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“No. She was completely into her studies. Like I said, she told me everything. She wasn’t dating anyone.”
Trinity said, “Hallie, I know you believe that Jana was murdered. Who do you think killed her?”
Hallie was silent for several seconds. Somewhere, far off in another room, a bell tinkled and then something made a thud. Ignoring it, Hallie said, “I don’t know. I think it had to be this mystery person she had gone to meet, don’t you? That seems like the most obvious explanation. I mean, I suppose it could have been random, or maybe someone she knew, but if it was someone she knew, wouldn’t they have come under suspicion by now?”
Josie recognized the frown on Trinity’s face. She wanted to point out the obvious—Mathias had come under suspicion precisely because he knew her and also because the mystery person that he claimed Jana told him about never materialized—but there was no way to say it without sounding insensitive. Instead, Trinity moved on. “I know that you want to find out what happened to Jana, and having reviewed the materials you provided for me, I agree with you that she was murdered. Now, there is nothing in this file to prove that except that her head injuries were so severe that I find it difficult to believe she sustained them in a fall.”
“Yes!” Hallie exclaimed. Her body sagged with relief, fingers going still.
“Because I believe that Jana was murdered,” Trinity said. “I’m prepared to do an episode of our show on her case.”
“Oh, thank God,” said Hallie. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “I’ve waited so long and fought so hard to try to make things right. Every year it seems like more and more people forget about Jana. They stop caring. It’s like—it’s like she never mattered. Like our little family never mattered at all.” Unlacing her fingers, she pressed a hand to her chest as the tears gleaming in her eyes fell down her cheeks. “It matters to me.”
Trinity reached across and squeezed one of Hallie’s hands. “I know, Hallie. I know it does. That’s why I’m here. That said, you have to understand that there are no guarantees that an episode will help her case at all. Sometimes we uncover new information which leads to a case being solved, or we get a tip as a result of the show that then leads to the case being resolved. But most of the time, nothing happens. We do the episode and in spite of tips, we’re left with exactly what we started with—and in Jana’s case, it’s not much.”
“I understand,” Hallie sniffled. “I’m willing to take the chance. I’m okay if nothing comes from it. I just want Jana to have a fighting chance.”
Trinity smiled again. “Wonderful. Now, let’s talk about Mathias. I know you believe that he didn’t hurt Jana. But Hallie, I think there is a possibility that Mathias was responsible for Jana’s death. I need to know that you’re mentally prepared to face that if that is where all this leads.”
Stricken, Hallie’s face paled. She wiped her tears away. With her hands back in her lap, her fingers intertwined and twisted again. “Mathias did not hurt her. He would never hurt anyone.”
Trinity said, “You told me yourself that he was accused of rape while he was in high school. Not once but three times.”
“Yes, because you would have found out anyway and I thought you should hear it from me, but he didn’t hurt those girls. I’m telling you, he’s never hurt anyone.”
Josie wondered if Keri Cryer had known about the history of accusations against Mathias. Surely something like that would have come up during his trial for shooting Piper. Had Keri always believed in his innocence, like Hallie did? Josie said, “My understanding is that those girls simply recanted their statements. He wasn’t proven innocent.”
Hallie shook her head vigorously. “This damn town and its rumors. Every time something happens here, it’s like that stupid child’s game, Whisper Down the Lane, except that the person who starts doesn’t have any facts at all.”
Josie leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “Tell us the facts, then, Hallie.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Hallie’s knuckles blanched as she continued to fidget with them. For a moment, Josie worried that she might snap one of her fingers. From the direction of the kitchen came another noise like something had been knocked over, followed by the jingle of Flynn’s tiny bell. Hallie didn’t take any notice. Her eyes were locked on the photographs beside Josie.
“Take your time,” Trinity added soothingly. “We’re here to listen.” She took out a legal pad and pen. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take notes.”
Snapped back to the present, Hallie gave her a wan smile and nodded. “The rape allegations. Right. The assaults took place at parties, after games. There’s a place around here, out in the woods, where kids go to party. Everyone knows about it. Even the adults know about it, but they don’t bother to stop it. Like the football coach! He knew about it but he never said a word about the players going there. Anyway, one of the girls was assaulted there. It was dark and she’d gotten drunk and wandered away from the group. A few days after it happened, she told her parents, who had her go to the police. After that, someone who was at the party said they saw Mathias coming from the direction of where the girl had been assaulted. She told the police it was Mathias. Once it got out that she had gone to the police, two other girls came forward and said they’d been assaulted the year before under similar circumstances. They also said it was Mathias.”
“What made them change their stories?” asked Josie.
“The case was going to trial. Mathias got a defense attorney from the public defender’s office. Once he got discovery, he saw how flimsy the evidence was—there wasn’t even DNA. They all initially reported that it was too dark, and they were too intoxicated to see well and then later they changed their statements to say that Mathias had done it. Anyway, the attorney was pretty certain that he’d be able to cast doubt on their testimony at trial.”
“But it never got that far,” Trinity said. “Did it?”
“No. The defense attorney was able to prove that in the two cases from the year before, Mathias was at work at the time those assaults occurred. They had time cards from his employer. He wasn’t even on the team yet!”
“What about the other girl?” asked Josie. “The one who reported a few days after her assault?”
“During the preparation for the trial, she decided not to move forward. She said she could not say for sure that Mathias was the person who hurt her.”
“But he was there that night,” Trinity pressed. “Just like he was with Jana the night she was killed.”
Hallie made a noise of exasperation. She stood and left the room. From somewhere in the house, Flynn’s tiny bell rang again. Moments later, Hallie returned with a large photo album, its cover blue and cracked. She handed it to Trinity. “I know that no one prints photos anymore, but Jana liked having a physical photo album.”
Josie looked on as Trinity paged through the album. Some photos were of young children with an older couple. As the kids got older, she recognized both Mathias and Hallie. Then another child appeared—about four years old, chubby and blonde. As she got older, it became clear that they were watching Jana grow up. At some point the couple disappeared, and the majority of the photos showed an adolescent Jana with teenagers Hallie and Mathias. The background changed as well, from a rustic-looking home to a cramped apartment. There were duplicate photos of the ones Trinity had in her file and the two that were framed on Hallie’s end table. There were a few photos of just Hallie and Jana, but the majority of the album was filled with pictures of Mathias and Jana. Him reading to her; playing video games with her; helping her with homework; making crafts with her; giving and receiving a home manicure—with Mathias smiling widely as he showed off his blood-red nails. It was typical, Josie thought. The mom was rarely in any photos because she was always behind the camera.
Hallie stood over them as Trinity slowly flipped the pages. “I know what you’re going to say: Mathias was accused of sexual assault, accused of Jana’s murder, and then accused of shooting his own wife. But I’m telling you that he would never hurt anyone. He is gentle and decent. I’ve known him since we were children. You can see that. You can see how much he cared about Jana. When our foster mother died, he didn’t have to take us in. He was out already. He certainly didn’t have the resources to help me raise Jana, but he did it anyway. We were happy. We were a family. I don’t just want to convince the police that Jana was murdered, and find her real killer, I want to clear Mathias’s name.”
