Page 4 of Little Hidden Fears

“What about everyone else?” I asked. “Where were they?”

“Dominic had taken Kiera to bed about thirty minutes earlier, and he was still upstairs when Noelle was murdered. He said he was in the bathroom. The rest of us were downstairs.”

“When the lights came back on, were all of the guests there with you?”

“Yes.”

“What about your fiancé? Where was he?”

“He was outside, smoking a cigarette. He came inside as soon as Dominic screamed.” She downed the rest of the water and cleared her throat. “Could I have some more water?”

I nodded and went to refill her glass.

Returning, I sat back down and said, “I’m assuming it was dark in the house when the lights went out.”

“It was, we couldn’t see a thing.”

“What did everyone do when the lights went out?”

“We stood there, chatting, and wondering what to do.”

“Did you hear anyone go up or down the stairs during the time the lights were out?”

She shook her head. “The stairs are made of solid wood. They’re creaky and loud. I didn’t hear anyone on them, but I suppose it’s possible. I doubt it, though. Would have been hard to get up or down them in the dark.”

Hard, not impossible.

“How’s the investigation going so far?” I asked.

“I don’t know. The first several days after the murder, Dominic was giving me updates. Then he stopped.”

“Any idea why?”

“As the weeks have gone on, he’s become more and more withdrawn. From what I understand, he’s not talking much to anyone.”

I handed her my notebook and pen. “Can you write down the names of all the guests who were there when Noelle died and their contact information, if you have it?”

“No problem.”

She dug her phone out of her purse, using the directory to match phone numbers with names.

When she handed the notebook and pen back to me, I said, “Including those guests who’d left before the lights went out, how many people were at the party?”

“Around forty of our closest friends and family.”

Forty.

A lot of people to interview.

The rest of them could wait.

I needed to focus on those who were there at the time of the murder first.

“Tell me about Noelle,” I said. “Did she have a lot of friends? Was she well liked?”

“Noelle had tons of friends. She was such a good person, always doing things for others. She had a feisty side, though. It didn’t come out much, but it was there.”

“How feisty are we talking?”