Page 9 of Nothing Left

She looked down as she said that, and Juliette was suddenly reminded of the way Paulette had done that while being interviewed earlier that morning. Something had happened at the club.

"Did you drink a lot at the club?" she asked, needing detail.

"Yes. Yes, we all did. We drank way too much," she confessed. “Actually, Samantha probably ended up being the most sober. She was laughing at all of us and egging us on to misbehave.”

"Anything else?" Juliette made sure to keep her tone neutral.

Heather stared at her with an agonized expression. Her gaze flickered to the guard at her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Juliette said. “You can tell me. It’s more important to know what happened.”

"One of the guys with us, he got some tablets and we took them. He said they would just give us energy, help us party for longer. I don't know what they were."

"And did all of you come back to the apartment?"

"I think four of us did," Heather said.

"And then the party continued?"

"By then, I - I don't really remember. There are moments. I definitely remember a glass being smashed and that Samantha gave someone a whole lot of trouble about it. The coffee machine was broken, and that was, like, a big thing. I was feeling so tired by then and so sick."

"Do you remember if the door was closed or locked? If anyone else came in?"

She shook her head, tears streaming. "I wish I did remember. I wish I'd locked the door, but I can't say I did, and I don't know if anyone else did. But you know, it's always been safe here; I mean, there have been some burglaries and stuff, but nothing bad. There was no reason to be scared."

Her shoulders shook, and Juliette could see she was buckling under the weight of the realization that, to the world, she was the scary one. She was the killer.

"Tell me who else was there?" Juliette asked.

Sergio, my boyfriend. He’s from Barcelona. Well, we've been dating for a short while. He used to be Samantha's boyfriend, but they broke up. And then, Enzo, another guy that liked Samantha, but he wasn't her boyfriend as such."

Already, Juliette could see the potential for trouble in this foursome.

"How did Samantha feel when you started dating Sergio?"

"She wasn't too pleased about it. We fought at the time. But we smoothed things over since then," Heather explained anxiously.

"So, when you woke up?" Juliette asked.

"I'd been throwing up. I was in the bathroom, lying near the toilet. There was this knife on the floor, and I was so confused. I picked it up and then saw all the blood on the blade."

Great, Juliette thought. Just what was needed. Hungover and confused, she'd planted her fingerprints all over the murder weapon. No wonder this was looking so bad.

"There was blood everywhere, and it led to the shower, and I opened it, and there - there she was."

She collapsed in tears, bawling to such an extent that even the guard moved closer and patted her shoulder in a formal way.

Juliette then spoke to the woman guard in as patient and helpful tones as she could muster.

"There is lots of uncertainty surrounding this case. We don't want to let the real killer go free. I understand that the other inmates are threatening this woman, believing she committed the crime. Please, can you make sure that she stays safe?"

The woman's hard demeanor returned, and she shrugged. "I will try. But there is little I can do. Only when I receive instructions can I act?"

Juliette resolved that before they left the prison, she was going to find the head warden and use all the power that the FBI might have to persuade him to make changes to Heather’s living conditions.

She had to make sure that until they had more information, Heather didn't suffer any injury or trauma while in jail. That was her responsibility. Being hurt or attacked by the other inmates was a real possibility right now. Ideally, moving Heather to solitary confinement for a few days might be the safest option, she decided. It would be hellish for her but not as hellish as what else might happen in a communal environment.

And then, she needed to get to the crime scene and see if she could piece together what really had happened on that drunken, chaotic night.

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