11. Jayne
JAYNE
I’M NOT SURE how I’m supposed to react to the woman who just walked into this room.
I know that her showing up made the local cops pretty angry, but that’s about as far as my information goes.
This is new for me. Usually, I’m one step ahead of everyone, especially the people who think they’re running the show.
But by the look of this woman, she’s not just running the show—she is the show. And immediately, I admire her for that.
And anyway, there aren’t enough women in law enforcement.
It’s not the career for me, but this lady can wear the hell out of a pantsuit without looking like a tragic accountant, and that’s a feat worthy of celebration in and of itself.
Sadie would have appreciated that observation—she and I always shared a very clear sense of style.
Subtle differences, sure, but we always loved the same colors, the same kinds of dresses.
It used to be something that was fun for us.
But now I wonder if it’s the reason she ended up dead instead of me.
“Jayne Cooper,” the woman says, extending a hand across the table. “Detective Sloane Budd. I’m with the state. I’m so very sorry for the loss of your sister.”
“Thanks,” I reply quietly, shaking her hand.
She isn’t looking at me like I’m a drowning puppy in need of saving, which is a step up from Detective Hunt.
My emotions made him uncomfortable, and he clearly didn’t know what to do about that except to overreact in one direction or the other.
In my experience, he’s not unique in that.
How is it that males never know what to do with emotions?
“I’m taking over from here,” she continues, authority echoing in every word. “I know it’s already been a long morning for you, and I promise to keep this as brief as possible.”
“I’m here to help.”
“Thank you. I understand you saw a disturbing photo that Mason Vreeland took in the darkroom at the school?”
I reach for my necklace. “Yeah,” I say. “The police said they’d send someone to see if they could find it, but I don’t know what Mason did with it after I freaked out and left. It was a picture of me, but I didn’t know he’d taken it.”
“How do you know it was you?”
I stare at her. What an asinine question. “I don’t follow,” I say simply.
“Is it possible it could have been your sister?”
“Absolutely not, Detective. Sadie and I might look identical to everyone else, but—and I don’t mean this to sound rude—obviously, I know what I look like. I can tell the difference between myself and my sister, because I am not an idiot.”
A smile tugs at one side of Detective Budd’s mouth. “Touché,” she says.
“And anyway, Mason and I were in photography club together. We spent time together, even though we weren’t exactly friends or anything.
And he asked me out once—after I turned him down, things got weird between us for a while, not because of anything I did, but because he just didn’t seem to take the rejection well.
I was as polite about it as I could be, but he seemed like the kind of guy who might have a short fuse.
Super quiet until he exploded. You know the type? ”
“I do.”
“So, anyway, I’m positive it was a picture of me, and I recognized my necklace.”
She’s clearly interested in the necklace, so I take it off and offer it to her. “You can take a closer look.”
She studies it. “It’s very sweet,” she says finally. “Sentimental value, I take it?”
I smile softly. “Now more than ever. It’s not my typical style—I’m more of a fine jewelry girl, usually—but Sadie got this from a local vendor at the Christmas market last year. Hers and mine match.”
Suddenly I realize I haven’t asked a very important question. I’m almost afraid to, because once I know the answer, I can’t unknow it.
“Um,” I say, clearing my throat as tears rise up again. “I didn’t ask Detective Hunt, but was Sadie… Does someone…?”
Detective Budd knows what I’m getting at.
“Yes,” she says, “Sadie had her necklace on last night. It’s being tested by forensics right now, but you will get it back. I promise, I will make sure of it.”
I nod, letting the tears start to fall again. “Thank you,” I say.
Two halves of a broken heart, reunited. It’s a twisted sort of ending, isn’t it?
“Miss Cooper—Jayne, if I may. Detective Hunt said you prefer your first name. I’d like to learn more about what happened at the party itself last night.”
“Sure. I didn’t get there until late, but I’ll tell you everything I saw. Ben and Liz would probably be more helpful, if they’re still here. Liz was with Sadie the whole night, and Ben—”
I don’t have to say it. We all know how Ben Carrera was involved.
“I’m speaking to both of them, yes.”
“Okay. Just… be careful.”
“How do you mean?”
“With both of them, honestly. I’m sure you know by now that there was something going on between Liz and Ben, and I don’t want to get either of them into any more trouble. I just…”
I pause, trying to choose my words carefully.
There’s no reason for Detective Budd to be too hard on them, but the longer I sit here, the more I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that there is something bigger going on, and if I don’t sound the alarm, I’ll end up directly in the path of destruction.
“You just what?”
“I think Liz wanted a lot of what Sadie had, and I’m not sure how far she would’ve gone to get it. I’m not saying she had anything at all to do with what happened last night, but just… don’t take what she says at face value.”
“Would you care to be less cryptic? This is a murder investigation, Jayne, not gossip in the cafeteria. I am here to help you, and I can’t do that if you don’t shoot straight with me.”
This is it, I guess. I came clean to Detective Hunt about Liz and Ben, and there’s only one piece left to the whole thing that I haven’t mentioned. I’m not sure why—maybe because I didn’t think Hunt would be smart enough to understand why it was important.
“Sorry,” I say. “This is all a lot. It’s hard to know what might be important or not, or what might just be coincidence.”
“There is no such thing as coincidence,” Detective Budd says firmly. “Out with it, please.”
Okay, then.
“Ask Liz about her necklace,” I say slowly, watching as Detective Budd turns mine over in her hand subconsciously.
“What necklace?”
“That one you’re holding,” I begin. “It’s mine.
And Sadie had a matching one. But Liz had one too.
It’s so ridiculous, but she threw a huge tantrum when Sadie got these for us last Christmas.
She was hurt that Sadie didn’t choose her instead of me for the other half.
Like I said, it’s ridiculous. But Liz turned it into a whole thing, and my sister just couldn’t stand it when anyone was upset with her.
It was really important to her that she be on good terms with everyone all the time—we were always disagreeing on that, because how on earth is it possible to be liked by everyone?
Anyway, she went out to the market the day after Christmas, when everything was at a fifty percent discount, obviously, and she got another one for Liz.
Told her some story about how she really wanted to give the other half to her, but I was her sister and so she didn’t want to upset me.
Something about keeping the family peace. ”
“So there are three necklaces?”
“Yes. The one you’re holding, the one Sadie was wearing, and the one Liz is wearing.”
“Interesting.” She’s taking notes again.
“Is it? I wasn’t sure if it mattered; I just thought it was something you should know.”
“Was Miss Stratton wearing her necklace at the party last night?”
“Of course. She never takes it off.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
And I can tell in that moment, without Detective Budd saying anything else, that Liz is not wearing her necklace this morning.
“She doesn’t have it, does she?” I ask.
“That’s not a question I can answer for you, Jayne.”
I shrug. “Fair enough. But hypothetically, if she’s sitting in another godforsaken room in this station and she’s not wearing a necklace just like that one, then if I were the police, I’d want to know what happened to it.”
“I take your point.”
And I know she does. Detective Budd isn’t like the clowns who pass for police around here.
She’s smart enough to ask better questions and dig a layer deeper than the local guys ever would.
Detective Hunt would probably have just shrugged me off and said that girls change their jewelry all the time.
He wouldn’t understand, but Detective Budd does.
Liz not having her necklace is significant somehow. It has to be.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I say suddenly. “I don’t know why you’re involved or in charge now or whatever, but I feel a lot better about it. I just want you to know that.”
She nods. “I appreciate your confidence, Jayne. I’ll do my best to earn it. Now, let’s get back to last night. Tell me what happened at Trevor McClain’s.”
“You ever have one of those nights where nothing goes the way you thought it would? I thought I’d be spending my Friday texting Evan and bingeing Bridgerton. But fate had other plans. And those other plans were me ending up at Trevor’s party.”
“Just don’t be too stupid, okay?” It’s not the best advice, but it’s really all I can offer as Sadie and Liz walk out the door.
“We’ll make good choices, Mom,” Sadie replies dramatically. “Promise.”
“Do you have your phone?”
Sadie double-checks her bag and nods.
“Come on, let’s get going,” Liz says. She’s bouncing on the balls of her feet like she’s about to sprint to Trevor’s if they don’t leave the house this very second.
I wonder why she’s so anxious to get there.
She’s been flirting a little bit with this guy Justin in our class, but he’s definitely not the kind of guy I’d be in a rush to go meet in a cornfield.
Then again, there isn’t any guy I’d be in a rush to go meet in a cornfield.