You're so pathetic! If you weren't such a stalker, maybe Nate could stand being around you! You need to get a life! Get a boyfriend! Get laid! Just get off Nate! I wish it had been you instead of Hallie! None of us wanted you in the group in the first place!

You're a bully and an asshole! Everyone hates you! We're only still friends with you because Nate asked us to be! If he didn't need your uncle to help him even he wouldn't be talking to you anymore!

Nate only puts up with you because he has to! You're so bat shit crazy obsessive nobody would even speak to you if it wasn't for him! And I'm over it! I don't care what Nate wants, I'm done with you!

The messages sent to Etty Montrose from Chloe, Leva, and Danni went on and on, lasting for nearly half an hour, one rage text after another, beginning at eleven twenty p.m.

As for Etty Montrose, she didn't participate in the incessant texting. At least, until the text that Leva sent her at eleven forty. That message from Leva was fairly brutal.

I'm having a talk with Nate as soon as he's done with the bottle service girl! He ditched you so that he could fuck her, by the way! Probably in your car! I'm going to make sure you don't have a single friend by tomorrow morning! You are finished here! Kiss your entire life goodbye, bitch!

But, the reply from Etty was more...desperate...than brutal. Nate isn't out here, you stupid bitch! I knew he wouldn't do that to me! I'm the only one who never believed he killed Hallie! I'm the one who got him to come out tonight! Where have the rest of you been this whole time! Nate knows I love him. And he lov---"

Etty's message began at eleven forty five and remained unfinished, very likely narrowing her time of death down to the minute.

However, the angry texts from Etty's friends kept coming for a few minutes longer, all along the same lines and ending with a text from Leva, sent at midnight. Don't you have anything to say? Is it too hard to hear the truth, you coward! Nate is here now! I'm telling him to either cut you off or we're all cutting him off! And who do you think he's going to choose! All of his friends, or one psycho stalker slut!

"Well, with friends like that..." Cole said as she finished reading him the last message. "And they're really fighting over Nathan Rutherford?"

"I reckon," she shrugged. "This does answer the question as to where Etty's friends were when she was getting killed. At least, it seems that way."

"It also seems that Mr. Nathan Rutherford had disappeared from the group during the window of Etty's murder," Cole pointed out. "So, should we still question the girlfriends? Or should we go straight at Rutherford?"

"We question the girlfriends," she answered. "If one of them slipped away, they'd have shown back up soaking wet. And so would Nathan Rutherford. I want to get their stories before we get his."

She wouldn't dwell on anything past that. Not for the moment. They needed to take things one step at a time, slowly, so as not to miss anything. They were dealing with a fresh kill now, so every single question answered and word spoken, every single detail, down to the smallest speck...it all mattered.

Using the addresses that Zeb had gotten from the DMV, they crossed town, making their way into a very urban area where a very fancy glass and steel apartment building sat, towering over all the other buildings along the street. 

Entering the heavily air conditioned foyer, which seemed more like an upscale hotel lobby, they headed for the bank of elevators at the back, just past the wall of mailboxes with the copper filigree fronts.  Riding it up to the twelfth floor, where all three young women kept apartments, they stepped off the of the mirrored and paneled conveyance and out into the bright, wide hallway, pointing themselves straight ahead, Tessa handing Cole the cell phone as they walked. 

 "You're up, Detective Dalton."

"Yep. But, what am I supposed to say that sounds like a twenty five year old mean girl?" he wondered, placing the phone in his back jeans pocket.

"I honestly have no idea. Just wing it?" she posed as they found apartment 12E, which belonged to Leva.

Starting there, Tessa pushed the bell, and hearing the resounding buzz from behind the door, she found herself surprised when it was pulled open within just a few heartbeats, with Leva standing there, dressed in a flowy, pastel off the shoulder number and heels that were at least eight inches high.

"Detective Stark? Wh-what are you doing here?" the woman asked, her perfectly made up face registering mild shock.

"Can we come in for a second? I need to talk to you," she said in a serious tone.

"Sure. But, we're just heading out to brunch," said Leva, stepping back to allow them entrance.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she stated, walking into the large space, which was an expanse of white walls, white wood flooring, white furniture, white fur rugs... "I need to ask a few questions about last night."

"Last night?" Leva repeated, closing the door behind them just as Chloe and Danni appeared through a swinging door off to the right of the space, flowy pastel dresses on, champagne flutes in hand.

Both young women stopped in their tracks as their gazes fell on herself and Cole, their eyes going wide. "Detective? What's...wrong?" Danni asked rather weakly.

"I need to ask you a couple of questions about last night," she repeated as Leva led the way toward the seating area by a wall of windows.

"I don't understand," Danni said, confused.

Everyone converged on the seating area—everyone but Cole, who hovered around the edges---and Tessa dropped into an overstuffed chair, with the three girls clustering together on the sofa, clutching their drinks and cell phones.

"I need you three to tell me your movements after I left the cocktail party," she began, fixing the women with a steady gaze.

"Really? What...what does that have to do with...anything?" Chloe asked.

"Honestly, it might not have anything to do with anything," she told them. "But, I need to know. What happened after I left the party? Where did you go? Who were you with?"

There was a brief silence before Leva answered. "We-we went into the dinner. We ate some pretty bland filet and lobster baked potatoes, we drank a couple of bottles of Veuve, and then we all decided to go to Cherry to finish the night off. That's a new nightclub in the industrial park."

"Who is we?" Tessa asked. "Can you tell me everyone who went with you?"

Chloe lifted a bare shoulder. "It was just the usual people. Us, Nate, Tyler, Logan, Hannah, Zephyr..."

"Did Etty go with you?" she asked them, watching as all the young women rolled their eyes.

"Of course she went. Nate wanted to go, so Etty was right there at his elbow," Leva replied, annoyed.

"Etty!" Chloe hissed, taking a swig from her glass. "I hate to say this, Detective, but you might have been onto something if you think she was the one who killed Hallie--'

"Chloe!" Danni gasped sharply. "Stop that! That's not fair!"

"What do you mean I might have been onto something?" wondered Tessa, pulling out her field notebook and pen and getting to the work of note taking.

"She didn't mean anything, Detective!" Danni responded, her tone a bit too high pitched. "We...we just got into a tiff with each other--"

"No! We didn't get into a tiff with each other!" Chloe cut in, affronted. "We were having a fight with Etty because she slapped Danni through the face!"

Tessa couldn't hide her surprise. "Really? Why?"

"Because Nate was flirting with a bottle service girl," Leva picked up the tale, "and Etty, like always, went after the girl with her claws out. And when Danni tried to stop her, all she got for her troubles was a slap in the face!"

"Look, we were drunk and we were all a little bit more dramatic than we should have been," was Danni's explanation. "It wouldn't have happened otherwise."

"You can't blame it on drinking, Danni!" Chloe snapped. "Etty threw herself at you like a wild animal! Just because you tried to stop her from attacking that girl! She crossed a line last night! And I'm starting to agree that Etty just might have killed Hallie because she's a jealous lunatic!"

Not wanting to dampen their conversation, but also not wanting to ask questions that were too leading, she chose her words carefully. "Well, what happened after Etty hit you?"

"Nate grabbed her off Danni, picked her up, and carried her, literally kicking and screaming, away from our table. He dumped her in the middle of the dance floor and left her there," Chloe provided somewhat proudly.

Tessa shot a look at Cole, who gave her a quick nod. "And what happened to Etty after that?"

"No idea," Leva shrugged, taking a sip. "She stormed off into the crowd and we didn't see her the rest of the night. And if I never see her again, it'll be too soon!"

"What did ya'll do after Etty was hauled off to the dance floor?" she asked, watching Cole poking at the phone from the corner of her eye.

"Nothing," Leva shrugged. "We were texting Etty, telling her we were done with her. She didn't text us back, so I figured she was off either pouting in a corner or trying to find Nate in the club.  And then we kept drinking until last call."

"And where was Nate after he got rid of Etty?" was her next question.

"No idea. He went off with the bottle service girl and probably went home with her, knowing Nate," Chloe replied.

"And the three of you stayed together the rest of the night?  Neither of you went off on your own, to use the restroom or maybe step outside?" she queried.

Three heads shook in denial, but Leva replied.  "It was pouring rain. Why would we go outside?"

At that moment, each cell sounded out, the notification tones filling the room, prompting the three women to glance down at their phones. And three faces crinkled with distaste.

"Speak of the Devil," Chloe mumbled, tapping out a furious text message at lightning speed. "We don't want anything to do with her! Why can't she go away and leave us alone!"

"Are we still on for brunch! She actually thinks she's invited out with us!" Leva hissed, tapping away at her own screen. "How'd she even know we were going to brunch! I didn't tell her!"

"Danni! Did you tell her we're going out!" Chloe accused.

"No! Why would I tell her!" Danni demanded, her face flushing with ire. "I don't want to see her right now!"

"Right now! We're never seeing her again!" was Leva's edict as she finished up her vehement texting.

As the girls completed their angry replies, there was a delay of a few seconds and then, the space was filled with a staccato barrage of electronic dings, sounding out one right after the other. Those sounds had all three women turning toward Cole, their expressions void. And then...Dannie tapped her cell phone screen with her thumb and a few beats later...the phone in Cole's hand dinged again.

"Why...why do you have Etty's phone?" Danni asked, her voice flat.

Leva's caramel skin went a shade paler and her dark eyes narrowed. "Detective, why are you asking us about last night?"

"And why do you have Etty's phone?" Danni insisted, suddenly white as a sheet. "She...she never lets anyone use her phone."

"Ms. Montrose didn't let us use her phone," Tessa answered. "We removed her phone from her car this morning, after she was found dead."

That revelation seemed to stall the three women for the space of several heartbeats. Almost, they appeared frozen in time...

"You're lying," Danni finally whispered hoarsely, her eyes welling with dampness.

"I honestly wish I was," she told the young woman. "She was found inside her car early this morning, in the parking of Cherry. The manager found her after he closed up."

Leva gave her head a shake, as if clearing the cobwebs. "So...what? You were trying to...test us? Or trick us into saying something to incriminate ourselves?" 

"Incriminate ourselves?" Chloe breathed, her chin beginning to quiver. "You-you don't think one of us..."

"I have two dead women on my hands, Ms. Morris. And they're both from your friend group. Right now,  I'm trying to rule out as many people as I can," she explained evenly. "You three ladies weren't on my short list for Hallie's death, but you were with Etty last night.  And you admit to fighting with her."

"We didn't do anything to Etty," Danni croaked, blinking rapidly. "We-we had a fuss, but I swear, we didn't..." She paused, her brows lowering. "What happened to her?"

"I won't know that until the medical examiner finishes his work with her. All I can tell you is that she was killed inside her car at eleven forty eight last night," she replied. "Which means, someone either in the nightclub or someone who followed her to the nightclub killed her."

Her words had Leva looking back to her phone, scrolling for a few moments before bringing her gaze back to Tessa. At that moment, the young woman went as white as a sheet, her eyes swirling with realization. "Th-that means...she was killed while we were texting her? We were sitting there...and she was outside, by herself..."

"Yes." It was the only answer she could give. "Someone killed Ms. Montrose during the fight that you were having with her. And I'm convinced that it was someone she personally knew, most likely someone in your circle."

"It was the same someone who killed Hallie, wasn't it?" Leva asked flatly.

"I can't answer that for certain. Not just yet," she replied.

"I think I can," whispered Leva, causing Tessa's spine to stiffen.

"What?  What do you mean?" she urged, leaning forward.

Leva shrugged her bare shoulders in an almost helpless gesture. "Its something Etty said last night. Her and Nate started going at it as soon as he smiled at the bottle service girl. She just got so upset. She was screaming at him."

"What did she scream at him?" Tessa pressed.

"My family is helping you...I'm helping you...all I ever do is help you..." Leva paused, giving her head a shake. "And then she said something really strange. She said...I'm the one who figured it out. I'm the one who's going to unfuck your life!"

Tessa looked at the girl for a long minute. The girl's words held the ring of the truth. And her dark eyes certainly held the fog of...guilt and grief.

"I thought Etty was just being...Etty," Leva went on, her voice quiet. "She was always throwing anything she could at Nate to try and guilt him into being with her. But, now...I just know...I know what she meant, Detective. I think she figured out who killed Hallie and...now she's dead."

She had to agree with Leva. Etty Montrose had somehow managed to figure out who killed Hallie Whitmore. She had thought that Etty might use her knowledge for her own purposes, but...the girl very well could have harbored thoughts of helping Nathan Rutherford. Proving him innocent of murder would certainly make him indebted to Etty...at least for a short while.

And that revelation brought a couple of thoughts forward. The first thought being that whoever had killed Hallie Whitmore would absolutely have to be someone close to the group, someone that Etty Montrose would have close contact with, which allowed her to work it out. And the second thought was that if Etty Montrose's discovery was supposed to save Nathan Rutherford...then Nathan Rutherford likely did not kill Hallie Whitmore.