"Did Enzo hit Taylor?"
"He almost did. But no. He didn't."
"Tell me about Enzo almost hitting her."
"He never hurt her."
"I understand. But it's important, Bets, that I get the order of events down while it’s still fresh in your mind."
"It was what Serene said that got him so mad."
"What did she say?"
Bets clammed up and her eyes skirted over toward Serene. When she spoke, her voice was so low that Greiner had to lean forward to hear her.
"She asked her if she was sleeping with her stepdad."
"Serene asked Taylor if she was sleeping with Serene's stepdad or Taylor's stepdad?"
"Serene's. Darpan."
"The name of the stepdad?"
Bets nodded again and Greiner jotted the information down.
"It was the look on her face," Bets continued. "Like she was guilty. Like… you could just tell, and that's when Enzo lunged at her, but Steve and Kanani stopped him. He yelled at her to leave and she left through the back door."
"The back door?"
"Yeah."
"Why the back door? Doesn't that lead to the back yard?"
"Taylor knew she screwed up and Enzo was super pissed. I think she just wanted to get out fast."
"And what did the rest of you do?"
"Steve said he had to go home. It was getting late."
"How long after Taylor left did Steve leave?"
Bets rubbed at her wet eyes again.
"Um, a few minutes. Maybe even less."
Greiner jotted the time down and looked up, waiting to hear the rest.
"Serene started wondering if Taylor would be okay out on the street at night by herself." Bets’ bottom lip trembled. "I think we were all so mad at her, we didn't think…"
"Did anyone else leave after Steve?" Officer Hernandez asked.
"Yeah. Serene said she needed some air. Kanani and me helped Enzo clean up and that's when he told us how he'd seen Taylor laying it on thick with Darpan a few times and how Darpan encouraged it. They've argued about it before, so he knew."
"Knew what?"
"That Serene's question––it was probably true."
"That Taylor slept with Darpan?"
"Yeah."
"The three of you cleaned the kitchen and then what?"
"Serene came back and said she was tired and wanted to go back to her house."
"And how long was Serene gone for?"
Bets' forehead furrowed in thought. "I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention."
"But if you could give it a rough guess."
"Maybe ten or fifteen minutes."
"And Taylor?"
"None of us heard her come back in."
"You found Taylor after Serene came back?"
Bets closed her eyes and rubbed at her temple. "We were all leaving and Enzo was walking us to the door. He saw her on the sofa.
Bets’ features screwed up tight and she shuddered out a sob.
"He started yelling at her, ‘Get out of here, you slut.’ But she didn't move." Bets planted her palm down against her chest, her voice breaking. "And I had this feeling."
Greiner wished she had a tissue for Bets. The girl's face was a mess.
"He ran over to her and shoved her, and she just… she just lay there."
"Okay, Bets. Okay," Greiner said. The girl collapsed into herself from the shock and grief of seeing someone her age, someone she'd recently been arguing with, suddenly dead.
"I'm going to talk with Serene now. Please stay and wait here."
"Can't I just go home?" Bets asked.
"You can call your parents in a little bit and we'll have them bring you out to the station. We'll need a formal statement."
The girl looked stricken and Greiner gave her a reassuring smile.
On the other side of the tape, a man yelled that his son had a right to an attorney. A woman stood next to him, face pale, arms folded, and their young teen daughter, color peeking on her cheeks, craned her neck to see into the house. Behind them, a woman with frizzy hair stood on tiptoe, also trying to see in.
"Serene!" The frizzy-haired woman yelled to the girl with braids.
Officer Hernandez made his way over to them. "Ma'am, sir, if all of you could please step back. This is an active crime scene."
23
Serene - July 1996
Detective Greiner studied the stony-faced girl, Serene Hokulani, and smiled, hoping she'd relax. They had already been through the details of when the dinner took place, who was there, and Enzo throwing Taylor out. Serene was not as forthcoming with information as Bets and seemed to know not to say too much, just the bare facts.
"After Taylor left, Bets says you left as well."
Serene shrugged.
"About what time did you leave Enzo's?"
"I don't know."
"If you could give an estimate."
"I told you. I don't know."
Greiner pulled back to give the girl space. "Okay. You were gone a little while. How long do you think you stepped out for?"
Serene sighed. "Five minutes."
Officer Hernandez glanced briefly down at her notes, at the ten, or fifteen-minute time range Bets gave. "Where did you go in those five minutes you were out of the house?"
"Nowhere."
"So, you stayed right outside this house."
"I needed to get some air. I walked over to my place and I was going to stay there, but then I changed my mind and came back."
Officer Hernandez cocked her head to the side, a play at naive curiosity. "Oh, yeah? What made you decide to come back?"
"Look, there isn't always a reason behind everything. I left. I came back." A flicker of the eyes. She turned away to stare at something off to the side.
"Were you angry with Taylor, Serene?"
The girl turned slowly to look at Detective Greiner, eyes hard dark orbs. Greiner couldn't tell if she was angry or indifferent. The kid had a coolness that made the hairs on the detective's arms stand on end.
"Who isn't angry with Taylor?" Serene said.
"I'm asking about you, though, Serene. Were you especially angry with Taylor tonight? Bets said you suspected Taylor was sleeping with your stepdad. Is that true?"
She didn't reply, only drummed her fingers against her crossed arm.
"Serene, did you hurt Taylor?"
"I have a right to remain silent and I want to see my mom."
"Of course. We'll contact your parents, and have you come to the
