Page 81 of Every Step She Takes

When the video begins, Tiana is throwing open the cafe door and striding out, Bess at her heels, talking fast. The camera is about ten feet away, and I expect it to descend on her, but it stays where it is. A young woman with purple hair zooms up to Tiana, saying, “Oh, my God, you’reTiana,” as if there’s only one person in the world with that name.

Tiana keeps walking.

The purple-haired girl chases her, saying, “I’m sorry. I know this is a bad time. I just wanted to thank you for your work with the LGBT community.”

That makes Tiana stop. She slowly pivots.

The girl thrusts out a hand. “Thank you for being out there and for representing. It means a lot to me.”

Tiana can’t walk away from that. She should – I know what’s coming. I fell for this trick when Maureen Wilcox approached me for that article. Sure enough, after a brief exchange, the purple-haired girl says, “Shouldn’t you have a bodyguard?”

“Hmm?”

The girl laughs. “Maybe you do.” She nods at Bess. “Martial arts expert, right?”

“Uh, no. This is a friend. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Sure, you do. That bitch who killed your mother is on the loose.”

Tiana rolls her eyes. “I’m not worried about Lucy Callahan.”

“Why?” the girl presses forward. “You think she’s innocent?”

Tiana’s voice cools. “What I think is none of your business.” She turns to continue on, but the purple-haired girl leaps into her path. The camera person, whom Tiana hasn’t spotted yet, quickly walks past the trio. The purple-haired girl cuts her gaze toward the camera and then back to her quarry.

“Please move,” Bess says. “Ms. Morales has a meeting with the funeral director.”

“Morales? Are you switching to your mother’s surname, Tiana?”

“A double-barreled surname is a pain in the ass,” Tiana says. “I have used Morales for years. Now–”

“Your father thinks Lucy did it,” the girl says. “He believes they had an altercation, and Lucy killed her. He’s been very clear about that.”

Tiana shoulders past and walks faster, Bess hurrying to catch up. Tiana says something the camera doesn’t catch, under her breath presumably. As she speaks, though, words appear at the bottom of the screen, as if in translation.

Tiana:My father needs a full-time minder.

Bess:I know.

Tiana:Damn him.

I rewind a few seconds. The words fit her mouth movements, and when I look under the video, it says that a lip reader supplied the missing dialogue. A lip reader? Seriously?

The purple-haired girl catches up. “Colt thinks Lucy did it, and he knows her better than any of you.”

“No, he does not.” Again, Tiana mutters this, but now the camera is close enough to pick it up. She raises her voice. “I have complete confidence in the women and men of the New York Police Department. They will find my mother’s killer. If that turns out to be Lucy Callahan, so be it. Now get out of my way.”

The “interview” ends there with the purple-haired girl machine-gunning questions and Tiana ignoring them. A minute later, a car pulls up, and Tiana and Bess climb in. Once it’s gone, the girl walks to the camera.

“Seems we have a family feud brewing,” she says for her audience. “Tiana isn’t convinced Lucy killed her mother, and she’s not happy with Colt for saying so. It’s significant that she’s using her mother’s surname. Let’s just say the funeral should be interesting.”

She grins, a hyena scenting blood. I snap the browser window shut.

PCTracy wanted me to see that video. He sees a potential ally within the family – or at least a sympathetic ear. The fact that he got that out of what I just saw only proves how desperate we both are.

Well, she didn’t say youdefinitelykilled her mother. That’s a start, right?

I shake my head. There’s no feud here.