Page 23 of Three Girls Gone

“I assume she told you we slept together for a bit?”

“She did,” Amanda admitted, keeping it brief to encourage Nick to continue talking.

“It wasn’t anything serious. It lasted less than a month between the end of December and into the start of January.”

“When was the last time you were inside the Tanner home?” she asked.

“Just before the holidays. I brought over a Christmas present for Hailey. It was just after that Mara and I started seeing each other.”

“And that was thelasttime?” She leveled her gaze at him. “You never went over since to hook up with Mara?”

“Once, during the first week of January. I couldn’t tell you the day.”

That lined up with what Mara told them. Amanda got up and walked over to Nick. “Here’s my card,” she said as she handed it to him. “Stay in town. We might be back with more questions. Understood?”

“Understood.” He plucked her card from her fingers.

“And we’re very sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks.” Nick was already back at the bar cart by the time Amanda and Trent hit the entry.

She was part way down the front walk when her phone rang. Rideout’s name splashed up on Caller ID, and she answered on speaker. “You have something for us?”

“Oh, yeah. Hailey’s murder just became a bigger nightmare.”

ELEVEN

Amanda’s heart was pounding. Trent parked down the street from Nick’s house. “Trent’s here too,” she told the medical examiner. “He heard what you just said. Talk to us.”

“I’ll start from the beginning. Lividity was present in her lower back and upper shoulders. In the hours following death, she was on her back, not on her side in the fetal position.”

“We figured the killer posed her.” A disappointing update, and she failed to see how it deepened the nightmare of the situation. There had to be something else.

“Do you know when or how she was killed yet?” Trent asked.

“I now feel confident in confirming the time of death was between eleven PM last night and five AM this morning. As for how, there was also bruising around her neck congruent with strangulation.”

“Do you surmise the scarf was used?” Trent asked.

“It is possible. I will be more confident after I’ve done further examinations. Now, the external examination revealed signs of abuse no older than three days.”

“Just external injuries?” Her body became tight and rigid.She resisted putting her true question into words.Are there signs of sexual assault?

“Yes. But you should know there was some bruising in her pubic region and lower abdomen. This suggests?—”

“Yes, I know.” Amanda pinched her eyes shut. If only it worked to squeeze out the horrible pictures forming in her mind. This would qualify as a nightmare, but Rideout didn’t lead with this. There must be more.

Rideout continued, as if reading her mind. “Now for the worst part…”

How does it get worse?She choked on the question.

“When I undressed her and went to put the tutu into an evidence bag, something in the hem crinkled under my fingers.”

What the…Amanda resisted the urge to cut in. Her request would only slow things down.

“I examined further and found a small piece of paper stitched inside. It had a typed message on it.”

Chills ran over her neck and down her back. She looked over at Trent.