Page 40 of The Missing Half

Chapter Thirty-nine

An enormous wave crashes inside me. It should be relief, but it is far too visceral, too violent for that, and in some dark, far-off part of my brain, I realize that it is love, deep and bottomless, for the owner of that voice. For Kasey, who plastered her walls with posters of musicians, Kasey, who saved me from the world’s worst self-inflicted haircut, Kasey, who gave me medicine the first time I was hungover, who stayed in bed with me and watched nineties rom-coms till finally I felt better, Kasey, who wanted to be a nurse, to help people when they were sick, Kasey, who felt too old for her age and too big for our town. Kasey, my sister, the greatest love of my life.

She was dead. For seven years, she was buried in the ground.

For a moment, I think I must be hallucinating, but then I hear her voice again—cautious this time—and I know I’m not.

“Who are you?” Kasey says.

But Jenna seems to be frozen and doesn’t respond.

I never allowed myself to imagine a reunion with my sister. The comedown from a fantasy that bright would have simply been too painful to bear. If I had, though, I would have envisioned something soft and shimmering: Kasey sitting on the back of an EMT truck, a foil blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a tin mug of coffee in her hands. She’d lift her head to see me running toward her and give me a weak smile. I’d launch myself into her arms and only let go when somebody pried me off.

But some deep instinct tells me to stay hidden now, because something is wrong about all of this. Something isn’t adding up. This clearly isn’t McLean’s house, not with my sister opening the door. And Jenna doesn’t seem confused or even surprised to find her here. If I could just see Kasey, maybe I could understand. But from my vantage point at the bottom of the staircase, I can only see Jenna. Her body is so tense, it’s vibrating.

“Who are you?” Kasey says again.

Jenna finally finds her voice. “I’m Jenna Connor. Jules was my sister.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who that is.”

Kasey must start to close the door, because Jenna throws out a hand, her palm slamming hard against it. “Don’t,” she snaps. “Don’t do that.” Her snarled tone prickles up my spine like the edge of a knife. What the fuck is going on?

“I don’t know who you’re looking for,” Kasey says, “but you have the wrong—”

“Stop it!” Jenna shouts. “Stop doing that. I don’t have the wrong person. You may have cut your hair, you may be going by your middle name now, but you’re Kasey Monroe.”

Kasey says something unintelligible, but Jenna barrels through it.

“You were born in Mishawaka, Indiana, you were in nursing school at Arizona State, you were one of the two Missing Mishawaka Girls—you and Jules. This whole time, everyone thought you were dead, but really, you were just working at a record store in Nashville, Tennessee.”

I am in a fun house. A carnival ride that scoops out your stomach every time it dips.

“How…” My sister’s voice cuts out. “How did you find me?”

Jenna shakes her head. “I’m not here to answer your questions.”

But in light of everything she just said, I’m starting to suspect I already know. My mind flashes to that day in Jenna’s truck, after she picked me up from jail and all but forced me to close my eyes and picture Kasey somewhere she’d always wanted to go. I envisioned her in Nashville. And then there was that first conversation Jenna and I had with Lauren outside her church, when she told us Kasey loved working at the record shop so much, she started joking about doing it full-time. I don’t understand how Jenna knew Kasey was going by her middle name, Marie, but the name itself is all over the internet. She could’ve just seen it enough and guessed. With those few pieces of information, it would’ve been hard, but not impossible, to track down someone who fit the parameters.

And yet none of that explains how Jenna knew to look for Kaseyin the first place, or what she’s doing here now, or—most disturbingly—why she has a gun tucked into the back waistband of her jeans.

“What—” Kasey begins, but Jenna cuts her off.

“I just fucking said I’m not gonna answer your questions. You’re the one who killed Jules. You’re the reason my sister is dead.”