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Webb let that sink in. And it did, like a boulder in a puddle. There was no shortage of famous women who’ve been publicly humiliated and decided to stay with their cheating boyfriends or husbands, and Webb had never given it much thought. Grown women are gonna do what they do. But here was this pretty teenage girl in front of him, her whole romantic life ahead of her, and she was already well-trained in the art of accepting piss poor treatment from a male. If he ever had daughters of his own, he would train them early. Somehow boys don’t have to be trained, though. They never let themselves be made a fool of.
“Were you friends before this happened?” he asked.
“Not best friends or anything, but we were cool. After we got into it, we basically ignored each other.”
“What about at the party. Did you interact with her at all that night?”
“Nope. I saw her and she saw me, but I wasn’t trying to be around her for any longer than I had to. After we did our toast, I was mostly on the dance floor and hanging out with my friends.”
“Which friends?”
The girl thought for a moment. “Um…Bria, Danielle, Brooklyn, Skye. It was a bunch of us.”
“Did you go outside at any time during the evening?”
Avianna glanced at her mother. She was watching her daughter intently, as interested in the answer as Webb was. “No, I didn’t go out.”
Webb chuckled. “Now, now, Avianna. Up till this point, I was confident you were being honest with me. Now, I think you’re holding back. I’m gonna ask you again. Did you go outside at any time during the evening?”
Avianna sat extremely still, and Webb wondered if she was thinking up a lie. She didn’t seem like the type who would be good at it—her eyes were shifty, and her face was so expressive, it could be the template for a new set of black girl emojis. “Avianna?” he asked to nudge her along.
“I went outside for a few minutes because some folks were out there smoking.”
“Uh-huh. Did you smoke?”
“No, I just caught a contact high. I swear.” She looked at her mother as she spoke the last two words. “I’m not really into that.”
“Was Nyleah into that?”
“Yes. Very much. She was outside smoking with some people.”
“And who were these people?” Webb picked up his pen again. He had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.
“Demetrius. Definitely Demetrius.”
“Ah yes, Mr. Branch. Of course. Besides him and the victim, who else was outside?”
“A lot of people were outside but I only remember those two smoking together. I wasn’t really paying attention, though.”
Webb let his pen fall from his fingers. It hit the pad and rolled to the edge, where it stayed, teetering slightly, waiting for any movement that would tip it over the edge. “Weren’t most of the kids at the party friends of yours? Or classmates?”
“Yes.”
“But suddenly you can’t remember their names?”
Avianna stared at her fingernails. “It’s not that. I don’t remember who all was out there. It’s been a long time since this happened.”
“But you’re one-hundred percent positive Demetrius and Nyleah were out there.”
She looked up and into his eyes. “Yes.”
Ackerman snickered, but Webb was not amused. “Where were you when the body was discovered?” An edge crept into his voice.
“I was on the main level with everybody else. I don’t remember exactly what I was doing. I may have been dancing. I don't know. I just remember seeing Bria come back down like an hour after Jace did. She was…” Avianna trailed off.
“She was what?”
For the first time since they’d been in the room, tears appeared in the girl’s eyes. She fanned at her face as if it would help. “She was freaked out. I’ve never seen her like that. I thought she was having a stroke or something. She kept trying to scream, but nothing would come out. It scared me.”
