to see her. He gave her a drink, and the police said Lucy had MDMA in her system, right? Maybe he spiked it. And then he leads her away from a crowd and the next morning she’s dead? I mean, come on. That can’t be acoincidence.” I cringe at how whiny my voice sounds. But how am I the only one who can see it?
“Listen,” Neil says, finally composed. “I’m sorry. It’s just, you don’t know Doug like I do. Yeah, he can be a bit of a creep when it comes to the ladies, but he’s struggling.” He pauses, taking a sip from his coffee. “If you tell him this, I’ll have to kill you—sorry, too soon—but the thing with Doug is that he’s insecure. He’s still trying to find himself really. He’s kind of split between this Frederic persona that he’s striving for—the big boss of the resort and all that—but at the same time, he’s still stuck in his early twenties. He had it rough growing up, like we all did, and I think he’s trying to relive the youth that he missed out on. And part of that is finding a woman who understands him. He just goes about it the wrong way.”
“Yeah, but I watched him, Neil. I saw a video of him leading Lucy away.”
Neil shrugs. “He was probably just trying to pick her up.”
“Then why would he say that he didn’t see Lucy at the party?” I think about how seamlessly he lied last night in the dive shop, shaking his head along with the others.
Neil sighs. “Ah, come on. I mean, if you had a romantic moment with someone hours before they were killed, wouldn’t you keep it quiet?”
I realize I’m not getting anywhere. Neil thinks he can tell what Doug is capable of, but I know better than anyone how well people can hide their true selves. I decide to switch tactics.
“Did you ever meet Jacinta?”
Neil’s head darts up again, his eyes blurring in confusion.
“Jacinta?”
“The woman who ‘fell’ from Khrum Yai,” I clarify.
“Oh, right,” Neil mumbles. “I met her briefly. She stopped by Frangipani one night when we were all there. I guess it was actually the night before she…”
He doesn’t need to finish the sentence; we both know what he means. The night before she died. Or the night before she was killed.
“Did Doug know her?”
The question seems to surprise him, and as he looks at me, I see understanding slowly creep into his face.
After a long while, he nods once.
“We were all pissed, so a lot of that night is pretty hazy. I honestly don’t remember how she got to Frangipani. Maybe it was one of those bar crawls, or maybe someone brought her. But yeah, Doug fancied her.”
The words hang between us for a moment.
“But she left alone, that I’m sure of. Because Doug was fuming…” Neil trails off.
“I went up to Khrum Yai with Cass a few days ago,” I say. “It’s not really a place that people just fall from. The ledge is a solid ten steps from the path. And the papers said some tourists found her body in the early morning. What would she have been doing hiking that trail when it was still dark out?”
“Maybe she wanted to see the sunrise,” Neil offers. But his tone is muted, and I can tell he doesn’t really believe it.
“I don’t think so. I think she was pushed. And I’m pretty positive Lucy was killed too, maybe by the same person. And then Daniel, well, maybe he was killed because he knew something.”
