But what if Belle found out Raven was being released from the Seven Brothers Academy and decided to make things safe for him? Jack had barely been able to stop the murder three years ago. Now she was sitting in a police station, providing an alibi for a girl who had definitely not slept beside her last night.
“If I recant my statement, what happens to Belle?”
Medina leaned in, his voice surprisingly gentle. “The prosecution’s case is solid. The flowers were found in Evelyn’s tea, just like the recipe says, and Belladonna’s history with Raven speaks to motive. If she and Raven were in contact over the past few weeks…” He frowned, shaking his head. “It doesn’t look good for her.”
Jack’s chest felt tight. “And if I stick to my original statement? Get up on the stand and swear Belle and I spent the night together?”
The detective laced his fingers together, resting his chin on his hands. “Best-case scenario, the prosecution will use your history of storytelling to get your testimony thrown out.”
“That’s the best-case scenario?” Jack felt herself sinking, and she hadn’t moved from her chair. “Dare I ask what the worst-case scenario is?”
“The prosecution targets you next. Charges you with providing false testimony. Maybe conspiracy to commit murder. If the judge thinks you were involved in the planning of Mrs. Holloway’s death, you could be reuniting with your friend sooner than you think. You two could be spending a lot of time together at that detention center.”
Jack’s stomach dipped. If she was locked up beside Belle, she’d never be able to figure out what had really happened to Raven’s stepmother. “Can I think about it?” she asked timidly. It was the first time her voice had wavered since she’d entered the station. The first time she’d been uncertain her stories would keep her out of trouble, protect her, allow her to sleep at night.
Detective Medina nodded, his gaze still kind. Chin still resting on his hands. “Things are going to move quickly,” he warned. “Evelyn was loved by a lot of people, and Rose Hollow hasn’t seen a crime like this in—”
“Four years,” Jack muttered, thinking of Raven’s mother. His real mother, the one who’d loved him.
“The trial could be set in a couple of weeks,” the detective went on. “And unless you can bring me a suspect who hated Evelyn Holloway and wanted to ruin Belladonna’s life—”
“I can.” Jack sat bolt upright. Blood rushed through her ears. Her battered heart sprang to life. All this time, the answer had been right in front of her. “I have to go.” She pushed out of her chair. “I’ll be in touch within the next couple of days, all right? I don’t know how long it’ll take to…”
Get to her, Jack thought, her mind racing a mile a minute. There was someone who hated Evelyn Holloway, and that person would’ve had no trouble at all dragging Belle’s name through the dirt. Unfortunately, that person had been locked in a gated facility almost as long as Raven had been locked in a boarding school on the other side of the country.
Could she have broken out?
“I’ll have answers for you soon,” Jack promised, buttoning her coat. Winter had ended, but an icy chill still drifted through the air, settling on her limbs. Encircling her throat. “I just need to talk to someone first.”
“Say hello to Raven for me,” the detective said, mistaking the reason for her exit. Raven was coming home. She needed to see him, desperately, but there was someone else she needed to see first.
“I’m not going to see Raven,” Jack said, striding to the door. She was going to see the girl who’d stopped eating after Raven had left town. The girl whose own mother had dropped her off at a wellness facility, three months later, and had never come back for her.
Lily Holloway, Raven’s stepsister.
“I’ve already spoken with Lily,” Detective Medina said, as Jack touched the doorknob. She turned, slowly, to see him holding the Recipe for the Perfect Murder in his hand. “When I showed her the recipe, she started stammering about Belle’s innocence. I didn’t know the two were friends. What was their relationship like before Lily went to stay at the facility?”
Jack swallowed, a pang of fear shooting through her stomach. A pang of warning. “They hated each other.”
3
A Kiss Before Dying
When Raven was fourteen, he lay down in a glass coffin in his orchard. Jack stood over him, heart hammering like a fist. There was lightning in her veins. Starlight in her eyes. At fourteen years old, Raven was already so beautiful, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“I tried to save you,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. Seeing Raven in that coffin was like looking at a vision of the future. There was no if about saying goodbye to Raven Holloway.
Only when.
The tears that fell were genuine. The pain in her chest, crushing. After a minute of staring at him, she turned to the girl at the edge of the clearing, the one dressed in head-to-toe black.
“I can’t do this,” Jack said.
Raven’s eyelids fluttered open. He was wearing a black velvet suit, and one of his dark curls had fallen into his eyes. “Are you afraid to kiss me?” he asked, sitting up.
“I…” Yes. No. Maybe, she thought, her gaze trained on Belladonna Drake. Belle had insisted on playing the witch in this scenario, because the role suited her so perfectly. She had that dark, glossy hair. Kohl-rimmed eyes. A smile that could cut you to pieces, or bring you to life.
“I told you, it’s okay,” Belle said, flashing that duplicitous smile. “Tonight we’re sharing him.”
Jack’s throat felt tight. She took a long, slow breath before striding over to Belle. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Out of character?”
Belle rolled her eyes. Looping her arm through Jack’s, she led her friend through a copse of apple trees. Away from the coffin and the dark-eyed boy. “Look, I get it,” Belle said when they were a safe distance from Raven. “You’d rather die than kiss a boy.”
“That isn’t it.” Jack wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand. Whatever it is, you can tell… Poppy, why are you crying?”
Jack wanted to correct her, to say, My name is Jack, but she couldn’t do that without offering an explanation. And… there wasn’t one. At least, not one that would make sense to the others. She wasn’t changing her name because her identity was changing. It was almost the opposite of that. Poppy had never felt right. But Jack fit, in a way that nothing had before.
“Seriously,” Belle said, as Jack slumped against a tree, wiping the tears from her lashes. “It’s fine. If I’d known you were going to break down at the thought of kissing my boyfriend, I would’ve played the knight.”
“Neither of us is a knight! Raven isn’t a prince! Something is really, really wrong with him, and playing some stupid game we loved when we were kids isn’t going to stop—” Jack broke off, sliding down the trunk of the tree. Belle knelt in front of her. She must’ve been starting to understand, because she lifted Jack’s chin with her fingers. “You’re worried about him in real life.”