Page 76 of The Girls in the Snow

Liam nodded. “They’re both working this morning, so I’m headed to The Doll House from here. What about that other friend of Madison’s? Have you talked to her again?”

“She only works two afternoons a week. Fortunately, today is one of those days. I think she’s hiding something,” Nikki said. “After you’re done at the club, go back through all the interviews and look for any combination of first and last names starting with ‘P’ and ‘I.’ Local businesses and residents, too, although there may be too many. Talk to the geeks in the computer department. They might have a program to help narrow down results.”

“What about the fake nail?” Liam asked.

“Madison’s shellac was French tip. If she peeled it off in the freezer, her killer may not have noticed it when he moved the bodies. No one outside of the investigation needs to know about it right now, or about the initials on her arm. On the off chance the nail is still in the freezer, we don’t want to give the killer a chance to get rid of it.”

Thirty

Nikki was surprised to see the library so busy. With most young people engrossed in their phones and social media lives, she’d expected a quiet afternoon. The computer lab was nearly full, a handful of people were in the process of checking out books, and a group of teens hung out in the activity area playing cards.

She found Brianna organizing shelves in the mystery section, wireless headphones cutting her off from the world.

Brianna removed her headphones, looking warily at Nikki. “What are you doing here?”

“Would you believe I was just browsing for a book?”

Brianna shook her head.

“I didn’t think so.” Nikki smiled, trying to set the girl at ease. But she stood at attention, ready to bolt.

“Are you allowed to question me without my parents or an adult?”

“Not as a suspect, no,” Nikki said. “But I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about Madison.”

“I already talked to you. My mom told the police to leave me alone.”

“But you didn’t tell me everything.”

“Yes, I did.” Brianna turned back to the bookshelves.

“Do you know what kinesics are?”

“No.” Brianna crammed a book into the already tight row.

“It’s a broad term for nonverbal communication. Body language. Like you just shook your head when you said ‘yes, I did,’ instead of nodding. And young people—especially those who aren’t normally deceitful—get really jittery. Kind of like the way you’re rocking back and forth on your heels.”

Brianna stilled. “I don’t know anything else that will help you.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Nikki said. “But you’d be surprised at how many times supposedly inconsequential details blow a case wide open. Don’t you want to find out who killed your friends?”

Brianna’s lips trembled. “Of course.”

“Listen, I know how tough high school can be. Saying the wrong thing can get you kicked out of your social circle, and then suddenly you’re a pariah. But that’s only temporary, Brianna. Not doing the right thing leaves you with a lifetime of regret. Don’t abandon Maddie now.”

Brianna’s eyes filled with tears. “Her parents were fighting a lot.”

“Did Madison say why?”

“Her mom hated Kaylee. Mrs. Banks said something about Kaylee doing sneaky things no one knew about. She needed to be put in her place.”

Nikki already knew this from speaking to Amy. “Did you talk to Kaylee about this?”

Brianna nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek.

Nikki stepped forward and touched her shoulder, gently turning Brianna to face her. “Why did Amy feel that way?”

“When Kaylee first started hanging out with Madison, she told her about some night last summer when she’d gone to Hudson with some older friends and used a fake ID to get into a bar. Some drunk older guy kept hitting on her, grinding up on her. He asked if she would let him take some pictures of her, in private. She told him to fuck off.”