But her open, trusting nature had given her one tool that fake and insincere people lacked.
She had a finely calibrated bullshit meter. And Chip’s crocodile tears tripped every alarm inside her body. It blared like a World War II submarine caught in a torpedo strike. AWOOGA AWOOGA.
She shot a look at Piper, who gave her an almost imperceptible nod.
Aspen needed extra bodies to build a crowd and make the party look good on Instagram?
Fine. They’d allow Aspen to use them as props again, just like they did at the Harvest Festival.
But this time, they’d use Aspen’s event to investigate Richard, Chip, and Trey.
“We’d love to come.” Kiersten managed to infuse her words with warmth. “Wouldn’t we?” she asked, turning to Piper and Rosamund.
“Sure,” Piper said with enthusiasm.
“We’d be delighted,” Rosamund added.
“Wonderful.” A giant smile creased Chip’s handsome face. “I appreciate this. I really do.”
He headed across the street, to the construction site next door to his parents’ house. Then he entered the skeletal structure of the new home and disappeared inside.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Piper
Kiersten sank to the rug in the foyer, resting her back against the closed door.
“You were awesome,” Piper said, sinking down beside her.
“I don’t feel awesome. I feel terrified. Heknowswe’re lying about the diaries.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Piper said. “You kept them out of his hands. That’s the important thing.”
“I’m kind of excited,” Rosamund said, settling onto the bench in the foyer. “I’ve always wanted to goundercover.”
“Do you think Aspen will tell us anything useful?” Kiersten asked.
Piper chewed on her lower lip, thinking. “She spends a lot of time with Margaret. Remember how she told us Grammy is really popular on Instagram? She’s gotta know something about the family she married into. Something about Margaret’s early years as a wife and mother. It’s worth a shot.”
“Do you think Chip knows ... about his dad?” Kiersten asked.
“I do. I think he is literally a chip off the old block in every possible way.”
“You mean ... he’s capable of murder too?” Rosamund asked quietly.
Piper paused. She didn’t want to scare Kiersten and Rosamund. But they also needed to understand the possible consequences of what they were about to do.
“There’s an inverse relationship between the consequences of a crime and the length people will go to cover it up.”
“So if Richard murdered Dottie ...”
“He and Chip will do everything in their power to keep Richard from going to prison. To keep the truth about sweet old Grammy from derailing Aspen’s Happy House Life HGTV deal. And to keep Chip’s and Trey’s political and career ambitions on track.”
“You think they would ... kill again?” Kiersten’s face had gone pale.
“I think we need to be really careful,” Piper said.
Kiersten rose from the floor and extended a hand to pull Piper to her feet. They moved to the dining room.
