The laughter faded when Claire stood up slowly from the table. Gravy stained her face and apron, but her expression remained terrifyingly calm. Margaret opened her mouth first.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” she snapped. “It was an accident.”

Claire looked directly at David. “You laughed.”

David rolled his eyes, already sensing the relatives watching him too carefully now. “Jesus, Claire. My mother barely touched you.”

Then the front door opened.

Detective Aaron Miles stepped inside with two uniformed officers behind him. The tiny red alert Claire triggered had done exactly what it was designed to do—send an emergency distress signal along with a live audio feed from the hidden recorder sewn into her apron pocket-