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“Kayleigh’s boyfriend was going to kill Felicia?” Noah said. “That’s quite a threat for a grown man to make against a teenage girl. It’s also creepy as hell. Maybe finding this guy isn’t a waste of time after all. What’s an SJ story?”
“Not sure,” Josie said. “Kayleigh was part of an after-school writing club. It could be related to that. Felicia was in it as well.”
Even as she said the words, something nagged at her. Something just out of reach of her consciousness.
Noah started swiping through the gallery. “I don’t see screenshots of the stories that Felicia mentions. The ones she said were sick.”
“I didn’t get that far.” She watched as he methodically swiped through the entire screenshot gallery. It took long enough that Josie’s back started to hurt from standing. There was nothing. He went back to the screenshotted text messages. “Doesn’t seem like Felicia felt threatened. She blew this off.”
“She thought the boyfriend was made up, just like everyone else did.”
Josie’s desk phone rang. She circled back to her desk and snatched up the receiver. “Quinn.”
Sergeant Dan Lamay said, “We’ve got two sets of parents down here in the lobby looking for updates, and they’re not exactly getting along so well.”
“I’ll be right there.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
Josie heard shouts as she pushed open the stairwell door on the first floor with Noah at her heels. Two uniformed officers raced down the hall toward the lobby. Josie and Noah followed, hurrying their pace. The door swung open and she recognized Dave Patchett’s voice. “You think we don’t know how it feels?”
Josie caught the door before it swung shut. She bypassed the small reception area where Lamay sat, separated from the rest of the lobby by a tall desk, and pushed through the second door into the main area reserved for visitors. The two uniformed officers had separated the couples. The Patchetts stood on the left, another couple on the right. Behind her, Noah whispered, “That’s Sasha and Jeremy Evans. Felicia’s parents.”
Sasha and Jeremy Evans were thinner, taller, and more smartly dressed than Dave and Shelly Patchett. Even in jeans and casual shirts, both of them looked fresher and more put-together than the Patchetts, although Sasha’s bloodshot eyes and swollen face told another story. Maybe the stress of the ongoing search for Kayleigh was getting to the Patchetts. Dave looked like he hadn’t bathed at all. Shelly wore sweatpants and a soccer mom T-shirt that was torn beneath the right armpit.
Sasha pointed a finger in Dave’s direction. Her voice shook with grief. “You have no idea how this feels. Our daughter is dead.”
Weakly, Shelly replied, “Our daughter could be dead, too. Please. We didn’t mean anything. We’re sorry for your loss.”
“No, you’re not,” Sasha hissed.
Jeremy put a hand on her shoulder. His voice betrayed the utter exhaustion and defeat beneath the surface of his calm demeanor. “Sasha, please.”
“They’re not!” she said, voice high-pitched. “Kayleigh hated Felicia because she was more talented, better liked, and she wasn’t a liar!”
Dave surged forward, and the uniformed officer stepped directly into his path, blocking him. “Are we really going to do this again now? Over a stupid story? Our daughter is missing!”
Shelly said, “Dave.”
Sasha said, “At least she might still be alive! Our baby is dead! She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t. She was good, not like your—”
Dave lunged toward them, but the uniformed officer held him back.
Noah said, “Let’s get the Evanses into the conference room.”
Dave shouted over him. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to say Kayleigh deserves to die? Why? Because of some stupid shit she did in English class? Are you serious, lady? She apologized for that. We punished her. Why are you bringing up this old shit? It’s got nothing to do with what’s happening now.”
“It’s not fair! Our baby should still be here!” Sasha snarled as the other officer ushered her and Jeremy out of the lobby.
“And our Kayleigh shouldn’t?” Dave hollered after them.
Shelly’s voice was barely a whisper. “That doesn’t—that’s got nothing to do with Kayleigh.”
The door slammed behind the other couple. Noah said, “I’ll handle the Evans parents.”
Josie nodded as he disappeared behind them, leaving her alone in the lobby with the Patchetts and the uniformed officer. Dave paced back and forth, pushing a hand through his hair. His face was flushed. Sweat gleamed along his forehead. Shelly quietly wiped tears from her cheeks.
Josie said, “Let me get a room ready and we can sit down and talk.”
