Page 33 of They Say a Girl Died Here

He wasn’t angry; if anything, he sounded tired. “And as for Bonnie, well, she was working late and then must’ve left to go home, and she too vanished until she was found up at the Laverne place. Michael Cairns had been seen out drunk that night, and he fled town the next morning with no notice to his employer, and even the state police concluded that he was committing that robbery for cash to get as far away from here as he could. Turned out he’d already been in trouble for groping young girls in Ohio. Do I wish those officers had left him alive so we could question him? Of course I do, but if I always got what I wanted, my life would probably be very different from the one I have, and my waist would surely be thinner.”

If he thought that was going to make Anna leave, he was wrong. “Did you know Bonnie had a secret boyfriend?” she asked.

The sheriff stared at her, no tiredness now. “What?”

She opened her phone and showed him the photos. “I found these cards hidden in her room.”

“You were in her bedroom? Where were these?”

“I was interviewing her mom for the piece I’m writing. Bonnie had taped them behind her mirror.”

He flicked through the images. “They could have been old. Teenagers keep stuff, right?”

“No. The images on the cards are from a Netflix show that only came out the year she died.”

The sheriff handed her back the phone. “But even if she had a boyfriend, why would he have harmed Lila three years earlier? Wouldn’t fit the MO. Either he dates the girls before killing them or he doesn’t.” He sighed and reached for a toothpick from his desk, pushing it between his white teeth, digging for something. “I’ve got to ask, Anna,” he said after he pulled it out. “How come you care so much? You didn’t even know them.”

“Because the anniversary is rolling around and if there is a killer still out there and he’s on some weird three-year cycle, then I have a vested interest in the next victim not being me. Or Suzy. Or Melissa. Or any of the women in this town. And also because Jamie is dead and I don’t believe in coincidences. And because I know how men can be. And because I have so many unanswered questions.” She was getting heated and took a shaky breath to level out. “And if you think I’m the only person in this town who thinks those girls haven’t had justice yet, then you’re deluded.” She sat up straighter. “I’m going to write this piece. I’m going to enter it for a competition in The New York Times. And if I don’t win, then maybe I’ll turn it into a podcast. Either way, I feel I owe it to Jamie to dig around. And don’t you want to be sure? That’s all I’m asking. Would hate to have to write about police complacency. I mean, how come you’re so convinced Lila and Bonnie were killed by the same person?”

“Okay, I’ll give you this, but it has to be off the record.” He leaned forward, elbows on the desk, waiting for her nod. “Both girls’ bodies were washed with the same coal tar soap, Sailor’s Choice. Michael Cairns had some in his motel room when it was searched. We never released that detail prior, so…” He shrugged. “Given the exact matching of injuries on both bodies—the skull damage and squares of missing skin were identical, the latter cut away after death occurred in both cases, and both were strangled—and how they were washed and prepared before being left in the fields, we’re pretty certain the same person was responsible for both murders.”

Anna let the information sink in. Maybe the police hadn’t been as incompetent as she thought, but it would still have been easy to reach for Cairns as the guilty party, especially as he couldn’t answer back. “Did you question a lot of other people?” She paused. “Lucas, for example. The handyman?”

“Why do you ask?” He frowned, curious rather than irritated, and flicked the toothpick into the trash can.

“He’s a single man, and he worked in the school for a while as a janitor.” She took out one of Bonnie’s yearbooks, opening it to show a photo of Lucas up a ladder in the background, Lila smiling in the foreground. “He was around the kids. I bet the girls flirted with him for fun. Teased him. Kind of shit we would do back in high school. Girls can be stupid.”

The sheriff studied the photo but didn’t shut her down.

“Melissa also told me he’s a ladies’ man. Makes me wonder if something got out of hand. Maybe he got a no he wasn’t used to. And he’s strong. He could carry a body.”

“You think he murdered Lila and Bonnie?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know him. I just asked if you questioned him. Or any of the other single—or married—men who might have been around them. I’m trying to understand the path of the investigation.”

“If I’m honest, I don’t recall. I’ll have to check the files at some point.”

“This town can’t be that busy with crime. You must have the time.”

“There’s more to this job than Harper’s Creek, Anna. Borne County is small, but we’re kept busy enough, trust me.”

“If you didn’t speak to him then, maybe you should now. I also heard that the high school kids used to party in our house when it was empty. Did anyone ever check it out as a potential murder site? I found an old bloodstain in the basement. It could be anyone’s, but it would be interesting to get it tested. And Lucas did the repairs on the place, right? How long has he had keys?”

“Maybe you should quit thinking about writing and sign up to be a deputy.” He gave her a wry smile. “Look, I’ll get Todd to come out to you this afternoon and check out that blood.”

“Around two would be good.” That would be the sweet spot when Anna and Grandma were home alone and Mom hadn’t yet picked Callie up from school on her way back from work.

“I’ll tell him. And I have to go into Kearney to pick up my wife’s anniversary gift, and I’ll talk to Lucas on the way back.”

“You won’t say I sent you?”

“You’re not sending me, young lady, so no.” His smile was warm.

“Thank you.” She was relieved. They say a girl died here. It would be good to rule that possibility out and put it down to Grandma’s crazy brain.

“Never hurts to go over things.” He got to his feet to see her out. “Even if you don’t believe me, I do care about my job.” As they got closer to the door, he picked up an asthma inhaler from the top of a filing cabinet. Anna moved swiftly past the deputies’ office as Sheriff Adams called out, “Todd! If you’re looking for your inhaler, you left it in my office again!”

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