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“This thing destroyed my family,” she said. “My mother never got over it. To this day, she still sleeps maybe eighteen hours a day. I didn’t just lose my sister that night. I lost my mom. Within two years, my parents weren’t speaking to each other. They barely spoke to me. It didn’t matter what color my hair was. Every time they look at me, they see Annabelle. I can’t blame them. Every time I look in the mirror I see her too.”

“Aw, honey,” Lloyd said. He tried to hug her. Zoe jerked away.

“There’s something you want me to know, isn’t there?” I asked. “Something you didn’t want your mom to overhear. What is it?”

“You’re telling me Geneva thinks somebody else was involved? That’s what she’s saying?”

I didn’t answer. I just held Zoe’s gaze.

“Annabelle and Geneva were barely speaking. Annabelle didn’t even want to go away with them for the weekend. She did it for Maisy and Emily. Sarah was always a snob.”

“What was her beef with Geneva?” I asked.

“A boy. Geneva found out Annabelle slept with her ex-boyfriend. Jake Thacker. They’d only broken up a month before. Geneva thought Annie was screwing him while they were still dating. It doesn’t really matter. You don’t do that to a friend. I know Geneva was going to have it out with Annabelle that weekend. I heard her say awful things to my sister. Things she didn’t deserve.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like she wished she was dead.”

“Did you tell that to the police?” I asked.

“What difference would it have made? Derrek Sidney killed those girls, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Lloyd answered, his tone harsh and unequivocal.

But there was something in Zoe’s eyes that made me think she was still hiding something. I took a shot in the dark.

“Was Annabelle the one who slept with this Jake Thacker? Did she do what Geneva accused her of?”

Zoe’s face turned to stone.

“No,” she said. “Annabelle didn’t do anything wrong. I did. I was the one who was sleeping with Jake. Annabelle just took the fall for me. My sister didn’t deserve to die that night. But maybe I did.”

Zoe turned on her heel and walked back to the house, refusing my calls for her to come back. When she was back inside, Lloyd turned to me.

“It’s meaningless now,” he said. “Typical teenage drama. It’s not relevant. Zoe needs to stop beating herself up over it.”

He was right, but I had a nagging little feeling in the back of my mind. Geneva told Annabelle Oleson she wished she was dead. Was that part of what Dan Holland wrote down in his murder book? A motive?

It was nothing. But Geneva had been questioned about her relationship with the other girls. She never mentioned the Jake Thacker issue. And she hadn’t mentioned it to me when I asked her point-blank how her relationship was with the other girls. It was just one more thing she wanted to hide, perhaps.

“How’s your dad?” Lloyd asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“He’s good,” I answered automatically.

“Mercy,” he said. “No bull, okay? This is me.”

“No bull? I’m worried about him. His memory lapses aren’t as bad, but other things are. I’m worried about his driving. But I got him to agree to see the doctor. His appointment’s tomorrow.”

“Are you going with?”

I nodded.

“Good. You know he’s gonna try to weasel out of it. He did that to me for years before you finally moved here to Helene. Just be prepared for him to try to throw a wrench tomorrow. Do you want me around for that too?”

“I’ve got it,” I said. “But thank you. I may need to take you up on it soon though.”

Lloyd leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. “Take care of yourself too, Mercy. I know what Tom’s like. He’s good at running people off. Including me.”