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)
“That girl who was murdered, Alyssa,” I begin. “She was seeing someone, possibly named Dan. I was wondering if you knew anything about her?”
My mother purses her lips. “I know her mother, not well, but she is in a sewing group I attend once a month. She seems fine, a bit stuck up. I do recall her saying Alyssa was rebelling and sneaking off when she was at home, disappearing for days, but she didn’t know where. I guess she didn’t have a right to tell her what to do, she was over eighteen.”
“Are there any married man in town that you know named Dan?”
She thinks. “Not that comes to my mind, but I’m certain there are more than one in town, that is a common name. To be honest, I never liked that school. When Cheyenne went, things got very strange, and I was glad when she quit.”
“Strange?” I question.
“She started seeing a man in the few months she was there, but I never met him. She thought he was great at first but then she said he was controlling and scary, so she made the decision to leave because he attended the school, too. More than once he tried to find her, to the point she was actually becoming concerned, and we considered a restraining order. It wasn’t long after that she met Danny, and we know how that went. I never asked her what happened with him, but I know it was a tough time in her life.”
Of course it was.
Everything in Cheyenne’s world was tough.
At least, that’s how everyone saw it.
I never heard about this man she was seeing, but I didn’t have a great deal to do with her love life. She talked about a different man every week. Back then, I was too focused on Spike to care. He was my friend and kept me so distracted that I wasn’t too worried about what Cheyenne was doing until she decided to take him from me.
“I never heard about this man,” I say, pursing my lips.
“She didn’t tell anyone until after it was over, and I only found out because she was scared, and I forced her to tell me. I’ve never seen her so worried about another person before, she truly thought she was in danger. Maybe she was.”
“Do you think he still goes there?”
My mom shakes her head. “I doubt that. He would have graduated by now.”
She’s right.
Still, something is off with that school, and I’m determined to find out what it is.
“I FEEL LIKE A CRIMINAL, and it’s exhilarating,” Paulie whispers, clapping his hands together. “Is this how you feel all the time hanging with those gorgeous bikers?”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. “A little less sneaky, they just go in and cause trouble.”
“Guys, shhh,” Halo hisses.
Paulie looks to me, and his eyes widen, then he grins.
He’s such a troublemaker.
We scour the hall once more and then unlock Alyssa’s door. Stepping into the room is eerie in a way that sends chills up my spine. Something to do with the fact that she spent her last moments in this room before going to that shower. At least, that’s the story they’re telling everyone. I’m starting to believe nobody actually has a decent lead on this case.
Which is why we’re standing in the room, staring at the dark space.
“I don’t know where to start,” Halo croaks, and my heart breaks for her.
Walking over, I stop in front of her and offer my warmest smile. “If you don’t want to be in here, we understand.”
She swipes a tear from her face and shakes her head. “No, I want to find out who did this, too.”
The room has mostly been cleared out. There are no signs of any electronic devices, or anything that could have evidence on it. By the looks of it, they have even taken some of her clothes. I’m sure they have scoured this room, but if I were to guess, I would say they assume they know who did it – points to myself – and because of that, they might have left something.
Cocky bastards always think they’ve got it right, when half the damn time they’re wrong.
“I think we need to look in places they wouldn’t think, places only a young girl would hide things,” I say, staring around the room. “Like behind furniture, under floorboards, under dressers ...”
Paulie gives me an impressed look. “I’m not sure if I should be scared or ...”
I laugh, cutting him off. “I like true crime. Come on, let’s get to work before we get into trouble.”
We all start looking around the room, quietly moving furniture and looking under things like her mattress and dresser. Nothing is showing up, but I’m convinced there must be something here, something that could help. Getting down on my hands and knees, I use my phone to look under all the furniture and that’s when I notice what looks like a photo all the way at the back of her dresser, on the ground, kind of tucked behind the curtain.