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“You know what I did, okay?” I hissed through clenched teeth. “What does any of this have to do with my sister? Why do we have to rehash that day? Everything I just told you is in my official statement. The same goes for what happened next. It’s all the same. Nothing’s changed. Claire was rushed to the hospital, clinging to life. And Piper was wheeled out of here in a goddamn body bag.”
“Except you noticed she was uneasy and jumpy when you got home. That wasn’t in your statement.”
“Because it’s irrelevant.” I threw my hands up. “It could have been because of a big competition she had coming up.”
He studied me for a beat, then sighed. “I know you don’t want to believe that perhaps Caleb could be innocent and the real perpetrator is still out there. Trust me. I don’t, either. The only thing that’s given me peace is knowing the bastard who hurt my baby sister paid for what he did.” His stare penetrated into me for several long moments before his expression relaxed. “But as a cop, I have to look at things objectively. So, for argument’s sake, let’s assume we got the wrong guy. That it wasn’t Caleb. That he was telling the truth when he insisted his DNA was found on Piper because they’d been sleeping together.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, a vice clamping around my heart. It was difficult enough to come to grips with the fact that Piper had died tragically. It was something else entirely to believe she’d been cheating, that they’d arrested the wrong guy, that he’d also paid with his life.
“Was there anyone else who would want to harm Piper?” Nikko pressed.
“Everyone loved her. You know that. Her surfing career was starting to take off. She volunteered at the animal shelter. Constantly took in kittens that were practically on death’s door. Woke up every two hours to bottle feed them. Hell, when she had a really difficult foster, she stayed up with them, snuggled them against her body, not wanting to sleep for fear they’d pass away when she wasn’t looking. Someone like that, with a heart as pure as that, doesn’t cheat,” I insisted, unsure if it were for Nikko’s sake or my own.
“The rental unit…,” he interjected, changing the subject. “Piper typically managed it? Greeting guests, making sure they had everything they needed?”
I nodded.
“Did she ever voice any concerns about a particular guest? Anyone who might have made her feel uneasy? Maybe one whose name was Lucretia?”
“You think it might have been a guest? That wasn’t even brought up during the initial investigation.”
Nikko shrugged. “Probably because the lead detective saw the overwhelming amount of DNA evidence and eyewitness testimony linking Caleb to the crime and figured there was no need to search for a needle in a haystack in what appeared to be an open-and-shut case. Maybe we got it wrong. It does occasionally happen. So, do you remember anyone by the name of Lucretia? Anyone who was a bit odd or unusual? Could explain how they were able to get into the unit.”
“I couldn’t be sure about the name, but I’m certain we never had any troublesome guests. Hell, we never even had to remind people to take off their shoes when entering. Everyone was respectful and well-behaved.” I laughed under my breath. “She considered most of them ohana. Sent Christmas cards. Stayed in touch to check in on them.” I swallowed past the lump building in my throat. “You know how she was. All it took was a minute in her presence to be drawn to her.”
“She was very…enigmatic,” Nikko agreed, eyes flickering with nostalgia.
Then his expression hardened once more, turning from Piper’s older brother into the hardworking detective he was. “Can you get me a copy of your guest list? Do you have something like that?”
I exhaled a long breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. I hated the idea we might uncover things about Piper I didn’t want to know.
But I hated the idea of not knowing what really happened to my sister more.
“Of course,” I finally said. “Anything to help get answers.”
