Page 74 of High Society

“That morning. At group session.”

“How did she seem to you?”

“She was… quiet. Kind of withdrawn, I guess.”

“Did she seem upset?”

“I suppose you could say that, yeah.”

Rivers nods. “And that was the last time you spoke to her?”

Simon is about to answer in the affirmative when it occurs to him that the police might already have her phone records. “It was the last time I saw her in person.”

Rivers tilts his head, waiting.

“I called her afterwards.” Before the detective can ask, Simon adds, “I just wanted to check up on her. See how she was doing.”

“And how was she doing?”

Simon thinks about his answer. “She said she was OK.”

“Did she sound drunk to you?”

“Not that I noticed, no.”

“Did she happen to mention Ms. Golding’s death?”

Simon squints at Rivers. “You know about Elaine?”

He nods again. “I understand that Ms. Jang was extremely distressed about Ms. Golding’s death. Did Ms. Jang mention anything to you about that?”

“I…” Simon starts, but something makes him clam up. He doesn’t trust the friendly detective. If he goes into details about what JJ told him regarding Elaine, it might push the detective to look deeper into his own history. And Simon can’t afford that now, not with a fresh accuser crawling out of the woodwork.

CHAPTER 37

Monday, April 22

The weekend passes without Holly hearing any further news on JJ’s death. Rather than feeling reassured by the collective silence, it puts her more on edge. She is actually relieved to get a call from Detective Rivers asking if he can stop by her office this morning to give her an update.

Within ten minutes of hanging up, the detective is seated across from her in the chair that is usually reserved for clients, staring at her with those brown eyes that could melt butter. “Thanks for agreeing to see me on such short notice, Dr. Danvers,” he says.

“Happy to, Detective. You got here quicker than I expected.”

“I was only a couple blocks away. At the Laguna police station.”

“Were you there about Elaine?”

He smiles. “As a matter of fact, I was.”

“Did they tell you much? Anything you can share?”

“There’s not much to share.” He shrugs. “Everything found at the scene was consistent with an accidental opioid overdose. The coroner has already ruled it as such. In fact, the Laguna investigation into Ms. Golding’s death is officially closed.”

“I see,” Holly says, feeling strangely deflated. “And how about your investigation?”

“I believe I’ve followed up on everything we discussed at our initial meeting.”

When he doesn’t expand on it right away, she says, “And?”