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Julia stood tall. “I wouldn’t piss off Erika if I were you.

She might be the only attorney willing to take your case.

And I’m sorry if you think I overstepped my bounds, but the twins don’t need to be here right now.

You can argue that point with Debbie if you’d like, but I did what I had to do.

I can’t trust you, David. I don’t even know who you are anymore. ”

David pulled back as though he’d been shoved. “If I’m such a bad guy, Julia, why haven’t I spilled your secrets to Christian? Hmm? I certainly could do that, gladly—especially if I were as detestable as you say.”

Julia burned inside. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours,” David replied, an insincere smile plastered on his face.

Julia could only imagine what Erika was gleaning from this exchange, but she didn’t have the bandwidth to care.

Baker took David aside, distracting him with paperwork.

It was all handled professionally, Julia observed.

Emotions might have been running hot, but Baker did her part to keep them from boiling over.

From what Julia could tell, David was being treated fairly.

Baker allowed him to wait out the search inside his home, likely because he was being cooperative.

Otherwise, he would have done the same as Julia and watched from a distance.

Thanks to all the windows, it was like looking in on an ant farm—seeing the busy workers going up and down the stairs, searching through drawers, checking all the rooms, and investigating closets and under beds.

A part of Julia sympathized with David for this invasion of his privacy, but the bloody clothing under his porch had forced her hand.

Julia heard a ding from inside her pocket and pulled out her phone. Christian. What timing he had.

You probably don’t want to hear from me until I fix some of this mess, but I promise I’m working on it. And I learned more information about that property that’s for sale. Please call me. It’s important.

She silenced her phone and shoved it deep inside her pocket. The last thing she needed was to listen to Christian’s wild pot farm scheme. Julia couldn’t ignore him forever, but she certainly wouldn’t deal with it now.

She turned her attention to the underside of the porch, which had been cordoned off with yellow tape. A CSI team was working the area (yes, Lake Timmeny mustered one). Glibly, Julia thought of an Insta caption.

Lucky us! Netflix is filming a new crime drama right here at the lake!

They’ve even cast us in the production. Erika and I are the horrified onlookers, and David is our guilty AF former friend suspected of murder.

And in other news, my husband is high as a kite at his new weed farm.

#goodtimes #funinthesun #lovethelakelife

Unfortunately, after the police exhausted their search, Debbie still hadn’t shown up. Izzy was doing a good job keeping the kids occupied so they didn’t have to watch the cops cart off boxes of personal belongings containing computers, phones, clothes, and other items of interest.

David followed the detective’s crew out of his house. Julia watched him climb into his blue Mercedes—though not before sending Julia a death stare she fully expected. He rolled down the car window after turning on the engine.

To Baker, he shouted, “Let’s get going, please. I’ve got things to do, and this will be nothing but a waste of my time.”

Julia was confused. Was David going in for questioning? He certainly wasn’t being arrested. Julia had to know. She approached Baker, who was huddled with her colleagues, likely comparing notes on the search.

“Is he going to the police station?” Julia asked.

“Yes, he is,” said Baker. “I used something we call ‘police judo’ to convince him to come chat with us. It helped that his attorney is vacationing not too far from here. He’s going to meet us at the station as well.”

The development surprised her, but Julia was glad to know they were making progress. “What about Fiona? Is the house a crime scene now?” she asked.

Baker’s slim smile bent into a frown. “At this time, I can’t really say. We did recover a gun from the property, though I don’t know any more than that. But I would like to have a quick word with the nanny, Izzy. Is she available?”

Julia asked Erika to take over kid duty to allow Izzy to join them outside. When she emerged from the house, Izzy looked like an anxious survivor of a natural disaster. Her curls were unruly, her steps as tentative as her expression. Julia decided to stay close by for moral support.

Baker’s demeanor remained relaxed. She conveyed nothing but support and caring, so it didn’t appear the young nanny was in any trouble. “Izzy, I just want a quick word with you, if I may.” Baker looked to Julia. “It’s a private matter.”

Izzy brushed off the dismissal. “She can hear it, whatever it is,” she said.

Baker straightened. “Very well. I know who you are—we did some investigating. That’s kind of in our job description, you know?”

Izzy’s face flushed. “So you found out I’m related to Susie Welch?”

Baker nodded her head enough times to imply that and more. “Izzy, my father was a police officer here in town many years ago, and I followed in his footsteps. This is hard to share—hard to say, but I think you have a right to know.”

Izzy’s hand gripped Julia’s. “Yes?” Her voice was subdued.

“My father remembered your boss—David Dunne from back then. There was a charge against him related to your aunt—an accusation, more accurately, of rape.”

Izzy cupped her hands over her mouth, and then she let them down slowly. “That’s why she blacked out his face,” she said in a daze. “He… he raped her.”

“Well, not according to the law,” said Baker.

“You see, my father actually interviewed your aunt. He said she gave a very credible and emotional account. But then something happened, and the police captain told my father not to pursue it. He said Susie was a regretful teenager who’d willingly gone too far.

My dad didn’t believe it, not for a second.

But there wasn’t anything he could do, and the case was dropped. ”

“Why are you telling me this?” asked Izzy.

“Because I want you to know that I believe my father’s instincts were accurate and that your aunt was telling the truth.

I understand those times were different; women often weren’t believed and feared coming forward, but I happen to know there was also some corruption in the police department decades ago.

It’s better now, but I have reason to believe your aunt’s case wasn’t handled appropriately.

I don’t know why, but I intend to find out.

I want you to know that I will seriously consider David as a suspect in both her disappearance and Fiona’s.

I’m truly sorry your family hasn’t had closure or justice for your aunt, and I will do whatever I can to set things right. ”