Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
She looks up at me, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. “The problem is, I don’t know. She was so ... secretive.”
“How do you mean?” Paulie asks, tipping his head to the side.
“She was seeing someone, but she wouldn’t tell me who it was. She kept it a big secret. A few days before she died, she got really upset and said they had been fighting and that he didn’t really want to be in a relationship with her anymore. She was so heartbroken, but still, she wouldn’t tell me his name.”
A secret lover.
But who?
“Did she ever mention a name? Age? Occupation? Anything?”
Halo shakes her head. “I think he lived out of town, but I honestly don’t know.”
If Alyssa kept it from her best friend, then she must have had good reason to do so. Perhaps the man was married? That would make the most sense. Maybe she threatened to tell his wife so he tracked her down and killed her. I’m onto something, I can feel it.
“Is there anything else you can tell us, anything at all?”
Halo shakes her head. “No, but I do have a key to her room.”
My eyes widen. “You do?”
She nods. “The police have already gone through it, but there might be something there. I have been wanting to go but I’ve just been too scared.”
“We can come with you,” Paulie offers. “If there is something that can help us find who did this, then we need to find what that something is.”
Halo hesitates, her eyes moving between us, then she exhales and nods. “Okay, I’ll meet you there tonight.”
This could be a really bad idea, but it also might be the only idea we have. I’m not willing to give up the chance to find something, though I’m sure whatever the police have already gone through is no longer in the room. Still, maybe there is something that can give us an idea of who she was talking to, and why.
I want to do this for her, she deserves answers, and I want to know who the hell is bothering me.
I finish up with Paulie and then I take a walk along the river as I call the kids and wave to them over Facetime. It’s not the same, but Danny looks like he’s having a blast with Addi, and I know Mercy is just happy to be there. Addison told me they haven’t seen Spike, but she did let me know they’re going to look for him tomorrow. I hope they fix it, because lord knows I need that man right now. I haven’t bothered calling him—he made it clear he wants space and quite honestly, so do I.
That doesn’t mean I don’t miss him and my heart doesn’t clench at the idea of him not being around.
Before I head back to the room, I sit down and look at Alyssa’s social media profiles. There could be something I’ve missed on there. I go through every one of her friends, posts, and likes and try to piece together anything that seems to repeat itself. There are a few men on there, most of which look to be young, and most of which aren’t commenting on her posts.
There is one who comments, but his profile picture is a beach and his name is simply @yourmandan which gives me nothing other than the fact that his name may be Dan. His profiles are locked, and I can’t see a single picture of him, but his likes on Alyssa’s things are frequent and he left a few random comments calling her beautiful to which she wrote back in a way that made me think she cared what he thought.
It could be something, it could be nothing, but it’s worth trying to find out if a Dan goes to this school, or better yet, if there is a married man who somehow has something to do with the campus. She had to meet him somewhere, right? I decide it might be worth asking my parents, after all, they have lived here for a long time now. They might know something.
I make my way back and get into my car, heading over there.
When I arrive, only my mother is home. She’s surprised to see me, her gloved hands covered in soil as she plants flowers in her perfect garden. Everything in her world has to be perfect, if it’s not, she simply can’t handle it. Her world doesn’t have flaws, which is probably why we always clashed.
“Ciara, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I won’t keep you long, I just wanted to ask you something.”
She straightens, but she doesn’t dust her hands off or wipe them on her old clothes, no she just hangs them down by her sides. Not even her work clothes are allowed to get dirty. I wonder if she has always been this way, or if it’s something she has grown into as she got older. It’s always the way I remember her, but before us, I simply don’t know.