Page 55 of Our Daughter's Bones

“Let me guess, Abby didn’t tell you that Erica had called her that night.”

“She didn’t.” Nick sighed.

“Why would Erica call Abby that late?”

Was Erica in trouble? Was that phone call her last desperate attempt to save herself? Did that contribute to Abby’s depression? The fact that, if Abby had answered the call, maybe Erica wouldn’t have died.

“What about the texts she’d sent?” Mackenzie continued.

Clint nodded and typed on his laptop. She leaned over his shoulder as the messages began displaying in the terminal window.

“The last outgoing message is to Abigail at 12:38 a.m. It said ‘We need to talk. Meet me tonight.’”

Mackenzie’s head jerked to look at Nick. He pulled out a cigarette and popped it in his mouth. He flicked open his lighter and played with it, but didn’t turn on the flame.

“Abby never replied. We can’t determine if she even read the message or not,” Clint said.

“What was Abby’s alibi for that night?” Sully asked.

“She was at home. Sleeping. It was a school night,” Nick said. “She might be telling the truth. She was probably asleep by the time Erica sent her the text. When Abby didn’t reply, Erica called her, but she still didn’t pick up.”

“But Abby said that Erica had texted her about homework.”

“So, she lied too.” Sully huffed and crossed his arms.

“Erica vanished that night. Abby obviously just freaked out.”

“Still, she lied.”

“As did Quinn.” Mackenzie raised an eyebrow.

“Abby doesn’t look good right now, Mack,” Sully said. “Erica wanted to meet her that nightandshe had Erica’s phone.”

“What motive does she have? They were best friends. By all accounts, Abby was devastated when she went missing. It seems to me like she was searching for the truth. That man we saw talking to her is a stronger lead. He could have easily hurt Erica too.”

“If Abby never replied or picked up the call, then why did Erica still leave? Her room was undisturbed; that means she likely left of her own will,” Daniel pointed out.

Mackenzie’s eyes focused on the map of Washington on the wall. She picked out Hidden Lake and the woods surrounding it.

“I think she was on her way to see Abby. Look here.” She picked up a marker and circled spots on the map. “This is where Erica lives. That is where Abby lives. The woods are on the way. If she took the highway, she would have to take out her car. She would have been caught. It was raining, hence she took the woods—it’s a shortcut. I was looking at the forensics report, and red and gold woolen fibers were found in her mouth. Anthony said they most likely came from a scarf. If she was snatched from her room, I highly doubt that the killer would be considerate enough to let her bring a scarf along.”

“Red and gold?” Nick asked.

“Yeah.”

“Those are Lakemore High colors. I think you’re right.”

“Her parents last saw her in blue jeans and a white blouse. But that was at around eight in the evening. She went to her room at nine because she had a headache and wanted to sleep early. She must have changed into her pajamas but then changed into her clothes again, when she decided to leave. She put on a scarf to keep warm.”

“She left to meet Abby in the middle of a storm? What the hell happened?” Sully said.

“Abby found the phone at some point. The water damage could have resulted from the rain that night,” Mackenzie mused. “But what if she found the phone near the woods?”

Nick nodded. “When Abby saw the text from Erica the next day, maybe she suspected that Erica could have taken that route.”

“And if she was conducting her own investigation then the first place she’d look for clues would be there.”

“Wait. Why wouldn’t the killer take Erica’s phone?” Sully asked.