Page 49 of Good Girl, Bad Blood

Pip:

I made a promise. To myself. To everyone. I said I would never do this again, never play the detective, never again lose myself to the world of small-town secrets. It wasn’t me, not any more. I would have stuck to it too; I know I would’ve. But something’s happened and now I have to break that promise.

Someone has gone missing. Someone I know. Jamie Reynolds from Little Kilton. He’s the older brother of one of my closest friends, Connor. As I record these words, on Saturday the twenty-eighth of April at 11:27 p.m., Jamie has now been missing for twenty-seven hours. And no one is doing anything about it. The police have classified Jamie as a low-risk misper and can’t spare any manpower to look for him. They think he’s simply absent, not missing. And truthfully, I hope they’re right. I hope this is nothing, that there is no case here. That Jamie has just left home to stay with a friend, neglecting to message his family or return their calls. I hope he’s fine . . . I hope he returns home in a couple of days, wondering what all the fuss is about. But there’s no place for hope, not here, and if no one else will look for him, then I have to.

So, here it is: Welcome to season two of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – The Disappearance of Jamie Reynolds.

SUNDAY

2 DAYS MISSING

Initial thoughts:

– Jamie’s behaviour in the last several weeks seems significant: the mood changes, sneaking out late twice in the last week. But what has he been up to? It all seems connected in some way to his phone?

– Not appropriate to record this thought for podcast, but is it suspicious that Arthur Reynolds won’t partake in the investigation? Or is this understandable given Jamie’s history of disappearing without contact? They have a tense relationship and had a big argument just before the memorial. Could this simply be a repeating pattern: argument with dad → run away without contact for a few days.

– But Connor and Joanna are convinced Jamie has NOT run off. They also don’t believe Jamie would attempt to hurt himself, despite recent mood swings.

– Joanna’s undelivered text to Jamie at 12:36 a.m. is a key piece of evidence. This means Jamie’s phone has been off since at least that time and has never been turned back on. This itself casts serious doubt on the ‘ran away’ theory: Jamie would need his phone if he were contacting a friend to stay with or getting public transport. So, if something has happened to Jamie, if he’s come to harm in any way, it must have happened by 12:36 a.m.

– Reynolds family movements post-memorial:

– Arthur walked home alone from pub, got in around 11:15 p.m. (my estimate)

– Joanna drove home, got in at 12:15 a.m. at the earliest

– Connor was dropped home by Zach Chen at approximately 12:00 a.m.

To-Do List:

Announce 2ndseason on website/social media

Make missing posters

Get a notice printed in tomorrow’sKilton Mail

Interview Nat da Silva

Research Hillary F. Weiseman

Record description of Jamie’s bedroom search