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said. “I’m sure the people who ate at the food bar thought it was safe.”
    Adele sighed. “I do hope Domi didn’t suffer.”
    “Cyanide works quickly,” Zoe said. “I doubt he even had time to react. I suppose that’s the only relief in all this.”
    “It’s not just the children I’m worried about, Zoe.” Adele took her hand. “ You be careful.”
    “I will. I want you and Isabel to be careful too. Don’t drink Gaudry bottled water. And examine everything. From what I saw on the news, there was a clear spot on the bottom of the poisoned bottled water where the plastic had been tampered with. But who turns the bottle upside down?”
    Adele sighed. “I’ll bet we will now.”

     

    Emily sat next to Chance on the white leather couch at his home, wondering what thoughts must be racing through his mind. The front porch had been roped off with yellow crime scene tape, and sheriff’s deputies and police officers were still in the kitchen, gathering evidence.
    Two deputies walked out of the kitchen and sat in navy leather Queen Anne chairs, facing Emily and Chance.
    “Chance, I’m Deputy Stone Castille, and this is Mike Doucet. Sorry we’ve kept you waiting so long. It’s been a crazy day.”
    “That’s okay,” Chance said. “I had a lot of phone calls to make.”
    Stone nodded. “I’m sure. Deputy Doucet and I read the statement you gave the detectives. We just have a few follow-up questions.”
    “Whatever you need. This is my friend Emily Jessup. She knows the situation. We can speak freely in front of her.”
    Castille glanced at Emily and then turned his attention to Chance. “We’re talking to the family members of all the victims, just to see if any of you might know some detail that will help us—something that may not even seem important but could be key.”
    Chance seemed to stare at his hands. “I told the detectives everything I know. I’m blown away by this. I can’t believe both my parents are dead. They’ve gotten their groceries from Marcotte’s since I was a little boy. Who would do this?”
    “What can you tell us about the delivery boy?”
    “Adam Marcotte?” Chance shrugged. “Just what I told the detectives. He’s a nice kid. He had just gotten his driver’s license when I was home on Christmas break, and his great-uncle hired him to deliver groceries after school and on weekends. You don’t think he had anything to do with this?”
    “We’re just gathering information,” Castille said. “Right now, we can’t rule out anyone.”
    Doucet wrote something on his tablet.
    “Do you know if your parents always had their groceries delivered on Friday?” Castille said.
    “I’m not sure.” Chance leaned his head back on the couch. “I’m away at school most of the year. But since I’ve been home this summer, they have.”
    “Were you home yesterday when Adam brought the groceries?”
    “Yes, sir. I was. It was around four thirty.”
    “Was there anything different in Adam’s demeanor?”
    “Not at all,” Chance said. “He was personable as ever. Cheerful and polite.”
    “Who put the bottled water in the refrigerator?”
    “I did.”
    “In hindsight, did anything about it seem odd? Had the plastic netting around it been cut and reattached?”
    “My mom laid out all the groceries and handed them to me. I didn’t pay attention.” Chance’s eyes welled with tears. “It never occurred to me someone could poison bottled water.”
    “Did your parents always buy Gaudry brand?”
    Chance nodded. “It’s the only kind my dad would drink. He said Looziana spring water was the best.”
    “Did either of your parents have a grievance with someone at Marcotte’s?”
    “I doubt it. They loved that place. Like I said, they’d been buying groceries there since I was a kid. Before they started having groceries delivered, they knew the checkers by name—and how their kids were doing.”
    Doucet scribbled something on his notes.
    “Chance, do you think