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“I think this might be a waste of time,” Josie muttered.
Noah stretched his arms, lacing his hands together behind his head. “What else have we got? We’re pretty much in a holding pattern until the state lab sends back the DNA results.”
Josie swiped through pages and pages of apps. She opened Instagram and quickly scrolled through Felicia’s posts. The most recent one was of Felicia and four other girls, all wearing formal dresses, standing on a front lawn. There were various hashtags to indicate that it was a prom. Josie remembered that prom had only been about a week before Kayleigh was abducted. She’d been relieved, especially after last year’s prom night, that there hadn’t been any serious crimes that night, other than the run-of-the-mill underage drinking. Although Kayleigh didn’t have social media, there hadn’t been any prom photos on her phone. Had she not gone to the prom? It would make sense that if her boyfriend was around twenty years old as Olivia had said, and out of high school, she might not have wanted to bring him to the prom, even though the age of consent in Pennsylvania was sixteen. More likely, Kayleigh hadn’t wanted her parents to know she was dating an older guy. Had she not gone to the prom because of that, or because her parents had punished her for some transgression? They seemed to have an endless list.
Felicia’s feed offered nothing of note. Josie went into her private messages. There were dozens. The most recent exchange was between her and another girl who had been at the Stacks the night Felicia and Brody went into the woods. Josie and Gretchen had interviewed the girl, who had denied any drinking or drug use among the kids at the Stacks. But here in Felicia’s private messages, she promised there would be plenty of beer, liquor, and weed and that the whole event would be “lit.” Felicia was reluctant to go.
Everyone’s just going to be talking about Kayleigh,she had messaged.It’s too sad. What if she’s dead?
So what?The girl had typed back.I thought you’d be happy about that especially after all the bullshit she put you through in the fall.
OMG how can you say that??? Are you serious? I’d never be happy anyone died. Definitely not Kayleigh. Yeah we had a problem but I never wanted anything bad to happen to her. She’s really talented and smart. I feel so horrible. I just want her to be ok.
You’re a weirdo. She threatened you!!! Or did you forget that? I hope you still have the screenshots.
She didn’t threaten me. Her fictional boyfriend did. It’s just sad.There’s a lot more to what happened than anyone knows,Felicia wrote back.I’m just saying that Kayleigh doesn’t deserve this and I hope she’s ok. This whole situation is making me cry 24/7. I don’t want to go to the Stacks rn and listen to everyone talk about it like it’s some big joke. Maybe another time.
Oh come on. Don’t be a buzzkill. Everyone’s going to blow off steam because they’re freaked out too. Besides, Brody will be there. Morgan told me he likes you. This could be your chance.
The chat went on with Brody Hicks’s presence the deciding factor in Felicia going to the Stacks that night. Josie’s heart felt heavy. Two high school kids with crushes just doing what high school kids do, and it had ended in unimaginable tragedy.
Josie closed out Instagram and opened Felicia’s photo gallery, punching the icon for her folder of screenshots. She had to go back to November to find what Felicia’s friend had referenced. She had, in fact, kept the screenshots. Or at least some of them. Back then, Kayleigh had been a contact in Felicia’s phone, named simply KP.
KP:You won’t get away with this.
Felicia:Leave me alone. It’s over.
KP:This will never be over until you tell everyone the truth.
Felicia:Leave me alone. I’m going to block you.
KP:You know I have proof that you stole my SJ story. You and I both know you blatantly took it and passed it off as your own. You can’t just accept that award. That’s my award. My story.
Felicia:You can’t prove anything.
KP:Of course I can. I wrote that story months ago. I have receipts. Plus my boyfriend read it right after I put it up. He can confirm I wrote it.
Felicia:Your imaginary boyfriend? Be real.
KP:He is real and he knows what you did.
Felicia:You can’t prove it was an SJ story. You’d have to tell your parents what you’ve been writing. I read the other stuff you wrote. You’re sick. You can delete them but I’ve got screenshots. Who do you think people will believe?
KP:If you won’t tell the truth, my boyfriend says he’ll kill you.
Felicia sent a row of laughing emojis and then:Bye, bitch.
KP:He would do anything for me. He wouldn’t think twice about making you pay. Better watch your back.
Felicia:Whatever. Blocking you now.
Clearly, Kayleigh had deleted the exchange from her phone so that her parents wouldn’t see it.
“You got something?” asked Noah.
“Texts between Kayleigh and Felicia. Screenshots.”
She stood up and walked over to his desk, handing him Felicia’s phone.
