Page 34 of The Graveyard Girls (Detective Ellie Reeves #11)

THIRTY-THREE

Crooked Creek

Ellie left Cord to supervise the dragging of the pond while she drove to the police station. The captain and deputies had gone for the day but she needed to know more about the Wileys. Everything was pointing to them as Bonnie’s killer.

Once she issued the APB for them, she left a message for the social worker who’d handled Bonnie’s case to call her. She wanted any information the woman had on the family, if they had other relatives or another address where they might have gone.

Next, she ran a background check and searched for information on their past. Mr. Wiley had grown up in the mountains with a single mother who cleaned houses for a living. After dropping out of school, he worked at a body shop but a back injury forced him to take disability.

His wife had lived in close proximity to the toxic land and had been in and out of the hospital in her twenties with depression issues. Ellie dug a little deeper to see how serious her illness was, but medical reports were confidential and she’d need a warrant to look at them.

Her phone buzzed and she connected. “This is Detective Reeves.”

“It’s Sally Emerson,” the social worker said. “You left a message?”

“Yes,” Ellie said. “I went to the Wileys’ house but it was literally empty.”

“So they moved?”

“Looks that way. Do you have any idea where they’d go? Did they have other family?”

“Not that I know of,” Sally said. “I remember the subject came up when they were first interviewed.”

“I see Mrs. Wiley had a history of depression. Didn’t that factor into the decision to approve them for foster parenting?”

“Yes, but the social worker who first met with them overlooked it because Wanda’s depression stemmed from being unable to have children.

Apparently, she was affected by the toxins in the area like so many other women and it created health problems. Notes on the couple indicated that at first the woman was ecstatic to be a parent. ”

Ellie considered that. If the Wileys had wanted a family, would they have hurt Bonnie? “You said ‘at first.’ Did things change?”

“Yes. I don’t think they, especially the husband, were prepared for children with problems or special needs.

Once we placed a little girl with a learning disability with them, but Mr. Wiley lost his patience and verbally abused her.

She cried all the time so she was removed.

We found a better place for her with a former teacher. ”

“And they described Bonnie as difficult,” Ellie said, seeing a clearer picture.

“Yes, she was shuffled around a lot. Her mother was a meth addict and Bonnie exhibited signs of those effects.”

“Did Bonnie use recreational drugs?” Ellie asked.

“Not that we know of. But sometimes drug babies have impulse control issues and are hyper emotional. Bonnie could be a really sweet girl, but she got lost in the system, and the constant moves made it more difficult for her to trust adults and form friendships. That’s why it seemed feasible that she ran away. ”

Ellie massaged her temple. “But if Marv Wiley had no patience with that behavior, he might have lost his temper and silenced her.”

“It’s possible,” Sally said, her tone concerned.

Ellie pinched the bridge of her nose, praying Cord didn’t find another dead child in the pond. “Did any other children run away or disappear while under the couple’s care?”

“I did see a note from the first social worker who dealt with the Wileys. She indicated another girl ran away about two years ago, but police ruled it just that. There’s nothing else in the file about it.”

Ellie made a note to have Deputy Landrum do a deep dive into that situation. There might be a pattern with the Wileys.