AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kayleigh plays softball and belongs to at least one after-school club. She also works at the restaurant a few days a week. When would she have time to see him? Her parents are pretty strict.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “The strictest. I don’t know. Like I said, I really thought she made him up. I didn’t want to ask her about it because I felt bad for her. I thought I would just let her have it. She seemed so happy, and she hadn’t really been happy in months.”
Josie said, “Her parents told us she had been sneaking out at night. Do you know anything about that?”
Olivia used her fingertips to push the flakes of her croissant into its gooey center, as if trying to put it back together. “No. She never told me.”
“Did you or Kayleigh or any of your other friends ever go out to the burial fields near Herron Road?”
“What?” Olivia’s nose scrunched in disgust. “You mean Murder Mountain?”
TWENTY-NINE
A chill enveloped Josie. She thought of the place where so many innocent girls had perished, where so many lives had been destroyed, including hers. It had taken years for her to recover from what had happened there, both personally and professionally. Were Denton’s teenagers really calling it by some flippant nickname?
“What?” she choked out.
Olivia didn’t look up from her failed croissant repair. “I’m sorry. I know it’s really horrible but that’s what all the kids call it. Murder Mountain. I haven’t been there. I wouldn’t.” Josie saw goosebumps erupt all over her bare arms. “All those girls died up there. It’s really messed up. I don’t think it’s funny or cool. It’s sad. Anyway, I know lots of kids from school who go there. They like to go at night ’cause they think it’s haunted or something.”
Josie concentrated on her breathing, willing her mind to stay focused on the Kayleigh Patchett case. Pushing away thoughts of the time she’d spent at the burial grounds, she asked, “Had Kayleigh ever gone there?”
Olivia covered the shredded croissant with a napkin. “I don’t know.”
Josie took her phone and scrolled through a few more photos until she found a photo of Henry Thomas that Noah had pulled from his personnel file at the city park. She showed it to Olivia. “Have you ever seen this man before?”
There was no flicker of recognition in Olivia’s eyes. Only a blank stare. “I don’t think so but he’s, like, really old.” She let out an embarrassed laugh as she looked from the photo to Josie’s face. “Sorry. You’re probably closer in age to him than me. I don’t mean to say you’re old. Just that to me, ’cause I’m not even eighteen yet, he seems old.”
Josie smiled. “It’s fine. I knew what you meant. You’ve never seen him before? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I mean, he’s kind of good-looking for an older guy. I feel like I’d remember if I saw him before, and I don’t.” An idea occurred to her. Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh God. Is he the one who took Kayleigh?”
Josie put the photo away. “We don’t know who took Kayleigh, but we know that he lives near where she went missing, that’s all.” Before Olivia could ask more questions about Henry Thomas, Josie changed direction. “Do you know where Kayleigh got her drugs?”
Olivia’s eyes bulged. Her teeth bit into her lower lip and then released it. She gave a short cough before saying, “What?”
Josie put both hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m a police officer, Olivia. I know kids do drugs. I see it every day. You’re not going to get anyone in trouble right now—including yourself—by telling me the truth. We found Kayleigh’s stash of weed in her room. Did you know about it?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean, I know that she smokes weed but it’s only because her parents are so crazy, and she needs to relax. I don’t smoke with her though. I don’t even know where she gets it.”
“You’re saying you have no idea where she got it from?”
“No.”
Josie put both hands on the table. “Olivia, right now, at this precise moment, you could tell me that you bought it for her and the two of you smoke it every day together and I wouldn’t care. I’m not interested in busting you over some petty drug stuff. I’m interested in finding out what happened to Kayleigh. Now. Today. So let’s try this again. Who does Kayleigh buy her weed from?”
Olivia met her eyes. “I am for real serious when I tell you I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“Does she get it from J.J.? Her older boyfriend?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia insisted. “I’ve been with her when she’s smoked it and yeah, a couple of times, I smoked with her, okay? But I don’t know where she gets it. I don’t really want to know.”
“Why not?”
Now she looked away again. With a sigh, she said, “For reasons like this! I don’t want to get into trouble. I want to go to college. The school counselor thinks I have a really good chance of getting into some schools in California. That’s where I want to move. It’s warm and beautiful and celebrities live there. But mostly, I just want to get out of here.”
There was a note of hysteria in her voice on the word “here.” Josie said, “Okay, okay. Fair enough. I believe you. Just one more question for you right now. Was Kayleigh having trouble with anyone else recently? Besides the softball team and the girls at school?”
“No. Mostly everyone just ignores her.”
