Sam approached Deirdre gingerly. “Miss McKinnon? Come on. We should go,” he said. “That… That was too reckless of you, miss. You shouldn’t have acted out that way during an important event like this one. Things could have gone really bad, and… You know Mr. Brighthall wouldn’t possibly let you off lightly.”

Deirdre knew he was speaking the truth. As she cast her eyes on the ground, her tears rained down on the cold, hard floor before she replied, “Did you know? The homeless man who murdered Bliss… was Charlene’s employee, Sam. She hired him.”

Sam was bewildered. “What?!”

Deirdre pressed her hand against her chest, but it did nothing to relieve her from her pain. “She told me… that Bliss kept looking in the direction of the mansion when… when it was about to die,” she croaked. “It… was waiting for me to save it, Sam. And what was I doing at the time? I… I was s-shopping for new clothes! I f-failed Bliss. I k-k-killed it!”

“No, Miss McKinnon,” Sam rebuffed with a frown. He had recove