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"Let’s see what Melissa knows," Savich said

Melissa Ivy was rocking back and forth on the expensive burgundy leather sofa, her beautiful face slack, her eyes vague, unfocused A female officer held a cup of no doubt very sweet tea in her hand, encouraging her to drink, then holding the cup to herquietly to her, telling her to breathe

Melissa rapped up in two afghans that looked to be hand-knitted, Sherlock thought, probably by Peter’sroom as modern as Wakefield Hart’s house in Tunney Wells

The female officer moved aside, and Savich sat beside Melissa, took her lient Savich I need to speak with you, all right? I need your help"

There was no sign of life from Melissa, not a sound, not a blink, only her relentless rocking back and forth It always surprised him at how quickly shock could leach the life out of a person Even Melissa’s hair looked dull under the cold light of the fluorescent la room

Sherlock sat down on the sofa on Melissa’s other side, slipped her hand beneath the brilliant blue afghan, and lightly stroked her forearm "Someone killed Peter, Melissa Do you knoho it was?"

Melissa slowly turned her head to look at Sherlock, looked through her, really, Sherlock thought "Did you see someone, Melissa? We want to catch the person who killed Peter Can you help us?"

Melissa licked her lips, leaned toward Sherlock, and whispered, "I didn’t knoho you were until yesterday Isn’t that strange? And now you’re stroking my arm because Peter’s dead Three days--Tommy and Peter are both dead Stony, too How can that be?"

"Talk to me, Melissa Did you see anyone? Hear Peter speak to anyone?"

Her voice was so thin Sherlock ih it "I talked to Janelle, Stony’s girlfriend It was horrible she found Stony’s body Just like I found Peter"

"Yes, I know"

"I wanted her to kno sorry I was Sheshe couldn’t stop crying She aiting for her parents to drive in from Delaware to take her home" She turned deadened eyes to Sherlock "There isn’t anyone for o home to"

"Do you want me to call your folks?"

"No, they’re in Kentucky, and they really wouldn’t want to co that Peter probably did drugme for an alibi I didn’t tell you, but I was real sore Saturday s to me he shouldn’t have Peter was like that; he was cruel, he used people Peter didn’t love me, not like Tommy did"

Her voice fell into a pit She lowered her face in her hands, but she didn’t cry

Sherlock met Dillon’s eyes over Melissa’s head His eyes were cold and flat, but he didn’t knohat to say to this girl who’d gotten together with the wrong boy, a boy craven enough to give his girlfriend a roofie in her wine In their first h her perfect white teeth, but not now, she was too shocked, too strung out She was only twenty years old, young enough to have believed even a week ago the world’s doors would be flung open for her She was beautiful enough, surely, to attract boys with money to help her with her bills and tuition But she’d never counted on a Peter Biaggini, and now her world was in tatters She would have night time, maybe for the rest of her life

Sherlock pulled Melissa into her arms and rocked her Still, Melissa didn’t weep, didn’t ainst her cheek, "Why did you come over to Peter’s aparted ht he wanted to apologize after our fight yesterday, wanted to make up Now I’ll never knohat he wanted to say to o back a minute You spent much of Saturday with Peter because both you and he were upset about Tommy?"

"I think I wastime on Saturday, like he had a lot on his mind, like he was really worried rather than sad, or "

Sherlock said, "Did you ask hi? If he was scared and why?"

"He wouldn’t tell , but about Touy, and Peter gave this ugly laugh and said I rong about that He said Tommy was no saint