Page 67 of The Summer Request
“What?”
“I don’t even want to say this out loud,” Michelle said. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “What if Zora isn’t trustworthy?”
Lisa’s mouth popped open. “Michelle!You’re starting to sound like Val!”
“I know,” she said with a groan. “I think this whole night got to me. I feel unstable.”
Lisa took a swig of wine. “I doubt Zora was anything but unflinchingly loyal to Justine, but let’s call her and ask. See how she reacts.”
“That’s a terrible idea!” Michelle stared at her. “What if we upset her?”
“I don’t mean accuse her of anything. Just, you know, ask about the guru, and what happened to Justine.”
This was silly. They needed to wait until their nerves calmed down. Otherwise, they might do something they would regret.
As Michelle silently debated what to do, Lisa put her phone on speaker and made the call.
Michelle reached over, frantically trying to hang up, but it was too late. Zora had answered. “Hey! Are you ladies okay?”
“We’re fine. Thanks, Zora,” Lisa said. “I just wanted to update you that the police arrested Lou for trespassing.”
“I know. I saw.”
Michelle tilted her head to the side. “You did?”
Zora let out a laugh. “Lou had cameras installed all around the property, and I’ve kept them running. I figured it was good to keep an eye on things.”
“Oh,” Lisa said, nodding. “That’s good. Well, we found a — hang on.”
“What?” asked Zora.
Michelle mouthed, “No!” at Lisa, who continued ignoring her.
“Were there cameras here when Justine died?”
Michelle smacked Lisa in the arm, but it was too late.
“Yes,” Zora said. “Justine was – ” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “There aren’t cameras inside the house, but the ones we have give a pretty good idea of what Justine’s last day was like.”
“You don’t have to talk about this,” Michelle said.
“No, it’s okay. You should know. Justine was alone all day. She left once in the morning. The cameras showed her coming back with a few grocery bags.”
“Had you talked to her at all?” asked Lisa.
“No. She was doing a digital detox. She’d stopped answering her phone and I hadn’t heard from her in two weeks.”
“A digital detox,” Michelle repeated.
“It was all because of that guru,” Zora said, voice dripping with disdain. “I was so worried when I hadn’t heard from her that I showed up here, unannounced, and tried to find out what was going on. She seemed okay, except for being manic and overexcited. I tried to talk her out of being so extreme with what she was doing, but she wouldn’t hear it. She was on a juice-only diet and taking a dozen guru-approved supplements a day. Though she looked a bit gaunt, she seemed happy. Giddy, even.”
Michelle frowned. That all sounded about right for one of Justine’s “health” kicks – she always took things to the extreme.
“Did the guru do something to her?” Lisa asked.
“I don’t think so,” Zora said. “He was never here, and that was the last time I saw her. The next week, Lou showed up at the house. He was the one who found her.”
Lisa gasped. “Foundher?”
