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“Oh, he’s meeting with a client,” Kirby explained. Once they were all settled into their seats, she leaned in with the concerned intensity that Jessie imagined she used with her clients and said, “so how can I help you?”
“Frankly, we’ve hit a bit of a wall with this case,” Ryan conceded. “So now we’re just trying to get a better sense of the people in your community. We’re asking you this as a neighbor more than a lawyer.”
“I didn’t actually hear a question in there, Detective,” Kirby noted.
Jessie knew Ryan was loathe to share the direction of their investigation, which explained why he was beating around the bush. But they weren’t going to get anywhere if he wasn’t more direct. She decided to do it for him.
“Mrs. Kirby—,” she began.
“Nina,” the woman corrected.
"Nina," Jessie said, "to the extent that you're comfortable, can you tell us if any of your neighbors are in serious financial distress, the sort of thing that might lead to poor, even desperate, decision-making."
“Oh my gosh,” Nina said, sitting upright, “that’s quite a question. It almost feels like you’re asking me to inform on my neighbors.”
“We’re trying to solve multiple murders,” Ryan noted.
“I understand,” Nina said. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around the question. I trust that anything I tell you will be held in confidence and that you will verify it on your own so that it doesn’t get back to anyone where you got the tip?”
“Absolutely,” Ryan assured her.
"Well, the obvious person who comes to mind is Kayley Wallace," she said. "I know she's been having a rough time of it since her husband was sent to prison. She's a bit of a social pariah, though I don't think that's fair. It's not like she did anything wrong. Should a wife be held responsible for her husband's crimes if she was unaware of them at the time?"
“A fair point,” Jessie agreed, “one we addressed when we spoke with Mrs. Wallace, who like yourself, had an ironclad alibi. Can you think of anyone else who might fit the profile we described?”
Nina shook her head slowly.
“I’m afraid not,” she said. “Most of the folks I know here are decent, upstanding citizens. I’m not a detective, but have you considered that the killer might be someone who worked for the victims and resented their lifestyle or maybe someone from outside the neighborhood entirely, an interloper of some kind?”
“We’re considering every possibility,” Ryan said cryptically. Jessie could tell he was annoyed by Nina’s amateur sleuthing.
Just then, the phone rang. Nina glanced at the number, then back at them.
“Do you mind if I take this really quick?”
“Of course not,” Ryan said.
“Hello,” she said after picking up the phone. She listened to the person on the line for a few seconds before responding.
“I’m afraid I can’t really discuss that matter at the moment,” she said. “I’ve got visitors. Can I call you back when I’m done here?”
The response was brief.
“That’s right,” Nina said. “I’ll check the files and get back to you soon. Take care.”
She hung up and refocused her attention on them. It took her a second to remember where they’d left off.
“Detective, the truth is that I can’t imagine that anyone would harm Ava or Gabby for personal reasons,” Nina continued. “They really were both the sweetest. Not everyone was the most inviting when Rhett and I first moved here. But both of them welcomed us with open arms.”
Her voice caught as she finished her sentence. Jessie gave her a moment to regroup by changing the subject.
“Where did you move from?”
“Texas,” Nina answered, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at her eye, “almost two years ago.”
“Is that where the two of you met?” Jessie wondered.
"Yes," Nina answered. "We met back in law school over a decade ago. Neither of us come from money so we went to school while holding down jobs. I think that's why we appreciate what we have so much now. We're really blessed to have come this far."
