Page 66 of Forever Gone

Selena rested her pen against the page. “You were expelled after an incident involving Karen.”

His mother shifted beneath the blanket.

Boyd’s thumb stopped moving. “That was a long time ago.”

“What happened?” Selena asked.

“You’ve got the file.”

“We want your account.”

For several seconds, Boyd watched the courtroom program. The judge on-screen raised a hand, and the room quieted beneath a sudden swell of dramatic music.

“Karen told lies about me,” Boyd said. “That’s what happened.”

“What did she lie about?”

“She said I trapped her and Gillian in a storage room. Said I threatened them with a knife.”

“A box cutter,” Kelly said.

Boyd’s attention snapped toward her. “It was a tool. I worked evenings at my uncle’s carpet place. I had it in my pocket.”

“Did you take it out?” Kelly asked.

Boyd’s mouth tightened. “I was angry.”

Selena waited.

After several seconds, he said, “Yeah. I took it out.”

“Did you threaten them?”

“I told them to stop running their mouths.”

“What had they said?” Selena asked.

“Karen told a teacher I’d been following Gillian. She made it sound dirty.”

“Were you following her?”

“We were seeing each other.”

“Did Gillian agree with that?”

Boyd’s jaw worked before he answered. “At first.”

Kelly wrote the name on her pad. Gillian Spence. Not Ruth Keller. Not Linda Mercer.

Selena asked, “Our copy of the school report didn’t identify the second girl. Was it Ruth Keller?”

“No.”

“Linda Mercer?”

“I don’t know either of those names.”

“Then who was she?”