Page 42 of Don't Say a Word

“Iknowshe doesn’t have money to pay you.” It was like an accusation, as if I had some nefarious motive.

“I have clients who pay. That gives me flexibility to work for those who can’t.”

“You didn’t evenknowhim.”

Lena was right. Angie had a lot of anger.

“True,” I conceded, “but his mother deserves to know what happened to her son, don’t you agree?”

Angie stared, suspicious but curious at the same time.

“Meet me, or don’t. I’m going to find the truth with or without your help.”

I walked back to my Jeep, climbed in, and drove to the bakery.I ordered a couple of muffins and sat at one of the tiny tables along the window.

Ten minutes later I had just finished my muffin when Angie walked in. She took her backpack off, sat down across from me, and protectively put her bag in her lap.

I slid over the second muffin.

“Thanks,” she muttered and picked at it.

I’d already decided to talk to her like an adult. From what Lena had told me, Angie was no stranger to a tough life—her posture, attitude, and anger all confirmed that.

She was also loyal. Her steadfast belief in her friend hadn’t wavered. But I needed to test it, test her.

“You don’t think Elijah did drugs.”

“I know he didn’t. If you think it’s a possibility, I’m leaving.”

“He could have hid it from you. He could have been experimenting.”

“See? You’re just like everyone else, you want to believe the worst.”

Patience, Margo, I told myself. “I’m trying to figure out how he ended up in a park more than two miles from his house, dead of fentanyl poisoning. I want to know why you are positive he didn’t use drugs, why you have no doubts about Elijah.”

Angie put her chin up. “Lori—my mother,” she saidmotheras if it were a curse, “has done drugs most of my life. Her boyfriends are users and losers. Lori has a job, she gets by, hasn’t completely gone off the rails, but Iknowwhen people are addicts. I can see it in their eyes, in the way they move, in what they say and do. A lot of people ignore the signs, or don’t really watch what’s going on around them. Elijah had a plan, goals, he thought about the future. He loved his mom. Until recently, I’ve seen Elijah nearly every day for four years. He did not use drugs.Ever.”

A little bell went off in my head.

“Okay,” I said. “What happened recently? Did you have a falling out?”

“No, why?”

“You said until recently, you saw Elijah nearly every day. What happened?”

She looked confused, then just rolled her eyes. “He got a job in March, worked full-time over the summer. He was busy.”

She sounded defensive.

“And since school started?”

“What are you getting at?”

How did I say it without making her mad? “Well,” I said, “you and Elijah were good friends. But he was busy and you really didn’t see him much over the last few months. Maybe things changed.”

“Someone drugged him,” she insisted.

“We don’t know that.”