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“ I don’t need an alibi. I’m telling the truth.”

Allie sat across from Lulu, her expression defiant with narrowed and cold eyes. She had the distinct impression that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with this young woman.

I’m wasting my time, but then, it’s my time to waste.

Her attorney, an older man who had introduced himself at the beginning, but hadn’t said much since, simply sat there. Probably billing four hundred bucks an hour.

“Right now, you don’t have an alibi,” Lulu replied, keeping her tone neutral. She wasn’t going to give Allie any reason to get angry or freak out. “Jay says that he dropped you at your home after the movie. According to him, he wasn’t with you all night.”

Allie’s mouth dropped open, and her cheeks turned an angry shade of red. Apparently, she hadn’t thought to synchronize her story with her boyfriend’s. Rookie error? Or she was so innocent, it hadn’t occurred to her?

Why would an innocent woman lie about where she was? It didn’t automatically make her guilty or anything, but it did raise suspicion around her.

“Is he lying?” Lulu pressed. “If I pull traffic cameras, what will I see?”

The problem was that so many people forgot they were being recorded. Even in a small town, there were more and more cameras in homes, stores, and in traffic.

Allie elbowed her attorney, and they quietly conferred for a moment before she answered.

“He dropped me at home,” Allie admitted, but she didn’t look happy about it. “I guess I forgot it was one of the nights that I didn’t spend at his place. That’s where I usually am.”

She forgot . Okay, Lulu wasn’t going to go after that one, although she could. It was a bit farfetched to think that Allie wouldn’t remember where she spent the night a few hours before Dana was killed.

Lulu had to pick her battles, and this one she wasn’t going to win.

“And did you stay there all evening?”

“Yes.”

“Can anyone vouch for that?”

“My roommate, Kathleen Meadows, can. She saw me go to bed.”

“I’ll be checking with your roommate.”

“Fine,” Allie replied dismissively. “I’ll let her know you’ll be in touch.”

That’s the last thing Lulu wanted Allie to do.

“No need. I’ll have one of my deputies call her now and set up an interview time. Excuse me for a moment.”

Lulu stood up and exited the interview room, beckoning to Deputy Steve who was hovering outside. He couldn’t hear what was going on, but he could see through the glass.

“Do you know a Kathleen Meadows?” Lulu asked. “Find her phone number and give her a call. She’s Allie’s roommate. I need to talk to her to confirm Allie’s alibi. As soon as possible, please.”

“Got it. Will do.”

Steve disappeared around the corner, and Lulu rejoined the Allie and her so-far silent attorney in the interview room.

“What were you and Dana Cartwright arguing about at the sports bar the night before she died?”

“I don’t remember any argument.”

“I saw you?—”

“May I interject?” the lawyer said with a wan smile. “You can’t know for sure that it was an argument if you don’t know what was said.”

“Okay, what were you and Dana discussing that night?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t important enough to remember.”

“Jay remembers. He says that you threatened Dana’s life.”

“I have no memory of that,” Allie said with a nonchalant shrug. “And why would I threaten Dana? She was meaningless in my life.”

“Was she meaningless to Jay?”

“She was a pest in his life that wouldn’t go away. He was frustrated because she wouldn’t give up, and he just wanted to move on.”

“So, you weren’t jealous of Dana?”

“Why would I be? Jay loves me, not her. Are we done now? I didn’t kill Dana, but I can name at least six people who might have.”

“I’d be interested in hearing that list,” Lulu replied. “I didn’t realize that Dana was so hated in the community.”

“Talk to Dana’s sister Jillian,” Allie sneered. “She knows what her sibling is really like. And her parents, too. Or any of her co-workers. They’re always having to pick up her slack because she’s off with some new guy like Glen Foster. Or any of a number of men. She was…popular, I guess you could say. If you’re into that sort of casual relationship.”

Allie had done everything but call Dana a whore. Lulu didn’t believe in slut-shaming.

“I think we’re done here,” the attorney said, levering up from his chair and beginning to pack his briefcase. “If you have any more questions for my client, call my office.”

“Just one more question,” Lulu said, clearing her throat. This could be a huge miscalculation. Was this the right thing to do? She didn’t know, but her gut was screaming at her. This wasn’t planned at all. “When did you find out about Dana’s pregnancy?”

There it was. Right there.

Allie’s expression had flickered and glitched for just a split second. She’d covered it up almost instantly, but Lulu had been looking specifically for it.

Allie had known. Somehow. It didn’t make a lick of sense as to how she’d known, but she had. Did that mean that Jay was an amazing actor? Had he known and just covered it better?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Allie replied, her expression now bland. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Never mind,” Lulu said, standing up also. “Thank you for stopping in today. If I have any more questions, I’ll contact your attorney.”

Allie rolled her eyes and quickly exited the interview room with the lawyer right on her heels. When Lulu stepped out into the main area of the sheriff’s station, Steve was the first to talk to her.

“I’ve set up a meeting with the roommate Kathleen Meadows, but you have to go to her work. She has a job during the day.”

“Fine, where is that?”

“Dr. Millikin’s office. She can see you later today. She’s a receptionist there.”

“Dr. Millikin? She works there?”

“Yes, why? That’s…interesting.”

Everyone in town knew Dr. Millikin’s practice. It was the only OBGYN practice in town. Pretty much every woman in Harper - and some from other small neighboring towns - was a patient there because the next nearest baby doctor was in Springwood. Lulu had gone there until she moved to Seattle.

And if Kathleen Meadows worked there, she would have seen Dana Cartwright come in for her prenatal appointment. And if Ms. Meadows had a loose tongue, she might have told her roommate what she’d seen. That explained how Allie might have known about Dana’s pregnancy.

A few pieces of the puzzle.

Were they part of the big picture or simply a distraction? Either way, they needed to be put together.

Lulu was backing out of her parking space at the sheriff’s station when a car pulled in next to her and honked its horn. Looking over, she could see Ellen Dunphy in the passenger seat and Ray Ramsey behind the wheel. From the way they were waving, she had the feeling they were there to see her.

They both hopped out of their vehicle and motioned for her to roll down her window. There was no way to avoid this conversation unless she wanted to be rude. Technically, she worked for them, although they’d been scarce when her dad was the sheriff. They’d let Seth Reilly run the town, rarely ever questioning him unless it was something about the budget.

“Lulu,” Ellen exclaimed. “I’m so glad we caught you.”

“I’m heading out to do an interview,” Lulu explained. “What can I help you with?”

Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long. She was supposed to talk with Glen Foster, and after that, head to speak to Kathleen Meadows.

“We just wanted to see how things were going. Right, Ray?”

“We were,” Ray replied, nodding in agreement. “Any news?”

“I’m running down a few leads, but I don’t know if they’ll amount to anything,” Lulu replied. “We’re researching alibis, and gathering video from traffic cameras where we can to confirm them.”

“You were talking to Jay Bradford and Allie Baker,” Ellen said. “Anything there?”

“I’m still running down their alibis,” Lulu said. “I’m going to meet with Ms. Baker’s roommate in about an hour. We’ve confirmed Bradford’s. He was home all night.”

“Allie doesn’t have an alibi,” Ellen mused. “That’s interesting. Right, Ray?”

“She has one, but I just haven’t confirmed it yet,” Lulu corrected. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s just one thing I’m running down today.”

“Of course, of course,” Ray said. “We don’t want to keep you from doing your job. You’re headed to speak to Ms. Baker’s roommate?”

“Yes, she’s at her job right now. But first, I need to talk to Glen Foster.”

“I have to say, Lulu, we’re so pleased with your work so far. You bring such energy to this investigation,” Ray said with a smile. “The energy of youth, I guess. But we’re quite pleased.”

“We are,” Ellen agreed. “Right, Ray? We won’t keep you any longer. We know you need to get back to work. Please let us know if you need anything.”

Lulu promised she would, and waved goodbye to them as she backed out onto the road. It was nice to be praised, but she could also feel the heavy weight of expectation. They were watching her closely. The whole town was, and she could feel it everywhere she went. They were waiting for her to screw up.

I’m not going to do that.

Glen Foster was a local photographer who usually did family portraits, weddings, anniversaries, and other various occasions. He had a studio just about ten minutes from the sheriff’s station and had agreed to speak with Lulu in between clients.

When she walked into the studio, Glen was still busy taking a golden retriever’s photo. The adorable dog was wearing a brightly colored birthday hat, and there was a fake birthday cake in front of him and a large bouquet of balloons in the background.

Maybe I need to get a dog. Now that I’m almost settled in.

Her furniture was supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, and she was looking forward to having more space. She adored Henry, and they got along well, but they both needed a bit more privacy than they were getting in the tiny apartment above the station.

Glen finished up with the canine that was named Charlie, before grabbing a bottle of water from the small fridge behind the main desk.

“Do you want one, too?”

“No, I’m good, but thank you.”

“We can go into my office, or we can just talk here.”

The studio had a waiting area with a couch and a few chairs. Photos that Glen had taken were all over the walls, and she recognized several people that she knew in them.

“Here is fine,” she assured him. “I just had a few questions for you.”

“Okay, I’ll help you if I can. But why don’t you just go ahead and ask the question.”

“The question?”

“If I had an affair with Dana. I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m not stupid. I live in this town, and I heard the rumors. Everyone thinks that Dana cheated with me, and that’s why she and Jay got a divorce. Except that they’re wrong. Dana and I never had an affair. The fact is, we didn’t like each other very much.”

“You hated her?”

“No, not at all,” Glen laughed. “We didn’t hate each other. We just didn’t like each other. There’s a difference. Dana was okay. It’s just that Jay is my best friend, you know? And when he started dating Dana, they got serious real fast. I told him to slow down, take his time. Have fun while he’s young, but he didn’t listen. Dana found out that I was encouraging him to not get married, to wait a few years. She always resented me for it. I guess she got the idea that I thought she wasn’t good enough for Jay, which wasn’t the case at all. I just wanted him to slow down.”

“So, you were jealous of all the time Jay spent with Dana?”

“I think you expect me to deny it, but yes. I was jealous. Jay and I went from hanging out several times a week, to having a guys’ night every now and then. He’s one of those guys who when he has a girlfriend, all his friends cease to exist. Then when they breakup he expects all of us to be there to hear him whine about how perfect she was and how miserable he is.”

Some of Lulu’s friends were the same way. She hadn’t liked it much either. She couldn’t blame Glen for his stance.

“If you weren’t the reason Jay and Dana got a divorce, what was it?”

“It was a lot of things,” Glen explained. “They argued a lot about stupid shit. Who left the cereal bowl in the sink, and who dropped their wet towels on the bathroom floor. The answer to both of those, by the way, is Jay. Dana tried to keep a tidy house, but Jay is a slob. I know because we were roommates for about four years. But that’s not the big reason they broke up. Dana ended things because Jay was smothering her to death. I think she ran out of sheer self-preservation.”

“Can you expand on that? How did he smother her?”

“He wanted to do everything together. He wanted to spend every minute that he wasn’t at work with Dana. Now in the beginning of a relationship that seems sweet and romantic. But after a couple of years of it, I think Dana wanted a little freedom. She wanted to see her friends, she wanted to run to the grocery store. Alone. Christ, he didn’t even want her to run to the store for bread and milk without him. He wanted them to be joined at the hip. When I questioned him about it, he said that he loved her so much he wanted to spend all his time with her.”

That didn’t sound healthy. But then Allie had seemed overly jealous as well. Were she and Jay two peas in a pod?

“Let’s skip forward in time a bit. What were you all arguing about the night at the sports bar?”

“That was nothing,” Glen scoffed. “Jay asked Dana how she was doing since they hadn’t talked in a while. It’s my opinion that he’s never truly gotten over her. Anyway, it was all fine until Allie got in the middle of them spewing her jealous crap. Dana told her off, and I came over and took Dana’s side. Then Dana told me that she wasn’t going to like me just because I took her side, which is such a Dana thing to say. That’s it. That’s all it was.”

“Allie was jealous?”

“Allie is always jealous,” Glen said with an eye roll. “It’s ironic, really. Jay was clingy with Dana, and now Allie is clingy with him. To his credit, he doesn’t seem to mind, but I think she’s batshit crazy.”

“Did you tell Jay that?”

“I did. He didn’t care. Allie makes him feel needed, and that’s what he wants. It’s not going to end well, but what can I do? He won’t listen to reason.”

“Do you think Jay still loved Dana enough that he wouldn’t want anyone else to have her if he couldn’t?”

“If you’re asking me if Jay could have killed Dana, the answer is no. He wouldn’t do it.”

“And Allie?”

“Now that’s a different story altogether.”

“Did Allie threaten Dana that night at the sports bar?”

“Yes, but she’s done that before, so I didn’t think anything of it. She seems to think that Dana wants Jay back, which is not the reality. But Allie isn’t all that concerned with reality,” Glen replied. “I think deep down, Allie knew that Jay still had feelings for Dana. If you’re asking if Allie is capable of killing Dana, my answer would have to be yes. I don’t like to throw the word around, but she’s crazy. One day, she started to scream and pull her hair out because Jay and I were watching a football game on television.”

“What did you do?”

“Leave,” Glen shot back. “I hit the bricks and didn’t look back. I offered to take Jay with me on my way out, but he didn’t want to go. He just caved and did whatever she wanted so she’d stop. I don’t play that game. I was out of there.”

Jay and Allie’s relationship, frankly, sounded like a nightmare. An unhealthy, dysfunctional nightmare. They both desperately needed to be needed, and somehow, they’d found each other. Whether that was a recipe for long-term happiness, Lulu didn’t know. She could call Colt and ask him. He was the one with all the psychological knowledge.

That reminded her that she needed to call Brianna. They hadn’t talked since she started the job, although Brianna had sent a lovely card, congratulating her. It wasn’t like them to go too long without talking.

“Listen,” Glen went on. “I don’t mean to sound like I don’t like Allie. I’m sure she has some good qualities. I just haven’t seen them. Did she kill Dana? Probably not. But she’s not mentally healthy, and I think it’s something she could do. She blamed Dana for everything bad in her life. If it rained on her picnic, somehow it was Dana’s fault. Know what I mean?”

“I do. Thank you for talking to me today. By the way, where were you after you left the sports bar that night?”

“I’ve been seeing a woman over in Corville,” Glen replied with a smug grin. “She and I closed down a little bar near her house, and then I spent the night there. She can vouch for me along with about twenty other people at the bar. We were there until about two. I didn’t kill Dana. I didn’t have any reason to.”

Lulu thanked Glen for his time and headed back to her SUV. If anything, this visit had strengthened her suspicions about Allie. She had a strong motive, stronger than anyone else’s.

It was time to find out about her alibi. Was she lying - again - or had she been home all night with her roommate?

Next stop Kathleen Meadows.