AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Where was she?
Was she okay? Had something happened to her? Was she upset after being interrogated by cops? Was she worried? She’d said nothing to her, just rushed into the arms of that—
She just wished she’d be back home already, so she could put the wine glass down and get some rest. Tomorrow, she’d start figuring things out. Speak to an attorney about Alana. Find out what she had to do to protect her daughter. Jails were littered with innocent people who either didn’t have the brains to shut up or didn’t have the money for a good legal defense. Cops couldn’t care less if they ruined innocent lives. She wasn’t going to let Alana fall prey to whatever the hell had been going on in that school of hers. Adult websites? And what else, for crying out loud?
She’d dozed off when a squeak in the floorboards startled her awake. Alana was taking off her shoes by the door, attempting to sneak in without waking her. The sound of a revved engine was fading away.
“That was some party, wasn’t it? Did you sleep with him?” she asked, forgetting everything else she’d planned to say to her daughter. The living room light switched on, blinding her. She raised her hand to her eyes, shielding them.
“And what if I did?” Alana asked, standing in front of her with her hands on her hips, ready to fight.
She didn’t want to argue. She wanted to have some peace again, the two of them close like girlfriends, like sisters. The way they used to be.
She stood, a little unsure of herself, and wobbled over to the window to pull the curtains closed, while Alana watched with a cold, merciless stare.
“Not again, Mom,” she whispered, staring at the half-empty bottle of wine. “You’ve been drinking. You’re turning into a regular wino.”
Alexandria turned to Alana, her cheeks burning with humiliation. “I’ve been worried about you!” she said, raising her voice and slurring her words a little bit. “You were supposed to be here before midnight. It’s almost five.”
Mother and daughter looked at each other for a beat, breathing fast, ready to jump at each other’s throats. Slowly, their gazes softened. Alexandria opened her arms, and her daughter rushed into them, hiding her face at her mother’s chest the way she used to when she was younger.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Oh, baby,” Alexandria whispered, caressing her daughter’s hair. “Those cops… I—I was scared. But don’t worry, we’ll start preparing right now.”
Her daughter pulled away enough to look at her with a puzzled expression. “Preparing for what? I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re overthinking this, Mom. They just wanted to know if I knew anything useful about Jenna, and I told them what I knew.”
Alexandria stared at her daughter, scrutinizing her, wondering if she was telling her the truth. All kids told lies, especially to their parents. Why should Alana be any different, as much as she liked to believe it could be true?
“Go to bed, Alana,” she said calmly, pulling away. “It’s very late, and we need rest.”
THIRTY-THREE
MIRANDA
Kay had been up most of the night, glad Jacob was out, probably spending the night with his girlfriend. She couldn’t sleep; after a couple of hours of failed attempts at some shut-eye her body badly needed, she went back into the kitchen and started the coffee maker.
It wasn’t even three in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep when Kendra was out there fighting for her life, going through hell.
The kitchen smelled clean, of putty and primer, and Kay had to watch her step all the time. The floor was covered with old newspapers, littered with pieces of dried putty, and snowed with a fine white dust from sanding. She didn’t mind the mess; she gave the walls a quick look and decided that this morning she was going to skip the renovation day starter.
Her mind was on Kendra. Was she still alive? Where was she? How much time did she have left?
Kay fired up her laptop, while her weary mind spun and ground the same bits of information she’d been obsessing over the entire day yesterday.
What did she know about this unsub?
What if he’d taken Jenna up on Wildfire Ridge, thinking she was easy, the way that website was describing her? Then why give her a roofie? Because she wasn’t willing to have sex with him that easily? Not all the pieces of that puzzle fit.
Kay pulled a chair out and sat in front of her computer, leaning her chin into her clasped hands. Closing her eyes, she tried to visualize the meeting between the two. Jenna had been a depressed girl who’d been cyberbullied recently and had withdrawn from the world, yet she’d decided to go out with this man. The unsub, a younger, budding predator, someone who had probably chosen Jenna because of her website, her reputation. But why? If he was slick enough to get Jenna to leave her home and meet him, he was probably someone who could easily get dates.
Kay sifted through behavioral models in her mind, quickly discarding everything that didn’t fit. Why Jenna? Why the girl whose reputation was in shreds?
Because he wanted someone who couldn’t cry rape. Someone compromised, someone no cop would believe. He was itching to get rough, but didn’t know how to get started. He was a power-assertive predator; to him, it was all about overpowering his victims.
Budding sexual predators weren’t exactly models of clear and articulate thinking. They had urges they sometimes failed to comprehend but followed nevertheless, unable to stop themselves, even if they understood those urges could be the end of them.
What if he’d been trying to get to Jenna for a while? Her phone records were still pending; only Kendra’s had been processed already, and that was because her parents had cooperated with the police, handing them the printouts themselves and authorizing the carrier to download all the data and share it with the detectives.
