Page 18 of Our Daughter's Bones

“You should talk to Becky. Nick was in a meeting with her earlier, so I thought––”

Before he could finish, Mackenzie shot up from her chair and ran.

“Mad Mack!” Troy called out from behind her.

She showed him the middle finger without looking back or pausing. Each morning the air inside the Lakemore PD building was soaked in the smell of coffee beans. Mackenzie never fell into the trap of caffeine. She prided herself in not having any vices; she didn’t deserve any.

She had planned on going to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, which was located in Seattle. Instead of stopping by to see Becky, she gave her a ring. It was best to leave for Seattle as soon as possible to avoid the traffic.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Becky. It’s me.”

Becky snickered. “You heard I met with Nick today.”

“I’m assuming you completed your examination of the remains?”

“Why are you so interested in Nick’s case? Don’t you have your girl to find?”

“I do. But I think the cases might be related. They were best friends.”

“I see. A strange coincidence.”

“So? Was it Erica Perez?”

“You know I can’t reveal too much to a detective not on this case, right?”

“I understand.” Mackenzie paused. “But you can give me something?”

“She is Erica Perez. DNA confirmed it.”

Mackenzie’s scalp prickled. Her heart dropped in her stomach like a boulder rolling off a hill and falling down into a pit. She’d known last night, but the confirmation still had another layer of finality to it. There was not a sliver of doubt, no room for hope.

Erica Perez had imprinted herself on everyone in Lakemore. The freckles on her face, her favorite ice cream flavor, the birthmark on her inner thigh, the clay sculptures she made—everything about her was public. It was gossip fodder. For months people speculated. The news covered her story all day and night. It was the topic of discussion at every dinner table.

Now the story that had riveted the entire town had ended on a tragic note.

“That’s terrible for her family.” Mackenzie said.

“Yeah, Nick has gone there now to have the difficult conversation with them. The news is going to pick it up soon. I know that one of the deputies is going to blab.”

“Probably. But I always say that a homicide investigation is better than a missing person case.”

“I agree. A known unknown over an unknown unknown. Anyway, is that all you wanted? I was in the middle of a very interesting article.”

Mackenzie hung up soon after. Almost an hour later, she parked her car in front of the newly renovated building.

“Hey, Anthony.” Mackenzie breezed in to his office.

Anthony Wallace at the crime lab was a lanky man with white hair in tufts around his mostly hairless head. His two front teeth were yellow compared to the rest of his pearly white teeth. It always distracted Mackenzie.

He was reading a thick book. His glasses made his green eyes look buggier and highlighted the golden flecks in them. His office was stuffy, always bathed in yellow light. A bookshelf made of old wood struggled to contain the thick books falling out of it.

“Oh for God’s sake, keep your curtains open.”

“I don’t like sunlight. Why do you think I moved to Washington?” He put his book and glasses away. “Sit down. What brings you here?”

She withdrew the bottle of antidepressants from her pocket and placed it on the table. “Can you run a test on these pills?”