Page 35

THIRTY-FOUR

I convinced one of the teacher’s assistants to cover my afternoon classes. Armed with the information uncovered from the team meeting, I lock myself away in my office, making phone calls.

The first person I contact is Detective Fields.

“And they couldn’t provide any names or details about the person Evie contacted?” she asks me after I’ve shared everything I’ve learned.

“No, but they showed me screenshots.”

“What were their conversations about?”

I cringe at the recollection. “They were sexual in nature. Photos were exchanged. The last conversation took place the night of the lock-in, and they discussed meeting up with one another.”

Detective Fields is quiet on the other end of the phone, and I can imagine her sitting at a cluttered desk taking notes. “What kinds of pictures?”

“Nothing graphic,” I say. “At least what I saw. But it was definitely a picture of Evie.”

It seemed like a harmless selfie. Evie’s hair and makeup were done. It looked like it might have been taken at one of the school dances. Innocent enough, but I fear that photo might have been a precursor to something more sinister.

You don’t know her.

“I don’t understand,” I say, frustrated. “Don’t you have access to Evie’s phone records? Shouldn’t you be able to see all this?”

“Accessing records takes time. It’s not as simple as it appears on television,” she says. “Besides, without a warrant, we’d need permission from whoever owns the phone plan. Evie’s mother hasn’t been the most cooperative.”

“You said you were in constant contact with them,” I say. “I don’t understand why they’re not doing everything it takes to find Evie.”

“They might have their own secrets they’re trying to hide.”

Even though Evie’s mother has a solid alibi, there are other things she might want to cover up. I think about Josh’s assault charges, the bar fights. She can’t help Evie without exposing her own wrongdoings. Isn’t that the same predicament I find myself in? Telling the entire truth about that night—Nadia and the door and everything—might help find Evie, but it would put a target on my back.

Detective Fields thanks me for the information, although she doesn’t act as surprised as I was when I first received it. I wonder if that’s a bluff on her part, or if too many years of working this job has made her immune to human darkness.

Next, I call Nadia.

“What do you know about cracking into phones?” I ask.

“Very little,” she says. “It’s almost impossible.”

“Getting away with felony burglary is almost impossible, but you’ve done it.”

Nadia scoffs. “I have a team of people helping me. Even if you wanted me to look into Evie’s phone, I’d have to call in a favor, but I’d need more access than you’re able to provide.”

“What about social media?” I ask. That’s where the conversations originated. Maybe there’s something Nadia can do to find out who Evie was talking with.

“That’s a little bit easier,” she says. “There aren’t nearly enough privacy precautions when it comes to socials, and teenage girls are notorious for not protecting themselves.”

Tell me about it, I think. That’s what got us into this situation in the first place.

There’s a knock on my door. When it opens, I see Kyle standing there, a concerned look on his face.

“Tell me what you find,” I say to Nadia, getting off the phone quickly.

Kyle shuts the door before sitting across from my desk. “Did you really just pull the entire basketball team out of class to interrogate them?”

“That makes it sound a little dramatic.”

“That’s what the girls are saying,” he says. “Half of them called their parents already.”

Great. The last thing I need is the Manning Academy PTA on my back.

“Kelly told me yesterday that the other girls on the team had been bullying Evie,” I say. “Did you know anything about it?”

“I’ve not had Evie in my classes this year, but I can’t say I’m surprised,” he says, repositioning the glasses on his face. “They’re not the nicest to people not on the team.”

My hands clench into fists beneath my desk. “Those girls were making Evie’s life hell right in front of me and I never knew it.”

“What exactly did you say to them?”

“I confronted them about the bullying and told them it was time they start telling the truth,” I say. “They might be calling their parents now, but trust me, they’re going to be far more honest with me than they will with their parents or the police.”

“Did they admit to anything?”

My body tenses. It’s one thing spreading knowledge to Detective Fields and Nadia. They only know Evie in the context of an investigation. I know the real Evie, or so I thought. It feels dirty spreading her secrets.

“She’d been talking to older boys online,” I say.

“My goodness,” Kyle says, leaning back. “Do I even want to know?”

“It’s nothing concrete, but the last communication took place the night of the lock-in. I only hope it’s not connected.”

“Just last week I read about a case in Florida. A girl was talking to someone she met online and tried to leave the state with him.”

“It makes me sick to even think about it,” I say, even though I keep telling myself that isn’t the case with Evie. Even if I didn’t know all her secrets, I still believe she’s too cautious to get into a car with a stranger. “I’ve already talked to the police. They should be able to sort everything out.”

“What did they say about?—”

Just then, the intercom in the room buzzes, interrupting Kyle. I hear the main office secretary’s voice over the loudspeaker.

“Coach Cass?”

“Yeah,” I shout above.

“Mr. Lake wants to see you.”

I lock eyes with Kyle. “I guess that means he’s heard from the parents already.”

“You’re only trying to help find Evie,” he says, releasing a sympathetic sigh. “That’s what we should all be doing.”

I stand slowly, following Kyle out of the room and heading in the direction of Mr. Lake’s office, feeling like I’m walking to my own execution.