Cul de Sac. Блейк Пирс

he thought you had a knack for these small neighborhood-based cases, she thought to herself.

      To be polite, she sipped from the lemonade. Despite her negative thoughts, it was actually delicious.

      “I assume you ladies have already spoken to the police?” Chloe asked.

      “Yes,” Tabby said. “And while I fully understand that they are doing their best, it was quite clear that they had no idea what they were doing.”

      “They’re spooked, too,” Kaitlin said.

      “Spooked by what?” Moulton asked.

      “By the idea that it might have some sort of political reasoning. I guess you know about Lauren’s dad being all buddy-buddy with the Secretary of Defense. I’m sure the local police would rather avoid a media circus if they can help it.”

      “So, is it politically connected?” Tabby asked.

      “It’s far too early to know for sure,” Chloe said. Already, she was getting an uncomfortable vibe from these two. She did not doubt their grief; it was apparent in their expressions and the fact that Kaitlin had been openly crying since they’d showed up. But she also had no real problem picturing these two sitting around—perhaps with Lauren Hilyard and Claire Lovingston—gossiping about everyone in town. She wondered how much of what they might discuss right here and now would end up hitting the Barnes Point grapevine.

      “Can you tell us when you last saw Lauren?” Moulton asked.

      “It was the night before she died,” Tabby said. “We all met up at our high school reunion.”

      “We practically had to drag Lauren to it,” Kaitlin said. “She always hated that kind of thing.”

      “Well, she hated that sort of thing after school was over,” Tabby corrected. “She always wanted to try to leave the high school years in the past.”

      “Did she seem any different that night?” Chloe asked.

      “Nothing that I noticed,” Tabby said.

      “Same here,” Kaitlin said. “I daresay she ended up having some fun later on in the night. Lauren…well, she was the heartthrob of our high school. All the guys wanted her and when Jerry Hilyard just happened to knock her up during senior year…man, it was like the place had exploded. She lost some of that allure, you know. But the way everyone treated her that night at the reunion…I think everyone forgot about that. And it was like she was the queen bee all over again. I think she needed that.”

      “Was there a big crowd?” Moulton asked.

      “Pretty big,” Tabby said. “This is sort of a strange part of town. Lots of people that went to our high school either graduated or ended up coming back this way after college. It’s not exactly a wealthy city, but this side of town is known for being the wealthy side, you know? Anyway, for a few moments, Lauren actually looked happy.”

      “We understand that Lauren was among those that graduated and stayed around,” Chloe said. “Were you all friends in high school?”

      “Yes. Hell…Lauren and Claire were friends from kindergarten.”

      “So would you say they were the closest out of the four of you?”

      “Probably,” Kaitlin said. “They’ve always been besties. We know they had their little private porch sessions. It’s sweet…but yeah, from time to time, I felt a little left out. How about you, Tab?”