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“You’re blushing,” Charlotte mutters to me under her breath.
“No, I’m not,” I mutter back.
She shrugs. It’s a very smug shrug.
“Stop that,” I say.
“What?” She blinks at me innocently.
Just then, the front door opens.
“Oh, that could be a guest,” Mom says, wiping her hands on a towel and hurrying into the front room. She returns a moment later with Noah trailing behind her.
“Hi Noah,” I say. “Come to join the party?”
“Sadly, I can’t,” Noah says. “Got called into work today. But I wanted to come deliver the news myself in person.”
He glances at Daisy and then Caden.
“Forensics didn’t turn up anything on those letters,” he says sadly. “No fingerprints—well, except yours, Cade, and your mom’s. And no DNA. There’s just…nothing.”
It feels like a huge foot has stomped down on all the joy in the room. I’m stunned—how could there benothing?
Daisy looks crestfallen. Caden’s expression is hard to read.
“We’re still looking to see if there’s anything we can find out about the paper or where the note was printed,” Noah says. “And your dad is paying to send them out to an analyst to see if the language used can tell us anything about this person. They’re kind of weirdly written, so we’re hoping that could give us some clues.”
“And how long is that going to take?” Caden snaps.
“I don’t know.” Noah sighs and shakes his head, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Cade. I was hoping this would lead to something more.”
A mournful silence fills the room.
“Thanks for coming to tell me,” Caden says tightly. Daisy is pushing a blob of buttercream around on the island, her cheeks pink, her eyes watery.
“Yeah, thanks Noah,” she says.
“It’s still a lead,” Noah says. “It’s still more information than we’ve had before. We’re going to reinterview everyone who was at the party. And Marion’s friends. The sheriff is hopeful that she told someone about these letters. Someone out there knows something, Cade. We’ll find them.”
Caden nods but there’s no hope in it. The mood has soured as we finish up the rest of the prep. Charlotte and I help Daisy bring out some things to keep at Everton and when I get back into the kitchen, Mom is talking quietly to Caden.
I can’t hear what she’s saying but then she pats his shoulder, and he gives a tiny shudder. A fraction of release.
“Thanks, Ellen,” I hear him say quietly.
“You’ve done so much,” Mom says. “I have faith this is all going to work out.”
Caden gives her a bleak smile. “I hope so. Oh, and I’ll call Dr. Grant next week. Get you that appointment.”
“You really don’t have to do that,” Mom says even as my heart leaps. Dr. Grant is the top rheumatologist in the city. She never has appointments available. Seeing her could be a game changer for my mom. It’s what Caden promised to do five years ago.
Caden smiles at her grimly. “It’s the least I can do,” he says. He turns and shakes my dad’s hand.
“See you tomorrow,” Dad says.
Caden looks up at me—his face is haggard, all the lightness from the afternoon drained out of him. I don’t want him to leave like this.
I don’t want him to leave my side at all.