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She shook her head but refused to make eye contact.
“Does she have a grown-up she talks to when she’s upset? Someone she trusts?”
Her gaze lifted, but her forehead was wrinkled. “You mean like Ms. Donahue?”
Millie saw my questioning look and volunteered, “Ms. Donahue is their homeroom teacher.”
“Ava trusts Ms. Donahue?”
Casey nodded. “Everyone does. She’s really nice, and she’s really understanding about Mr. TJ.”
“What do you mean she’s understanding?”
Her mouth twisted to the side. “Well, you know…she gets why Ava can’t always meet to do group projects and stuff.”
“Do you have a lot of group projects that require outside-of-class time?” I asked in surprise. I didn’t remember doing many group projects in elementary school.
“It’s something new they’re trying this year,” Millie said. “We’ve had one or two in the past, but this year, they’ve had one just about every month.”
“If TJ wants Ava to get perfect grades, why isn’t he more supportive of the projects?” I asked.
Millie rolled her eyes. “Because he always thinks Ava is carrying the group. He’s not a believer in the group project idea. He thinks everyone should carry their own weight.”
“And her grades aren’t affected by it?”
“Oh, they are,” Millie conceded. “It’s been a source of tension between him, Ms. Donahue, and Ms. Snyder, the principal.”
I jotted that in my notebook before I asked, “Is Ava close to any of the other adults at school? One of the teachers, maybe?”
Casey started to say something, then pressed her lips together.
“You thought of someone,” I said with a warm smile.
Casey hesitated before adding in a small voice, “She talks to Mr. Eddie a lot.”
“She does?” Millie asked in surprise. I could see the worry dawning in her eyes.
“What do they talk about?” I asked, making sure my tone was light.
She shrugged. “School. Ava’s dance classes.”
“Does anyone else in your class talk to Mr. Eddie like Ava does?” I asked.
She looked down at her lap. “A couple of people, I guess.”
“Can you give me their names?”
She started to say something, then stopped and lifted her gaze to mine. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
“You’re not getting anyone in trouble,” I assured her, although Mr. Eddie might be in trouble if he was being inappropriate with the kids.
“How is this going to help Ava?” she asked, suspicion filling her eyes.
“I need you to trust me, Casey. I know you don’t know me, but I’ve found missing girls before. I know what to look for and who to talk to. So I need you to answer honestly. The more I know, the better my chances of finding Ava.”
She swiped at her face as tears began to fall down her face.
I locked eyes with Millie and tried to warn her to be calm before I turned my attention back to Casey. “Do you talk to Mr. Eddie a lot too?” I asked, then quickly added, “I mean, if he’s talking to Ava and the two of you are best friends, I would think you’d be with her when they’re talking.”
