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“No. Not at all.”
“You told one of our officers that you didn’t need to use your passcode to get inside because Claudia had left the security system disabled,” said Josie. “Did Claudia do that often?”
“Yeah. She did. If they were having a bunch of us over, Claudia disabled it so that we could all walk right in. It just made it easier.”
“Would other people who came by regularly know this?” asked Josie.
“I’m not sure. I guess.”
“Tell us about when you got to the house,” Noah said in a gentle tone.
Eve resumed biting her cuticle. Her voice was muffled as her teeth worked. “I went inside. I called out for her. She didn’t answer. I figured she was in the kitchen so I went right there. That’s when I saw all this blood. On the table, the wall, the floor.” She dropped her hands back onto the table and closed her eyes. “It was like a trail from the kitchen table into the dining room. I hoped that maybe she just cut herself. I know that sounds ridiculous but when I saw all that blood, my mind was just like, ‘she cut herself, that’s all.’ I didn’t want it to be any more serious than that. I wanted her to be okay. I thought, ‘I’ll go into the other room, and she’ll just give me that big Claudia smile and make fun of herself for being so klutzy even though she is the least klutzy person I know. I’ll take her to the ER and everything will be fine.’ But then I saw her in the dining room.”
Her eyes fluttered open, as if she didn’t want to revisit the scene in her mind’s eye. She held up her hands in front of her. There was more dried blood along the outer side of her right pinky. “I probably shouldn’t have touched her, but I couldn’t help it. I saw her like that, and I still didn’t believe right away that she was really gone. I felt for a pulse in her neck. I probably, like, disturbed the scene, didn’t I?”
Noah said, “It’s fine. You did the right thing.”
Eve didn’t look convinced. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “She was so cold. Already. And just…not there, you know? Like, so still. It was so horrible. Oh God, poor Claudia.”
Fresh sobs overtook her. This time she covered her face with both hands, crying a little more quietly than the last time. Josie and Noah waited for her tears to subside.
“Eve,” Noah said. “Was Claudia having trouble with anyone lately? Was there anyone you can think of who might have wanted to harm her?”
Eve shook her head vigorously. “No. I don’t think so.”
“I think that’s all we need right now,” said Josie. “Thank you for speaking with us. We can have someone drive you back to your car.”
Eve lowered her hands. “I think I’d rather wait until Beau and Margot are finished and go with them.”
“Of course,” said Josie. “Oh, just one last thing. Why were you late tonight? To Claudia’s?”
Eve’s blue eyes went wide. Her hands found each other, fingers lacing, twisting. “Oh, I, uh—” She broke off. Her shoulders slumped. Josie waited several seconds, hoping she would fill the silence. Eventually, she did. “This is going to sound terrible but sometimes, working for Beau and Claudia is hard. Not because of them. They’re great people. It’s because they’ve got it all, you know?”
Her eyes were pleading.
Noah said, “Sure. Successful careers, TV show, wealth.”
“And their marriage,” Eve said. “When you’re single and nothing has worked out for you, sometimes it’s hard to be around people who are so…committed to one another.”
Josie said, “That’s understandable.”
More tears spilled down Eve’s face. “So I didn’t want to go. I wasn’t going to go. I called Margot hoping she could take the stupid photos, but she talked me out of bailing on Claudia. Now Claudia is dead. If I wasn’t so selfish, she might still be alive.”
NINE
DIARY ENTRY, UNDATED
It’s getting harder to keep things secret. The other day one of my coworkers said I looked happy for the first time since she’s known me. She told me I was glowing. That’s the word she used. I know that she’s right. I’ve never felt this way before. I didn’t know that being in love could feel this way. I know that I should end things, but I can’t bring myself to do it. This is the only true happiness I’ve ever felt. But if a coworker can tell that something is going on, then I have to face the possibility that he’ll be able to see it, too.
TEN
Down the hall from where Josie and Noah left Eve Bowers, exhausted and guilt-ridden, Beau Collins waited in Interview Room Two. Josie peeked inside the small, square window in the door to see him pacing the room in black dress socks, occasionally running both hands through his thick, dark hair. He had taken off his suit jacket and thrown it over the back of one of the chairs. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, revealing muscular forearms. Given his lean frame, Josie guessed he was a runner, or at the very least, he spent a lot of time at the gym. Every so often he stopped, picked his phone up from the table, checked something, and tossed it back. Someone had brought him coffee and some pastries from nearby Komorrah’s Koffee, but everything had been pushed to the center of the table, untouched.
Josie felt the heat of Noah’s body behind her. She motioned to the door. “Have you ever seen the Collinses’ show?”
Noah shook his head.
“Read their book?”
