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"I need to know where both of you were at the time of her disappearance, Monday morning between when she dropped off the kids at eight-fifteen and one o’clock when the car was found."
Mrs. Johnson took a deep breath before answering, "I was at work; I volunteer at the thrift store in South Cocoa Beach every Monday and Thursday. I get there at eight-thirty and leave at two o’clock."
I wrote it down, then looked at the sister.
"And Kyla?" I prompted.
"I was at home," Kyla replied, her voice barely above a whisper.“I had the day off.”
"Was anyone with you? Anyone who can confirm that's where you were?"
“No.”
"I can,” her mom said. "I called her at eight-ten on my way to the thrift store to ask about the upcoming weekend. I'm hosting a dinner for some friends, and since Kyla is doing a little catering business on the side of her job as a chef, I’ve hired her to do the service for us. I was nervous about the menu, and whether it would all come out good enough, so I was… I guess I was bugging you about it."
Kyla nodded. "That's true."
I nodded and scribbled down notes in my notebook. This could be easily checked out since I would be able to see it in the phone records and also check the location of her cell phone at the time.
"Did Rachel have any enemies or anyone who might want to hurt her?" I asked.
Mrs. Johnson shook her head. "No, Rachel was a kind and loving person. She didn't have any enemies that we knew of."
Kyla nodded in agreement, "She was always trying to help people."
I nodded, writing down their words. Mrs. Johnson stared at me, shaking her head. "I just don't understand. Why are you talking to us? You know who you should be talking to?"
"Mom," Kyla said and gave her a look.
"What? Why can't I be honest? We all know it's him. We all think the same thing. Why are you asking us about our alibis when he’s out there running around, getting away with it? You need to talk to John. Not us. He has threatened her before, and me too. We warned Rachel about him, but she was in love, you know how it is."
I nodded. "He is a person of interest," I said, "But I need to eliminate everything else too."
"That's nonsense,” the mom said with a slight hiss. "He cleaned his house. He's been acting very strangely since she disappeared. He was the last person to see her, for crying out loud. He was the last person to see her alive."
I sighed. I had sent Matt to notify John at his work while I took care of the mother and sister. "And trust me, he is definitely interesting to us. But he also mentioned that Rachel had developed a drinking problem—that she was known to go on benders from time to time. Is this something you can confirm?"
Mrs. Johnson let out a small shriek of disbelief. "A drinking problem? Rachel? Now, I have never! She didn't have a drinking problem. John said that? I don't believe him. She enjoyed a glass of wine now and then, but she never had a problem with alcohol. I can assure you of that. "
Kyla nodded in agreement. "I never saw her drunk or out of control," she said.
I jotted down their responses in my notebook. Meanwhile, the mom snorted angrily and muttered under her breath. "Drinking problem. Not my Rachel. Why are we even talking about this?"
"Well, I need to get a complete picture of your daughter's behavior up until her death. If she did drink and go to bars, maybe she got in with the wrong crowd; maybe she got into the wrong truck with someone? I need to look at all the possibilities."
"Not my Rachel, no!" Mrs. Johnson said.
"Okay, thank you for your honesty," I said. "I just need to rule out all possibilities. We'll keep looking into John and anyone else who might be a suspect."
Mrs. Johnson looked at me, her eyes filled with tears. "Please, find who did this to my daughter," she pleaded. "She didn't deserve this. She was a good person."
"I will do everything I can to find out who did this," I promised, my heart breaking for her. "You have my word."
Mrs. Johnson and Kyla nodded, tears streaming down their faces. I got up from my chair, placing my notebook and pen back in my bag. "I'll be in touch," I said softly as I walked toward the door. "If you remember anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out to me."
Chapter23
Kyla's heart was pounding as she stood in front of John and Rachel’s house later in the day, her mom beside her, holding a duffel bag. She pulled out a flashlight and a pair of gloves and handed them to Kyla.
