Her blue felt hat trembled.
“I thought I had forgotten my PIN.”
“I thought I was losing my mind.”
“I stopped coming here because I was ashamed.”
Mr. Alvarado put his arm around her thin shoulders.
“It wasn’t you, Dena,” he said.
“It was never you.”
“You can’t prove I knew,” he said.
“It was Krista’s idea.”
“She ran the device.”
“I never touched it.”
Krista made a sound like a hiccup.
“That’s not true,” she said.
She was crying.
“You said it was for tracking tips.”
“You said it was a promotion thing.”
“I didn’t know until I saw it on the news, and when I said something, you gave me this.”
She held up her wrist, and the gold Cartier bracelet glittered.
“You said, ‘Wear it, and stop asking.’”
Detective Trevino turned.
“Ms. Upshaw,” she said gently, “the Cartier Love bracelet was purchased at Valley Jewelers on June third.”
