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The girl shivered again, and nodded.“I know. Which is why I wanted to be sure before I told you.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” said her mother, and stroked a strand of hair from her daughter’s face. “You’re safe now.” She turned to Odelia. “One other reason why it’s better for her to stay here. What if the person who killed Jay decides to return?”

“Yeah, I’m never going back there again,” said Laia decidedly.

“There’s something else we need to tell you, Laia,” said Odelia. “And this might come as a shock.”

“Oh, please, no,” said Matilda sternly.

“Mommy, it’s fine,” Laia repeated. “Yes, what is it?” she asked, with a touch of trepidation.

“Jay had a second phone,” Chase explained. “Did you know about that?”

“A second phone? No, I didn’t know that.”

“He used it to exchange messages and calls with Loretta Everyman.”

“I knew it!” Matilda cried, slapping her thigh.

“Mommy!”

“I told you that man couldn’t be trusted, didn’t I?”

“So Jay was still in touch with Loretta? Is that what you’re saying?” asked Laia.

Odelia nodded.“Looks like they were still very much… together.”

“The texts they exchanged are pretty, well, steamy,” Chase said.

“The scoundrel!” Matilda cried, getting up and pacing the room.

Laia looked taken aback by this news.“So Jay was cheating on me with his ex?”

Both Odelia and Chase nodded.

“God,” said Laia, looking away. “I’m such a fool.”

“When we look at the messages it’s obvious that Jay was planning to take possession of the insurance money you were hoping to get for the necklace, and then leave town together with Loretta.”

Odelia looked at Matilda, but the latter simply nodded and waved an impatient hand.“I know about the necklace,” she said. “Laia has decided to come clean and tell us about the whole sordid business. We know it was all Jay’s idea.”

“So Jay was going to take that money and leave me?” asked Laia, looking crestfallen.

“Yeah, I’m afraid so,” said Odelia. “I’m very sorry, Laia.”

“God, he really played me for a sucker, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did!” her mother said emphatically. She then addressed Chase, just as sternly. “I hope you’ll have a good long talk with this Loretta. Seems to me she’s the person you should be looking for in connection to Jay’s murder and the theft of the necklace both!”

“Why would Loretta kill her boyfriend?” asked Chase. “They were planning to go away together once the insurance paid out.”

“They must have had a fight. Happens all the time. He decided to break up with her and hitch his wagon on Laia’s ride and so Loretta killed him in a fit of rage.”

“We’re definitely going to talk to Loretta,” said Chase, “but there are other suspects.”

“What suspects?” Matilda demanded.

“Well, we’ve now discovered that Dylon Pipe’s death wasn’t an accident. He was murdered.”

“Dylon was murdered?” asked Laia, shocked by this piece of news.

“I’m afraid so,” said Chase. “So now we’re looking at two murders, on two consecutive nights, presumably both in connection to your stolen necklace.”

“Which you people still haven’t found,” Matilda reminded them.

“Which brings us to another aspect of the case,” Chase went on without acknowledging Matilda’s outburst. “Dylon Pipe had a reputation in this town for being a low-level drug dealer.”

He arched an inquisitive eyebrow in Laia’s direction, who sputtered, “Well, obviously I didn’t know that, Detective.”

“Why are you looking at my daughter like that?” Matilda demanded. “She had no involvement with this Dylon Pipe character whatsoever. He was Jay’s friend, not hers.”

“You didn’t know Dylon was dealing, Laia?” asked Odelia gently.

Laia shook her head.“Absolutely not. If I had, I would have told Jay to cut all ties with him.”

“Of course my daughter didn’t know,” said Matilda. “We raised her better than to associate with drug dealers and other riffraff.”

“What riffraff?” asked Algis, who now entered carrying a plate with steaming hot pancakes. He had even more flour smeared all over his face and front.

“Jay’s best friend was a drug dealer,” said Matilda. “The one who stole my necklace.”

“My necklace,” Laia corrected her mom.

“Right now it’s still my necklace,” Matilda insisted. “At least if I ever get it back. Probably one of that drug addict’s friends must have taken it, and bashed Jay over the head in the process.”

“You’re so lucky you got out of this business with your life, honey,” said Algis.

“I know, Daddy. And I’m sorry about the necklace.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” said Algis.

“Oh, soyou think it’s fine, do you?” asked Matilda.

“It’s just money, honey! The main thing is that we’ve got our little girl back.”

Matilda didn’t seem to be fully in agreement, but she didn’t say anything. Laia continued to look stricken and apologetic, and I didn’t wonder. Not only had she lost her mom’s expensive necklace, she had also dragged her family into what now looked like a gang of crooked friends and associated drug dealers, and had risked her own life in the process.