“That’s what I’m here for, Red.”
Jasper is trying to take our statements while simultaneously radioing for the coroner and coordinating with the Seaview deputies who are already setting up crime scene tape. He looks back at us with an expression that says he’s calculating how early he can retire.
“Let me get this straight,” he says. “You three drove toSeaview, dressed like a workout-themed variety show, to question a potential murder suspect.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds almost irresponsible,” I say.
He lowers his chin and gives me a look that suggests maybe it is.
“We were being proactive,” I insist, even though I’m not all too convinced.
“Bizzy,” his voice softens, “I hate to say it, but you were being reckless.”
Mom stands up, adjusting her leg warmers with zero shame. “We were conducting a perfectly reasonable investigation. How were we supposed to know someone would go and stab the woman before we got our answers?”
“The killer,” Jasper deadpans. “And that’s exactly why I want the three of you to steer clear of this case. Whoever did this is dangerous. And as evidenced, they won’t hesitate to kill again.”
A cruiser pulls up and Leo climbs out, looking as grim as Jasper. He takes one look at our outfits and stops walking.
“Please tell me there’s a reasonable explanation for the neon headbands.”
“Mom bought them for an undercover fitness investigation,” I say.
“That’s not a reasonable explanation.”
“It’s the only one we’ve got.”
Leo walks past us toward the crime scene, shaking his head.
Jasper follows him, and I watch them confer with the deputies who are photographingthe area around Tamsin’s body.
The coroner’s van pulls up—trying very hard to look like it’s not a death wagon—and the whole scene takes on that official, terrible quality that makes everything feel real.
Mom sits back down on the curb. “I can’t believe she’s dead. Tamsin seemed so... alive.”
“That’s generally the state people are in before they’re murdered,” Georgie says.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. And it’s awful.” Georgie’s voice softens slightly. “But someone wanted her quiet. The question is why.”
That’s the question, isn’t it? What did Tamsin know that made her dangerous enough to kill?
A crowd is starting to gather now—gym members who’ve come out to see what’s happening, people slowing down in their cars, someone with a news camera setting up near the street. The whole thing feels surreal, standing here in mismatched workout gear while a woman lies dead twenty feet away.
Jasper comes back over, and behind him I can see Leo examining something near the building.
“We’re going to need you to come down to the station,” Jasper says. “We’re going to need formal statements.”
“Can we change first?” Mom asks, gesturing at her leotard.
“Please do.”
Leo walks up, his phone in his hand and his expression serious. “I need to ask you something, Bizzy. Did you see anyone else in the parking lot when you arrived? Any cars leaving, anyone acting suspicious?”
I think back, trying to remember, but it’s all a blur of Georgie chasing her roach clip and the terrible moment of discovery.
“No. It was empty. Just us.”
