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“Yeah, it’s possible,” I muttered, racking my brains for an excuse to go upstairs. I could probably try the same thing Bobbi did to get the laptop, but there was a chance that it might make Nora suspicious.
“How are things going with her so far?” Erin whispered, snapping me out of my contemplative reverie.
I briefly relayed the conversation I had with Nora while Erin was poking around the house. She frowned and scratched her chin. “I think she’s hiding something,” she said in a low voice. “Why else would she be so quick to defend Mr. Blythe?”
“Yeah. I agree.”
Nora returned with a steaming mug. “There you go, sweetie,” she said, handing it to Erin. “Now, what were we talking about again?”
“Mr. Blythe,” I said. “I’m worried there’s something going on with him. There was that rumor about him and Cerina, and now there are more rumors about him and Kinsey.”
Nora’s face turned studiously blank. “How odd. What exactly are these rumors saying?”
“A few people at school think he might’ve framed Kinsey to cover up the fact thathewas the one who hurt Cerina.”
Nora scoffed. “That’s absurd. Like I said to you a moment ago, Matthew is a close family friend. His mother and I have known each other for decades.”
“There’s something else,” Erin said. “You know how Kinsey has gone missing?”
“Yes, I’m aware,” Nora replied. There was a distinct edge to her voice now.
“My cousin actually lives across the road from you, and she told me she saw Mr. Blythe here on the same night Kinsey went missing.”
Nora’s brows rose. She had no way of knowing that Erin’s cousin was fictional. “All right. He was here,” she said. “So what?”
“Kinsey was with Mr. Blythe at the school that same night. I know because she texted me about it and said they were together for some reason,” Erin said. Her cheeks were starting to turn slightly pink from all the lies, but her story was believable enough, so I doubted Nora would notice. “I figured if she was with him then, she might’ve been with him afterwards as well. And he was definitely seen at your house.”
“So you think Kinsey washere?” Nora’s eyes widened in an incredulous stare. “You really think I’d ever let my daughter’s murderer darken my doorstep?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m just wondering why Mr. Blythe was here at midnight. It’s a weird time to visit. Especially when we know for a fact that he was with Kinsey that same night.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed. “Matthew has been a great source of comfort to me and my husband over the last few weeks,” she said. “Sandra—his mother—is ill at the moment, so she hasn’t been able to visit as often as she’d like. Matthew has been coming around instead.”
“At midnight?”
“Grief doesn’t have time restrictions,” Nora said in a testy tone. “Sometimes we feel like we need to talk to someone late at night. The night in question—I believe it was last Thursday?”
I dipped my chin in a curt nod. “That’s right.”
“I remember now.” Nora pressed her lips into a tight smile. “I couldn’t sleep because I was missing Cerina so badly. Matthew offered to go to the school and find one of her old essays from his class. He thought it might comfort me to hear her words. I suppose he must’ve bumped into Kinsey there. But it doesn’t mean he had anything to do with her disappearance, and it certainly doesn’t mean she was everhere.”
I exchanged a glance with Erin. Then I folded my arms across my chest and returned my attention to Nora. “Look, this is awkward, but I’m just going to come out and say it. I know for a fact that Kinsey was here on Thursday night.”
Nora’s smile faded. “What do you mean?”
“It’s all on her phone. Someone stole it and ditched it on the edge of the road that night, but I found it,” I said. “I checked the location history, and the last place she went before the phone was switched off was this exact address.”
None of that was true, but I was hoping Nora would fall for the bluff.
She lifted her chin in an imperious gesture, gaze going flinty. “Phones are funny little things, aren’t they?” she said. “They can be helpful at times, but they can also be completely wrong at other times. Like any other technology, I suppose.”
Dammit. She wasn’t falling for any of my bullshit.
“So you haven’t seen Kinsey?” I asked, looking her right in the eye.
Her gaze didn’t waver. “No, I haven’t, and I don’t think Matthew has done anything to her, either. He’s a good man,” she replied. “Anyway, I think it’s time for you to leave. I’m suddenly feeling quite tired again.”
Erin shot me a helpless look. I looked back at her and briefly shook my head. We didn’t have any solid proof that Kinsey was here at the Vincent house, and Nora had made it abundantly clear that we’d overstayed our welcome. We needed to leave and come up with another plan.
