Party Crashers

stay out of trouble."
    "Trust me, this wasn't intentional."
    Salyers blinked. "Was that a confession?"
    Alarm blipped in Jolie's chest. " No . I meant that I was just going to a party. I had no idea Gary—alive or dead—would be there."
    Salyers emitted a long sigh. "Why don't we start from the beginning. Want some coffee?"
    Jolie nodded.
    Salyers exited and Jolie glanced at the notepad—the first several pages were waffled with handwritten notes. Even upside down, she could make out "Goodmans" all over the page. She covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to knock back the panic. This could be bad.
    Salyers walked back in carrying two large cups of coffee. Jolie sipped with gratitude. It wasn't Starbucks, but it was hot.
    The detective dropped in the seat opposite her. "Okay, Ms. Goodman, tell me everything that happened since you called me today—er, yesterday."
    "Am I under arrest?"
    "No."
    Jolie swallowed another mouthful of coffee. "Do I need a lawyer?"
    "That's up to you. If you want to call a lawyer, I can get you a phone."
    "I don't know any criminal lawyers."
    "Then I can get you the phone book."
    Jolie shook her head. "I just want to get this over with and go home."
    Salyers gave a curt nod, then removed a pen from her jacket pocket and clicked the end. "Ms. Goodman, what did you do after you left the drive-through yesterday?"
    "I went back to my apartment."
    "Did you talk to anyone on the phone?"
    "No."
    "E-mail?"
    "No."
    "Did you go anywhere?"
    "No."
    "Then?"
    "Then Carlotta and Hannah came over, and we got ready for the party."
    "You were aware that the party was being given by your former boss?"
    "Yes."
    "And you were intending to crash the party?"
    Jolie squirmed. "Yes."
    "You didn't know Mr. Hagan would be there?"
    "Absolutely not."
    "Do Ms. Wren or Ms. Kizer know Mr. Hagan?"
    "No."
    "Do you have any idea why Mr. Hagan was at the party?"
    She lifted her hands. "No...unless he followed me there. As we walked into the house, Carlotta and I both saw a car sitting at the end of the driveway."
    "Could you tell what kind of car it was?"
    Jolie shook her head.
    "Were you and your friends wearing disguises?"
    Jolie hesitated. "We were wearing wigs."
    "And very expensive garments with the tags still attached—can you explain that?"
    She swallowed. "We...were planning to return them."
    "I see. Are you in the habit of buying expensive clothes, wearing them, then returning them?"
    Jolie pursed her mouth. "I wouldn't say it was a habit, per se."
    "But you've done it before."
    Jolie nodded.
    Salyers gave a little "the nerve" snort, then looked back to her notes. "Ms. Sanders said you were also wearing colored contact lenses."
    "That's right."
    "And Ms. Wren said she altered your features with makeup."
    "It's true that I didn't want Sammy to recognize me."
    "Because she wouldn't have wanted you at her party?"
    Jolie flushed. "That's right."
    "The two of you have a history. She said she fired you from her agency."
    "That's a lie—I quit."
    "When was that?"
    "About three weeks ago."
    "Why did you quit?"
    "Because Sammy asked me to do something unethical."
    "What was that?"
    Jolie sighed. "We were representing the seller in a commercial real-estate deal. She asked me to reveal to the buyer the amount the seller would settle for, which was much less than the asking price and confidential between the agency and the seller."
    "And you refused?"
    "Yes. And I quit."
    Salyers leaned back, tipping her chair on two legs. "Ms. Sanders said that you came to her party to rob her."
    Jolie gasped. "What? That's absurd!"
    "Is it? Ms. Sanders said that some items are missing, including one thousand dollars in cash from her purse. She also said that her medicine cabinet had been ransacked, and a sterling picture frame was taken."
    And the picture frame had been found in her biggish purse at the bottom of the pool. Jolie closed her eyes and when she opened them, Salyers was still there, unfortunately.
    "Is there something you'd like to say for yourself, Ms. Goodman?"
    Jolie steepled her hands over her nose. "I put the picture frame in my purse because of the photo, not the frame."
    Salyers arched an eyebrow. "A photo of Ms. Sanders?"
    Jolie frowned at the detective's implication. "The rock she was sitting on and the background reminded me of a photo in Gary's album." She lifted her hands. "I thought maybe Sammy was with him the day it was taken."
    "Meaning you think Mr. Hagan and Ms. Sanders were romantically