Betrayal

CALLER: Ciao.

Sally logged the end of the call on her computer screen.

Ciao? Really?

The 911 dispatcher wasn’t sure exactly what was going on up there in the northern edge of the county, but if there really was a dead girl on the floor—and if this wasn’t some teenager’s Halloween prank—the incident was going to be newsworthy. The caller’s attitude had struck Sally as atypical. She seemed more a

Who watches TV with a dead girl in the next room? What was up with that?

MOST OF THE KIDS FROM PORT GAMBLE coveted a house like Bria

Everything, of course, except for the dead girl in the upstairs bedroom soaked in her own blood.

Bria

Drew, wearing jeans and a dark-blue hoodie, slung his arm around Bria

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Police chief A

“Bria

The crime scene was inside A

None of them ever liked to deal with a murder of someone so young.

Bria

“All right. When did you call her?” A

Bria

“Why didn’t you call for an ambulance first?” A

Bria

The police chief made a note in a little black, leather-clad book. The book hadn’t been used in a while, but she knew this case would require extra care. It was tragic and messy. Parents gone. Alcohol and possibly drugs. Decedent from another country.

A

“No way,” Drew said. “Bree called me, and I drove like hell. I live ten miles away. Got back here in less than five minutes, which is my personal best.” He gripped Bria

“Do you have Olivia’s parents’ phone number?” A

“Oh, God, no,” Bria

A

“I think I have Beth’s number,” Bria

“Found it,” she said, finally. She held up her phone to give A

Chapter 3

KITSAP COUNTY DETECTIVES SCOURED every inch of the Co

Now, however, the room looked like a frat house after a Friday night. Someone had stacked up seven red plastic cups on a window ledge. The luxurious white leather couch with matching throw pillows (not too many to be a

As the detectives moved methodically through the still life of the party’s aftermath, they photographed and bagged anything that might have DNA on it. Everything else was coated and brushed with carbon so fingerprint comparisons could be made. Their goal was twofold: collect evidence and find the murder weapon.