Dalton sat on the arm of the suede love seat next to her. “It does seem a bit of a coincidence that they picked Peter up less than twelve hours after several of you confessed to being blackmailed.”
In silence, the five of us exchanged glances with each other, trying to figure out what that might mean. Savannah finally broke the silence. “It had to be one of us. Some big-mouth chef squealed to the cops.”
Squealed? I almost laughed. “You channeling Edward G. Robinson or what?”
She scowled at me. “Maybe I am. I’m so pissed off. It wasn’t a coincidence. Somebody called the cops on Peter. That’s so mean.”
“You’re right,” I said. “It was mean and nasty and a complete betrayal of the friendships you’ve all maintained for years. But which of you did it?”
Tiny lines of worry appeared on her forehead and I knew what she was thinking. She could accept that someone had betrayed Peter, but she didn’t want it to be someone she knew and liked. She could accept that there were harsh realities in the world, but she didn’t want to see them up close and personal.
This was my sister in a nutshell.
“Maybe it was one of the waitstaff,” she said weakly. “They were there all evening, listening to us talk.”
“You think one of the waiters called the cops?”
“No.” She groaned and waved her hands in frustration. “I don’t know, but I’d rather believe it was a stranger than one of our friends.”
“I know you would,” I said sympathetically.
“But why just Peter?” Kevin’s voice cut through it all. “I mean, as far as we know, he’s the only one being questioned, but Monty and Margot both confessed to being victims, too.”
“We won’t know anything for sure until the police have finished,” Derek told her, keeping that smooth tone in his voice. “Then I’ll call Inspector Jaglom again and try to get more information.”
“Good. That’s good.” Kevin nodded desperately and wrung her hands as if looking for a lifeline to cling to.
Savannah’s nerves didn’t seem to be doing much better, so Dalton knelt before her and took her hands in his. “Peter’s not in any trouble. He’s just being questioned. They won’t arrest him.”
I willed his words to be true. Then I looked at Derek. “Did Inspector Jaglom tell you how they found out about the blackmail?”
“No.” He thought it over. “I’m not going to wait to phone him. I’ll call right now and leave a message for him to call me when they’re finished.”
“Would you?” Kevin said, rubbing her arms nervously. “I’d like to know that Peter’s all right.”
Savannah caught my gaze and raised an eyebrow quizzically. I gave her a quick nod. We were reading the signs and Kevin’s feelings for Peter definitely seemed to be growing stronger. I would love to see them get back together—if the man Kevin loved didn’t end up rotting in a jail cell.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, I pushed it aside. I just could not imagine Peter as a killer.
As Derek stepped into the small foyer to make his telephone call, Kevin continued with the pacing.
“Can I get you a drink or something?” I asked.
“What?” She glanced at me as if she had just realized I was there. “Oh. No, thanks. I’m just nervous.”
“I understand.”
She brushed her thick, dark hair back from her face and massaged her neck. “Oh, God. I’m just afraid his reason for being blackmailed might be so much worse than the others. Which means his motive for murder is stronger. At least, that’s how the police will see it. Won’t they? I assume that’s why they brought him in.”
“So you know the reason why Peter was being blackmailed?”
She flopped down in the chair across from me, leaned over, and held her head in her hands. “Yes.”
“You don’t have to tell us,” Savannah said quickly.
I flashed her a look of disbelief along with my telepathic message: Are you crazy? Let’s hear it!
“You’re right, I don’t have to tell you,” Kevin said, “and I wouldn’t if Peter hadn’t already confessed to everyone about the blackmail. Now, though, I want you to know. Maybe if the people in his life know what he’s been through, he’ll finally be able to let it go.”
“It might help,” I said encouragingly. Okay, I felt a tiny, tiny twinge of guilt. Yes, I wanted to help Peter and Kevin. Of course! But my inherent inquisitiveness was clamoring for information, too.
Kevin shook her head in weary confusion. “I’m still upset that he actually paid Baxter money to keep it a secret.”
Derek stepped back into the living room area. “I left the inspector a message.”
Savannah smiled at him. “Thank you, Derek.”
“Come and sit down,” I said. “Kevin is about to tell us why Peter was being blackmailed.”
“Yes, very juicy stuff,” she said, and I was glad to see her humor was returning, despite the unhappy revelation she was about to make.