Page 41 of What They'll Say About Us

"Good. In the meantime, watch your back. As long as you're asking questions, you're not safe."

"I'm willing to take the risk."

"I hope you won't regret that decision."

Chapter Eleven

After leaving police headquarters, I called Morgan and gave her an update. She was thrilled that Detective Barclay was reopening the case.

"I'm glad he's willing to work with us," Morgan said.

"Reluctantly, but he's coming by the apartment around five, so you can judge for yourself."

"Great. Because I found out some information on Detective Cabot that I'd like to put in front of Detective Barclay."

"What kind of information?" I asked with surprise.

"Vincent Cabot is a very good chess player, the kind who participates in chess tournaments. He's been competing for years. And guess who else plays in those tournaments?"

I heard the excitement in her voice and couldn't wait to hear the answer. "Who?"

"Professor Robert Hale."

"Really?" I said, shocked by that piece of info.

"Yes. I found several photos of the two of them together at chess matches. One of them was dated the month before Paige died."

"That is interesting," I murmured. "If Hale knew Cabot, maybe he put some pressure on him to end the investigation quickly."

"I was thinking that, too, but why would he do that? It's not like Professor Hale was a key suspect."

"You're right, but it's worth digging into, and we should definitely share that with Detective Barclay."

"What are you doing now?" Morgan asked.

"I'm going to drive out to Sloane's house. I'll text you after that, or I'll come back to the apartment. How about you?"

"I need to take a break from this case to review some contracts we got this morning from potential sponsors. I also set up a call with Christine," she added, referring to a lawyer we were working with. "We're going to talk at one. If you're back, you can join in."

"Who are the sponsors?"

"Valero Wines and Perrigrim Cheese Shop."

"Wine and cheese," I said, smiling to myself. "Sounds about right."

"The offers are really good, Tessa. That's why I want to make sure we get these contracts reviewed and signed as soon as possible. But I do feel bad about not focusing solely on this investigation."

"Don't. I'm glad you're staying on top of our business. I need to speak to Sloane on my own anyway. I'll see you later."

It took me about twenty minutes to get to Glencoe, a lakefront suburb north of Evanston. Glencoe sat higher above the lake than any of the other North Shore suburbs, its shoreline a series of bluffs that dropped nearly ninety feet to the water below.

As I drove down the street under a canopy of old oaks arching overhead, I searched for Sloane's house among the stately single-family homes that sat back from the street, as if putting distance between the residents and those just passing through. Finally, I found the house in the magazine, a two-story red brick Colonial with white trim and a steeply pitched roof with two smaller peaks flanking the main one. There were two big oaks in the yard and an impressively large front door.

It felt like a serious house, the kind that serious money could buy, and it also felt a little…wrong. Sloane Winters Delano had spent most of her college years wearing clothes stained with paint, her light-brown hair always falling out of a long ponytail, her face completely devoid of makeup, mostly because she was too distracted by her art to think about her appearance.

I wouldn't have imagined her living in a place like this, but then we'd all grown up in the past nine years. I had no idea if Sloane was home, although there was an expensive SUV in front of the two-car garage. It was eleven in the morning, so there was a good chance it was hers.

Drawing a deep breath, I steeled myself for whatever was about to come. I really had no idea if Sloane would be happy to see me. Our relationship in college had been peripheral to my relationship with Paige. I had spent time with both of them in their apartment at various times during the years, so I felt like I knew her, but I had never known her that well. She had always felt like a shadow behind the brighter, more vivacious Paige.