Janine raises her eyebrows at the past tense, but thankfully lets it go. No way do I want to talk about my relationship with Drew right now. Whatever it actually is. He kissed me when he dropped us off last night, but I could tell he was hesitating, holding something back.

“You’re right,” Janine agrees. “You don’t owe him anything.”

Her eyes are so honest and kind—I feel the guilt welling up inside. I’ve been thinking about it for the past two days; I have to tell her. “You know how I said that I didn’t get anything from anyone at Drew’s party?”

“Yes. You said that nobody there seemed to be hiding anything big.” She tilts her head toward me. “Don’t worry, it’s what we expected. We’re trying some other avenues of information.”

“Yeah. Well, that wasn’t totally true. I did see something, but I’m not sure what it means.”

Janine sits up straight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I take a deep breath. “Because it’s Giselle.”

Her eyes widen. “Giselle? Our Giselle?”

“Exactly,” I say, feeling validated by her reaction. “Your Giselle. Which is why I didn’t say anything in the first place. I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“That’s not fair,” Janine says. “Of course I believe you. It’s just that it’s extremely unusual for Sekhem to turn like that—I can’t remember a single case in all of my lifetimes. You caught me off guard, is all. Did you sense that she knows more about this than she’s letting on?”

I struggle to find the right words, because I’m not sure what I know. “All I sensed was something dark in her essence. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a shadow over the sun, a place that she doesn’t want anyone to see.”

Janine considers this. “She did volunteer to go with you to the party.” She looks me in the eyes. “Do you remember her trying to steer you into or out of conversation with anyone? Did she do anything that would have made you suspicious?”

“I don’t think so,” I shake my head. “She mostly stayed out of the way, on the other side of the room, the whole time. I sort of . . . spilled wine on her, and it was when I was helping with the stain that I felt that she was hiding something.”

Janine studies me. “Do you think that you could read her better if you had more time? If she’s involved in any of this, we have to know. It’s been a week since Veronique was killed, and every second the trail gets colder.”

I remember the look in Giselle’s eyes when I saw her at Veronique’s lab that day. Was it guilt? Did she know I sensed something? “If I do, I’ll have to be careful how deep I go, because if I get sick like last time, she’ll figure it out. She saw how I was after connecting with Rayne.”

“Is it something you can control?”

I was able to at Drew’s party, but that was with a room full of people. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s find out.” Janine takes out her phone and sends a quick text. She waits, then looks up at me. “She’ll be here in an hour.”

“Why do Griffon and Sue have to be here?” I ask, pacing her office. I’m nervous enough about this without him in the room.