One thing I’d learned from Bobby—when it came to questions likeWhat did you do this afternoon?andHow was your writing today?andDid you eat that entire cake?—was that sometimes, wait time worked wonders.
(The alliteration on that was chef’s kiss.)
“It—it wasn’t a big deal,” Millie said. “It was a misunderstanding.”
I kept waiting. I even folded my arms until I realized it made me look like a disappointed dad.
(Nailed it on the alliteration again.)
Millie seemed to deflate as she sighed. “Louis and I went to this party. He knew some of the guys.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. A frat house near the college.”
That helped. Kind of. Arcadia College wasn’t anywhere close to the Gull’s Nest, and I had a hard time imagining that the killer was a college-aged kid who had a heretofore unknown connection to JT and Channelle.
OMG.
What if Louis was the killer?
Although that actually madezerosense, and I immediately regretted thinking it.
“And what happened?” I asked.
“Nothing happened,” Millie said.
“You told the sheriff Keme was at the party.”
“He was.”
“But not all night.”
“No, he left.”
A question occurred to me. “Howdid Keme end up at that party?”
Blushing, Millie said, “I told him about it. I mean, he’s eighteen. He can go to a party if he wants to.”
Sure, I thought. But he wasn’t twenty-one, and if Indira smelled alcohol on him—well, you want to talk about zapping.
“Louis said he wasn’t there very long,” I said.
Millie nodded unhappily.
“Why’d he leave?”
The delay seemed longer this time. “He didn’t want to hang out with Louis; Louis teases him too much. I tried to tell Keme he doesn’t mean anything by it.”
I was fairly sure Louisdidmean something by it. Guys like Louis tended to be unforgivably perceptive when it came to spotting potential threats—and potential victims. I wasn’t sure which one he’d pegged Keme for. Possibly both.
“Did they get in a fight?”
“What? No!”
“Are you sure? Because Keme looks pretty bad.”
“They didn’t even see each other. Keme showed up while Louis was getting us drinks. We talked. He left. That’s it. That’s all that happened.”
