Page 38 of Little Shattered Dreams

“I’m sorry to say, not much.”

“Did you review all of it?”

She nodded. “Twice. Thing is, there’s no clear footage of the area outside Quinn’s place, front or back. It’s like a black hole. Hard to see much of anything.”

“Anyone lurking around?”

“It was quiet for the most part. The only activity I saw around the time of her death came from Karl’s bungalow. Abby walked out of the bungalow, and then right after, Clara walked in. She didn’t stay long. A minute or so, and then she left.”

“What time did Abby leave Karl’s bungalow?”

Simone raised a finger, indicating I should hang on while she pulled a small notebook out of her back pocket. She flipped it open, using her finger to scan down the page of notes she’d taken. “Abby exited just before nine.”

And I’d been awakened by the sound of Quinn’s body colliding with the wall not long after.

“That’s consistent with the story Clara told Detective Foley,” I said. “Quinn was supposed to have a late-night session with Karl. When Clara stopped by Quinn’s place to let her know Karl was ready for her, Quinn was already dead.”

If Clara was the only person seen walking around, it made me wonder if she had something to do with Quinn’s murder. She could have stopped by Quinn’s place to make sure she was alone, and then circled back minutes later to murder her. And given Clara was responsible for tidying half the guest rooms each day, she would have had keys to all of them. But what would her motive have been? As far as I knew, the two didn’t know each other. And yet, Clara’s heightened concern for Quinn after finding her dead still nagged at me.

“Simone, did you talk to Clara today?” I asked.

“I tried, believe me. She brushed me off. Twice. I can use a more aggressive approach if you want me to try again.”

“Let me talk to her. She may notwantto have a conversation with me, but I’ll find a way to get her talking.”

Hunter turned toward me. “I haven’t looked into her background yet. I’ll see what I can find out about her tonight.”

“Perfect.”

My sister joined us at the table, and the conversation shifted from Quinn's murder investigation to the dinner menu. The four of us engaged in small talk for a minute, and then my sister said, “How’s the investigation going? I'm surprised you're not all talking about it.”

I smiled. “We were, right before you got here.”

“Don’t stop on my account. I want to hear what’s going on.”

I’m sure she would have liked me to share some intel. But given she was dating Foley, there was a chance what I said to her would be relayed to him. I hadn’t made the time to check in with him today like I said I would, and I preferred he heard things from me first.

“I haven’t found out much of anything yet,” I said.

It was true. I hadn’t found anything to point me in the direction of a specific person, but I did have information to share about Quinn and what I’d learned about her backstory. I also needed to tell him about the note left on my door, and then have Hunter or Simone get it over to Silas for analysis.

My sister folded her arms and leaned back, rolling her eyes at me. “I’m not going to run off and call the chief of police just because we’re dating, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not saying you would. I told him I’d give him a call today, and I haven’t yet.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was 6:07.

My mother was never late.

Aunt Laura, yes, but never my mom.

“When’s the last time anyone saw Mom?” I asked.

“I was with her about an hour ago,” my sister said. “She said she was sweaty and wanted to take a shower before she came to dinner. I came straight here because Aunt Laura said she’d grab her on the way over.”

If she was going to grab her, where were they?

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