Page 28 of Dead Man's Hollow

Someone’s emailed the tip line.

Heart thumping and adrenaline pumping, she slips her feet into her rubber flip-flips and runs from the sauna to the locker room, clutching her towel to her chest.

After the world’s shortest shower, she throws on her clothes and runs a wide-tooth comb through her unruly curls. She’s putting on her shoes when her phone rings on the bench beside her. She glances down.Jordana.

“Did you see it?”

“Hello to you, too,” she tells her producer. “I got the notification that we have a message in the tip box. I’m at the gym, so I haven’t read it yet.”

“I have.”

Maisy can’t tell from Jordana’s inflection whether it’s a nothingburger or a legitimate lead. “And?” she holds her breath while she awaits the answer.

“And I’m leaving the library now. I’ll meet you at your place.”

She exhales with a whoosh. “Don’t be evil. Tell me what it says.”

“It’s a lot.” Jordana’s quavering voice reveals her excitement now.

“On my way.” She ends the calls and grabs her bag from the floor beside her.

She runs home, her mind racing faster than her feet, to find Jordana sitting at the dining room table in front of her laptop.

When Maisy enters the room, she looks up with a wide grin and gestures toward the screen. “You have to see this.”

She dumps her bag and reads the brief message over Jordana’s shoulder:

To: Tips at the Farley Files Podcast

Re: The fight in Dead Man’s Hollow

We were at the bonfire in Dead Man’s Hollow the night Heather Ryan vanished. You should ask people about the fight with the kids from Allderdice.

We don’t know for sure that there’s a connection between the fight and Heather going missing. But she was talking to a guy from Allderdice that night before she disappeared.

Maisy frowns. “Allderdice? That’s a city high school?”

“Yeah. My alma mater.”

“You went there?”

“Right. You know the one—it’s down the hill from Daniel’s Krav Maga studio.”

“The police didn’t interview any students from Allderdice.”

Jordana furrows her brow. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. I read all the statements again this morning. Nobody who attended any city school was interviewed. And none of the interviews mention a fight.”

“I’m guessing they don’t mention this mystery guy, either.”

“No, not a word. And neither did Amy.” A flare of anger rises in Maisy’s chest. She told the Ryans she couldn’t help them unless they were completely honest.

“We need to talk to Amy,” Jordana says, her voice serious.

“Oh, I know it,” Maisy assures her. “I’ll call her and tell her we need to meet. You respond to the tip. See if you can get them to agree to an interview on the record.”

“That’s never going to happen,” Jordana protests.