"Grace, we know you had Claire's bicycle streamer." Lilly and Scotty had been talking to Grace for almost an hour and still had gotten nowhere.
At Lilly's mention of the streamer, Grace panicked. Her eyes veered towards the ceiling, her hands wandered to her crotch and she made a crying noise.
"She gave it to me." Her voice was a mosquito's whine, high and soft.
"Who? Who gave it to you, Grace?" Lilly asked gently, softly, in a voice Scotty had ever heard her use—a child asking another child.
"She did," groaned Grace.
"Just tell us who gave you the streamer."
"Someone." Grace's eyes snapped open. She leaned forward, toying with the hem of her shirt, staring at Lilly.
"Did you find Claire's body?" Scotty asked.
Grace's mouth opened and a string of saliva dripped down her chin. "She gave it to me," she insisted.
" Just tell us who she is." Lilly was teetering on the brink of explosion. Scotty could sense it.
Grace's story changed, not for the first time. "I found it," she decided.
"Where?" Lilly pressed her fingers to her temple.
"In…the ditch," she said finally. "I think Rex pulled it off."
"Who was Rex?" Lilly asked, glad for a straight answer.
"Ricky's dog."
"Ricky had his dog with him?" Scotty asked.
Grace nodded. "She smelled like dog," she said softly.
"When did she smell like dog?" Lilly questioned.
"When we saw her. In the field."
"When were you in the field with Claire?" Lilly prompted.
Grace groaned. Her hands flopped in all directions. Her eyes rolled back and she dissolved to tears. An orderly came up and tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry," she said warmly to Lilly and Scotty. "I'm going to ask you to leave until Miss Novotny's mental state is healthier."
"Grace was in the field when Claire was killed," Scotty said as they walked out to the parking lot. "And whoever did it gave Grace that streamer as a sort of twisted prize."
Lilly nodded. "I just wish I knew who gave her the streamer. It's driving me nuts. It's like we've got the right key, but we're trying it on all the wrong doors."
Scotty unlocked the car door. "We'll find the right one," he promised. "We always do."
The drive to Marjorie's house was unusually quiet. Lilly was chewing her lips, trying not to cry. She was worried. Worried about Christina, worried about Christina's baby, worried that her math was correct and that Scotty had fathered said baby. The last thought hurt just enough to snap the tightly pulled elastic that held all of her emotions in check. She started to cry, and regretted not being able to hold it in as soon as she started.
"Hey!" Scotty pulled over. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She wiped the tears away, tried to re-bind her feelings. "I'm fine. Keep driving." He would find out from Christina soon enough. Now wasn't the time for an emotional explosion. They had work to do.
"Are you sure?" His forehead was wrinkled with worry.
"Yes. Drive." She sniffled and took a deep breath.
"Is there something wrong with Chris?"
"Look, Scotty, I don't want to talk about it. If you want to talk to Christina, phone her. She's at my house. But do it on your own time."
Scotty looked taken aback. "I thought we were okay now," he mumbled.
"Scotty, when did Christina leave?" Lilly asked suddenly.
"Five months ago," Scotty replied.
Lilly leaned back in the seat. "Oh."
"Why?"
"Just wondering." There could have been someone else…there'd better be someone else…
The rest of the drive was silent. Lilly could feel the tension that had just started to lift building up again. She hated herself for not being able to tell Scotty what was going on. That was always Christina's thing, blabbing to the world. Lilly could take her secrets to the grave if she really wanted to.
"Marjorie, why didn't you tell us that you saw Claire the day she was killed?"
"I told you I saw her at school," Marjorie snapped. "Why are you back here?"
"After school, Marjorie." Lilly was fed up.
"I saw her in the schoolyard," Marjorie replied snappishly.
"What about in the field?" Scotty demanded.
Marjorie grew quiet. "No," she said.
"Marjorie, who was in that field that afternoon with you, Grace, and Claire?"
"Nobody."
"Marjorie. We only want to help you. Who was in the field?"
"Nobody!" Marjorie insisted.
Lilly and Scotty exchanged looks. "So it was just you, Grace, and Claire?" Scotty asked.
"I wasn't in the field," Marjorie said quickly. "I…um. Left."
Lilly sighed. "Why do you keep lying to us, Marjorie?"
"I'm not lying to you!" Marjorie said defensively. "Why do you keep bothering me?"
"We're not trying to bother you, Marjorie, we're trying to solve a murder."
"Please don't bother me any more," Marjorie said. "The past is in the past, why do you have to drag it back up and complicate people's lives?"
"Because that's my job," Lilly replied.
A/N: I leave you with that. Sorry there was a bit of a delay in updating (hah!), I was busy all of Saturday and the power was out til 5:00 pm today. Further drama and little tiny baby steps towards solving the case in Chapter 6!