And the killer hiding in plain sight somewhere on this island.
When I came into the clubhouse living room late the next morning, Pearl was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch, flipping through a stack of old receipts and clippings she’d pulled from one of Bernice’s boxes.
Prime was next to her, leaning back on his hands, watching her dig like she might find a winning lottery ticket hidden in the mess.
Anchor was sprawled out in the armchair, boots crossed, eyes tracking the front door like something might walk through it any second.
It wasn’t exactly peaceful, but… it was familiar.
Safe.
Or as safe as anything could be right now.
Pearl looked up as I sat down beside her.“Hey, you hungry?I can make a sandwich or cereal or something that doesn’t require knives.”
Anchor smirked.“She’s banned from knives.”
Pearl tossed a stale tortilla chip at his face.“Shut up.”
“I’m good,” I said softly and pulled my knees up.“I just… couldn’t stop thinking about everything.About Bernice.My mom.All of it.”
Pearl’s expression softened.“Yeah.I get it.”
Prime shifted closer behind me, and his hand brushed my back.It was small, but grounding.
“I think,” Pearl said slowly, “we need to talk to someone who actually knew Bernice before she came back here.During all of this.”She waved her hand at the piles around us.
“Like who?”I whispered.
“My dad,” she said.“He knew Bernice back in the day.She lived in our neighborhood for a while.They worked together for a long time before I came into the picture.”
Anchor lifted an eyebrow.“You think he knows anything useful?”
Pearl shrugged.“If he doesn’t, he’ll know someone who does.”
“Does your dad know that Bernice is dead?”I asked.
Pearl nodded.“He knows she died, but he doesn’t know she was murdered.”
She pulled out her phone and my stomach twisted.
This was happening.
We were going to ask Pearl’s dad for answers about my family.Answers I should’ve had a long time ago.
Pearl hit call, put it on speaker, and held the phone between us.
Her dad answered on the third ring.“Pearbear?Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Pearl said, though her voice wobbled.“Hey, um… I have a question for you.Kind of a big one.”
“Oh boy,” he muttered.“What’d Anchor do?”
“Nothing,” she snapped.“It’s about Bernice.”
The line went quiet.
Then, “What about her?”
