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Tori pushed her tray away. She couldn’t look at the food anymore. Couldn’t stand the smell.
She had never felt so alone.
Why did she even bother being nice to people? Working so hard to make good grades?
She was a loser. An ugly, too skinny, pimple-faced loser.
She’d asked Alice what she thought of her outfit the other day, and Alice hadn’t wanted to answer her. Finally, she’d admitted that the outfit didn’t look right on Tori because she was too thin. She needed to fix her hair and wear makeup.
Tori was sorry she’d asked.
She was sorry about a lot of things. Most of all for being nice to Alice.
She wished Alice had never come to her school.
Tori scanned the crowded lunchroom. At every table there was someone staring at her. Alice and Sarah were still whispering about her. She didn’t have to hear them. She could see the way they glanced at her, and they didn’t care that she could see.
She wanted to go home.
Anywhere but here.
Would anyone besides her mom even miss her if she disappeared? Or died like Brendal?
Probably not.
Life sucked.
Tori closed her eyes and reminded herself of her father’s phone call. Her mom loved her even if she wasn’t home as much as Tori would like. Falco liked her a lot too. Aunt Diana and Uncle Robby, even the twins loved her.
She had to stop feeling sorry for herself and just be strong.
Her mom would find the truth. Tori knew she would.
She just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
18
12:45 p.m.
McGill Town House
Hampton Heights Drive
Birmingham
Sadie checked the street again before emerging from her car. She’d parked at the far end of the unit of town houses and on the opposite side of the street. There were no security cameras unless a resident had installed one, but Tara McGill had not. The neighborhood was quiet, just as it had been late last night and early this morning. Sadie watched for afternoon dog walkers as she strolled leisurely along the sidewalk. Walking too fast would draw attention. She made it a point not to look around. People also considered that behavior as suspicious.
McGill had still been asleep when Sadie left, but she’d mentioned having to go to work early today for preparing a supply order and another interview with Falco—one where they would have the place alone. The woman liked Falco. Sadie smirked as she unlocked the door to McGill’s town house with the key she’d had made. Falco better watch himself; McGill was a maniac. Since she’d said she had to be at Leo’s by one, Sadie had arrived at twelve thirty and watched until she left. Then she’d waited a few minutes more to ensure she wouldn’t come back. Bytwelve forty-five she’d felt confident McGill was gone for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Inside the living room a staircase to the second level stood on the far-right side. A kitchen, dining room, and powder room were along the back of the first floor. Two bedrooms, two baths, and a laundry closet were upstairs. McGill had a home office set up in the second bedroom. Starting there would get the more complicated steps out of the way.
Sadie took the stairs. She checked McGill’s bedroom, noted the unmade bed and clothes strewn around the room. The lady was not exactly a neat freak. Not judging. Sadie was the same.
In the bedroom turned office, the computer and printer sat on the small, cheap desk. An old dresser sat where one would expect a file cabinet. Shelves had been added to the closet for storage. Christmas decorations and more shoes. A couple of high school yearbooks and photo albums. Sadie opened the storage container and sifted through the decorations. She checked the insides of the shoes lining the floor. Then flipped through the yearbooks and photo albums. No hidden papers, no secretive notes.
Saving the desk for last, she prowled through and under the drawers of the dresser. She slipped her Mini Mag from her back pocket and aimed the light at the narrow crack between the back of the dresser and the wall. Nothing taped to the back. Nothing hidden behind it. The drawers held office supplies. Paper for the printer. Printer cartridges. Pens, tablets. File folders. But no files. She removed the floor vent cover and checked in the duct. Nada.
Sadie moved on to the desk. She sat down in the chair and awakened the computer, noted the log-in box that appeared. Tucking a thumb drive into one of the slots, she allowed the program to do its job of determining the necessary password to get into the system. The middle desk drawer held more office junk. A couple of erasers, sticky notes. Two smaller side drawers were basically empty except for a tube of lotion in one and a pack of condoms in the other. Sadie opened thelotion and ensured nothing other than lotion was inside. She did the same with the small box of condoms. In the box she found McGill’s secret stash of oxy. A dozen of the 40 mg pills.
