Free Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper

who’d questioned us at the villa. He nodded politely as I fumbled my way through an explanation of who I was and why I was there, then told me to “just speak English,” rather than commit any more atrocities on the Spanish language. After I finished my impassioned appeal for Zoe’s innocence, he asked me to wait.
    This is going better than I thought! Maybe I actually got through to him! I tapped my feet on the gray linoleum floor and squinted up at the fluorescent lights overhead. I’m sure they’ll realize they’ve got the wrong person and we’ll all have a good laugh at this and Mrs. Abernathy will give me a bonus for being awesome.
    My fantasy was shattered as the two double doors at the end of the hall swung open and Officer Ortiz strode through. He glared at me as he approached, and I tried to make myself invisible.
    â€œHola,” I said meekly.
    â€œCome with me,” he replied, not sounding even a little bit welcoming.
    I followed him to a small, windowless room with a worn wooden table and a couple of beat-up chairs. Was I about to be interrogated? I looked up at the ceiling to check for a security camera as Officer Ortiz pulled up a chair and flipped open his note pad.
    â€œFirst of all,” he began, pointing his stubby finger at me, “it’s important that you understand that I’m the lead on this case. If you have any information, you need to come directly to me.”
    â€œGot it,” I replied. “Sorry.”
    â€œSo what is it you wanted to tell me?” Ortiz looked at me expectantly. If he thought I was here to hand over evidence, he was mistaken.
    â€œJust that you’ve got the wrong girl!” I said. “Zoe didn’t do this. She couldn’t have.”
    He narrowed his eyes at me. “Miss McKenna, how long have you known Zoe Abernathy?”
    â€œOh, I’ve known her for months!” I answered. The words didn’t sound as impressive out loud as they had inside my head.
    â€œAnd are you aware of her past relationship with the deceased?”
    â€œWhat? No. I mean, kind of.” I didn’t think they’d had a relationship, other than both being connected to Nicole.
    â€œWould you say she and the victim were friends?”
    I froze. “Friends? They weren’t friend friends, but they were friendly enough, I guess . ”
    He scribbled in his notepad thoughtfully. What is he writing in there? This wasn’t going well. I had to make sure he didn’t have the wrong idea.
    â€œLook, Officer Ortiz, Zoe is innocent, okay? Whatever you heard about them arguing at the wedding, it’s unrelated.”
    â€œSo they did argue at the wedding?” More jotting. Great .
    â€œWell, sure, but it was no big deal. I see bridesmaids fight all the time, and it never leads to murder. Just drunken bickering and awkward group photos.”
    He peered at me intently. Something I’d said had gotten his attention. “Tell me more about these photos. Are we talking blackmail?”
    â€œWhat? No! I was talking about wedding photos. That’s all, I swear.” My lame attempt to lighten the mood with humor had not translated well.
    â€œMmm-hmm.” He squinted at me as if trying to decide whether to ask more questions about the pictures. “Did Zoe have access to the victim’s food or drink before the wedding?”
    â€œAccess? I’m not sure I under— Ohhhh, you mean, like, to poison it? Is that what you think happened?” It made sense. Dana had died at the wedding and there wasn’t any blood, nor was there any sign of trauma.
    Officer Ortiz stared at me. “I’m the one asking the questions.”
    â€œRight. Gotcha.” I didn’t say so, but I took his answer as a yes.
    I weighed my words carefully. If he thought Zoe had poisoned Dana, I needed to quit while I was ahead. I knew the girls had all gone out the night before the wedding, but I