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Panic washed over Alana’s face, leaving behind it a trail of deathly pallor that surfaced through her makeup.
“Why?” Kay asked gently. She had her confirmation. Somewhere, buried in mountains of data, was the proof that Alana had set Jenna up to be raped.
Alana started crying, her sobs lacking sincerity. “I was stupid, that’s why. She was eyeing my boyfriend, and I didn’t want to lose him.”
“We also traced the website you so generously built for Jenna. The money came from your account,” Kay continued calmly.
Alexandria’s eyebrows shot up. “The, um, adult one with Jenna’s naked photos? That website?”
Kay smiled and turned to Alana. “How about Kendra’s website? When’s that coming out?”
Alexandria approached and stared Kay down. “My daughter won’t be answering any more questions without a lawyer present.” In a gesture of defiance, Alexandria threw her long hair over her shoulder. It flew in wavy, silky strands, about the same length as the hair fibers found on Jenna’s body, and exposed a pale blue hair clip shaped like a butterfly.
Kay’s breath caught in her chest. Her eyes found Alexandria’s fingernails. They were painted in pink, glittery nail polish, the type she would’ve expected a teenager to wear. Alana’s nails were done a deep shade of purple.
In a split second, she took inventory of the remaining pieces of evidence, until then unexplained. But it was all there, and it had been, right in front of her eyes, since she’d questioned Alana the first time. Only it made absolutely no sense at all. Why would Alana’s mother have climbed on Wildfire Ridge to kill Jenna after she’d been assaulted?
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Elliot muttered, staring at the screen of his phone. “You can’t beat this with a stick, no matter how long.”
Kay looked at him and saw he was turning beet red under her gaze. “What’s wrong?”
He stared at her wide-eyed, in a visible impasse, his cheeks flushing even more. She walked over and reached for the phone. He hesitated a little, but she gestured her impatience with her fingers, and he caved.
The phone records had been delivered to Elliot’s email, neatly highlighted where the content had investigative relevance. NC3TF had done one hell of a job screening through and synthesizing hundreds of pages of content. Their notes included common location histories for the subpoenaed phone numbers.
Leaning against the wall for a moment, she scrolled quickly through a few pages, then returned to the one Elliot was reviewing, still open in the background. The photos attached to the chat transcript put a faint, furtive smirk on her face. She placed the phone back into Elliot’s hand with a straight face and a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.
“Nothing to worry about,” she said to the two women who had drawn closer together. Alexandria had wrapped her arm around Alana’s shoulders. “Your daughter will be charged with some minor felonies. Distribution of child porn, to start.”
“Those photos aren’t Jenna’s,” Alana shouted. “You can’t do this to me.”
Kay grinned. “Sure, I can. On the website you built, you’re stating that they are. Until we sort this out, you’re coming with us. Then there are two counts of instigating a violent act. Ooh, I have to remember to mention that to the boys’ defense teams. It’s called discovery, you know. Ihaveto do that.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie.” Alexandria squeezed her daughter tightly. “We’ll get you a good lawyer. It’s just misguided thinking, a childish prank, nothing else,” she added, looking at Kay pleadingly.
Alana turned and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, sobbing hard, this time for real.
Elliot took out the handcuffs he carried at the back of his belt and approached Alana. “It’s time to go, come on.”
“There’s also the matter of a pesky little murder charge,” Kay added.
Alana turned as if she’d been bit by a snake. “I didn’t kill Jenna! I was with—”
“She was here, with me,” Alexandria said.
“No, she wasn’t. She was with her boyfriend, Nick, at the time of the murder.”
“Then? Why are you charging my daughter with murder?”
Kay chuckled. “We’re charging you, not Alana.”
Alexandria let go of her daughter’s shoulders and took a step back. Her hand rushed to her chest. “Me? What reason could I possibly have to kill that girl?”
“One of the oldest in the book,” Kay replied. “Jealousy. How long have you been sleeping with your daughter’s boyfriend?”
Alana stopped crying instantly, her eyes filling with tear-drying rage. “What? Is that true?” She didn’t wait for her answer, just pounced, trying to pull at her mother’s hair with both her hands. “I hate you!”
Alexandria pushed her back, placing her hands against Alana’s throat and squeezing until the girl choked.
