The older woman’s smile faltered.
“Of course.”
She stepped aside.
Family pictures lined the hallway—babies, graduations, a much younger David in a high school baseball uniform, his arm slung around a lanky teenage brother who was unmistakably Danny.
“David’s in the den,” Margaret said. “He’s been watchin’ the news too much. Danny stopped by, too.”
Eleanor nodded and walked in.
David sat hunched on the edge of the couch, remote dangling from one hand, the TV tuned to a twenty-four-hour news channel with the volume low. A commentator’s head filled most of the screen, the chyron along the bottom reading:
MYSTERY MOUNTAIN PODCAST: DID THE SYSTEM FAIL CAROLINE SIMMS?
“Sources close to the investigation say District Attorney Reid Calloway has been seen repeatedly with defense attorney Eleanor Harper, raising questions about conflicts of interest on both sides.”
David’s grip on the remote tightened. He hit mute.
Danny stood a little back from the doorway, in uniform pants and a T-shirt, duty belt and hat on a chair behind him. His arms were loosely folded, gaze on the darkened screen.
He saw Eleanor and straightened. David turned a beat later.
“Hey,” David said. “You didn’t say you were comin’ by.”
“I just came from the courthouse,” she said.
Something in the room shifted. David’s father snatched up the remote and killed the screen. Margaret’s hand tightened around the dishtowel. Danny’s shoulders drew up a fraction.
“What is it?” David asked.
Eleanor looked from face to face.
“The grand jury met this morning,” she said. “They returned a true bill of indictment.”
Silence settled over the room.
“For what?” David’s father asked, though they all knew.
“Second-degree murder,” Eleanor said quietly. “They’ve formally charged you in Caroline’s death. Arraignment and calendar call are Monday morning in Superior Court.”
Margaret made a soft, broken sound and sat down hard in the nearest chair.
David stared at her.
“You’re tellin’ me,” he said slowly, “that twelve people who’ve never met me decided I’m a murderer based on a woman who hates my guts and a podcast that thinks I’m ratings?”
Eleanor hesitated, then added, “There’s more. Worse.”
All three Mercers looked at her.
“This week, the sheriff’s office recovered human remains at Riverbend,” she said. “Dr. Cade called me this morning. The dental records and preliminary DNA match Caroline.”
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Margaret’s hand flew to her mouth. David’s father went pale, his knuckles whitening on the chair arm.
David stared at her.
