Harper heard her let out a breath before she continued. “If you think I killed Xavier, you’re wrong. Yes, we had problems. Yes, we argued. But my God, I loved him.” Her voice quavered. “It’s funny, I can’t even describe how much I miss him. I sleep with one of his shirts in bed with me just so I can smell him.” She paused. “I think I miss his smell most of all. He smelled amazing. Like cinnamon and sandalwood and fresh air. I’ve never met anyone whose scent alone was enough to…” Her voice trailed off. A moment passed before she spoke again. This time, her voice was stronger. “I wanted to marry him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Someone took that away from me. And to be blamed for it … It’s the most exquisite pain I can think of. Because it takes away my right to mourn. I don’t know if you can understand that. But I hope you can.”
Harper rested her head on her hand. “I can,” she said, quietly. “I understand completely. And I am truly sorry I hurt you.”
There was a pause, and then Cara spoke again.
“Good.” She sounded satisfied. “I want you to be sorry. That means there’s still hope for you. You can go out there and find the real killer. Because all I’m living for now is seeing that person pay.” Steel entered her carefully calibrated voice. “You find that person, Harper. You’re a good reporter and I think you can do it. You were wrong about me, but I think you’re right about one thing. I think it was somebody close to him. Close to us.”
“You do?” Harper couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
“It makes sense.” Cara talked with steady determination, her voice low. “And if it was someone in this house, then I’m in danger, too. So, you have to figure it out. As fast as you can. I need you to.”
This was absolutely not what she’d expected from this call. “Do you think it was Hunter?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Cara admitted. “Three days ago I would have called you crazy. But now anything’s possible. The police haven’t found a single threat from fans. They can’t find anyone with a motive. That’s why they think it must be me. Because it’s always the girlfriend. If it wasn’t me…”
“… it had to be one of the others,” Harper finished the sentence for her.
“How could it be them, though?” Cara stifled a sob. “Oh God. I’m so scared.”
“Is there somewhere else you could go?” Harper asked.
Cara drew a shaky breath. “The police say I can’t leave town. I found a place I could rent in Savannah, but Allegra saw me looking at it and she asked a lot of questions. I panicked and made up an excuse—I told her my mom was coming to see me. I’m trapped. I think they’re watching me.”
There was so much fear in her voice, Harper believed her. This wasn’t acting.
Luke had said he was convinced someone in the house was the killer. If he was right, and Cara was telling the truth, then she really was in danger.
“Listen,” she said. “Sit tight. Keep playing along. I’ll talk to the detectives, see what I can find out. Do you have their number?”
“Okay.” Her response was muffled, she was crying in earnest now.
“Text me your number,” Harper told her. “I don’t want to have to call Hunter if I need to reach you. I’ll work as fast as I can.”
“Thanks,” Cara whispered.
Harper hesitated before saying, “Cara? I’m really sorry about that article.”
“I know,” the actress said.
22
That evening, Harper paid Cara back. She kept her article short and clean. But she fixed what she’d broken.
Cara Brand Tells Her Side
By Harper McClain and DJ Gonzales
As detectives continue their investigation into the murder of local musician Xavier Rayne, his girlfriend, Cara Brand, spoke of her pain at being included on the list of suspects.
“I wanted to marry Xavier. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Someone took that away from me. And to be blamed for it is the most exquisite pain I can think of. Because it takes away my right to mourn.”
Detectives this weekend again verified that their investigation has focused mainly on those who were drinking with Rayne the night he died. That includes Brand, and the musician’s housemates Hunter Carlson,