Page 14 of Vanished in the Mist (A Mystic Lake Mystery #2)

“This was a bad idea.” Kaden shifted on his feet and leaned against the porch railing of Cassidy Tate’s cabin. “We’re wasting time we could be spending following other potential leads while waiting for a prom queen who isn’t going to show.”

“Her name is Peyton Holloway. She’ll show.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because of the deal I made with her by the lake. She was extremely agitated to be seen talking to me after I was seen talking to the police. I left her alone only after she promised to come here.”

“And you believed her?”

“Since I warned her that I’d pressure the police to bring her in for questioning if she didn’t, yeah, I’m pretty sure she’ll be here.”

“Brutal.” He grinned.

“Whatever works. As nervous as she was it seems as if she may know something. I just hope it’s a lead that will take us to Tanya.”

He straightened away from the railing. “Looks like we’re about to find out. That’s the blue Mazda she drove earlier coming up your driveway.”

Shanna looked past him. “Score.”

The sedan seemed like a toy as it pulled up beside Kaden’s huge black Ford F-250 truck. He turned back toward the cabin. “I’ll get us some drinks. As pale as she is, looks like she’ll need one. Or two.”

“No alcohol,” Shanna warned. “She’s not legal.”

“Well, I need one.” He headed inside.

A few minutes later, a very nervous young woman was sitting on the edge of one of the recliners in the Tate cabin’s main room with Shanna and Kaden sitting across from her on the couch. But other than saying hello, she’d barely spoken.

“Ms. Holloway,” Kaden said. “Would you feel less nervous about answering questions if I leave?” He started to get up, but she waved him back down.

She drew a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I guess I’m in shock. When I heard that policewoman say they’d found Tristan, I—I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even know he was missing.”

When she didn’t continue, Shanna asked, “Why were you so afraid to speak to us back by the lake?”

Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise.

“I wasn’t afraid. I just didn’t want to.

You have no idea what the police put us through after Jericho went missing.

I’d rather avoid that again if I can. The reason I agreed to speak to you is because you’re Mrs. Tate’s sister.

She did a lot for me in school. I probably wouldn’t have graduated without her help. ”

“She’ll be happy to hear about your appreciation. You said the police put ‘us’ through a lot. Who did you mean by ‘us’?”

“Um, you know. Us kids, from school. I swear the cops grilled everyone who’d ever passed Jericho in a hallway to see if we knew anything. It was ridiculous.”

“Jericho. Is that how the kids referred to her at school?”

“Huh? No. I mean… I don’t know. I didn’t even know her. We never associated with each other. Not once.”

“Her name is Tanya.”

“Sure. Okay. What did you want to ask me?”

Kaden sat back against the couch and crossed his arms. He didn’t want to assume anything about Peyton just because she was one of the popular kids at school.

But the way she was referring to Tanya, as if she was beneath her, tended to confirm the clichés rather than dispel them.

He couldn’t help wondering whether Tanya was bullied by some of the popular kids, maybe even Peyton Holloway.

“You said you didn’t know that Tristan was missing. Since you used his first name, can I assume he was a friend?”

“He is…was.”

“But you didn’t know he was missing.”

“Well, no. But, I mean, since graduation a lot of us kind of…went our own way, you know? It’s what people do.”

“You graduated last May?”

“Yeah. Almost a year ago.” She shook her head. “Wow. Time flies.”

“When is the last time you saw Tristan? Or heard from him?”

She chewed her lip a moment. “I guess…it would have been at the graduation after-party.” Her knuckles whitened as she clasped her hands together.

“I’m sorry, Peyton,” Shanna said. “I understand the events at the lake were quite a shock. But I need to understand the lay of the land around here, being an outsider and all. My sister, Mrs. Tate, wanted me to look into Tanya’s disappearance and I’m hoping you can help by answering our questions.”

Peyton chewed her bottom lip. “How did he die?”

“The cause of death will have to be determined by a medical examiner.”

Her hands fisted in frustration. “What do you want from me?”

Kaden gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’re a busy woman and we appreciate your time.

Ms. Hudson and I are trying to locate Tanya Jericho to help give her parents closure.

You were one of the key leaders at school, from what we’ve heard.

So we’re hoping you can tell us what you know about Tanya. ”

As he’d hoped, hearing him call her a leader had her puffing up with self-importance. “Yes, well, I had some influence, for sure. But like I said, that girl—Tanya—wasn’t one of us. I mean, wasn’t in my circle of friends. I doubt I can really tell you anything about her.”

“What about Tristan Cargill?” Shanna asked. “Did he go swimming in that area a lot? Or boating?”

“No. Never. That’s not an area where we, I mean he, would ever hang out. Wrong side of town, you know?”

“No. I don’t know. Can you explain it to me?”

Peyton let out an impatient breath. “That’s not one of the nicer parts of the lake. And it’s dangerous, with steep drop-offs. My friends and I hung out in the more, you know, exclusive areas.”

“Then why were you and so many of your high-school classmates out in that area today?”

“The same reason everyone else was. To see what was going on. You hear lots of police sirens and stuff, you go look. It’s a small town.”

“Okay, I get that. You said you didn’t hang around Tanya. What about Tristan? Did he?”

She made a derisive sound. “You know he’s rich, right?

I mean, his parents are rich. They have homes all over the country and only come here in the cooler months.

For the most part, Tristan has always lived here alone.

Well, except before he turned eighteen they always had a housekeeper.

I mean, it’s not like his parents could leave a minor unsupervised for months, right?

Anyway, no. Tristan never hung with Jericho, I mean Tanya, either.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that cop I heard by the lake was wrong.

The body they found must be Tanya. There’s no reason for Tristan to have even been there. He’s on his gap year.”

“Gap year?” Shanna asked. “Like when someone skips a year after high school before starting college?”

“Exactly. Wish I could have done that but my parents would never go for it. He was due to head off to Europe a few weeks after graduation. That’s the last I heard about him.” She clasped her hands tightly again and looked down at the floor.

Kaden exchanged a knowing look with Shanna.

Peyton Holloway was hiding something. The question was whether it had anything to do with Tristan’s disappearance, or Tanya’s.

Or neither. Nothing she was sharing seemed like anything they could base an investigation upon.

Then again, he wasn’t the PI. Maybe Shanna was getting more out of this than he was.

Shanna continued to press for more details, but the young woman wasn’t very forthcoming. Then Shanna suddenly threw Peyton a curve.

“When was the last time you saw Tanya?”

Peyton stiffened in her chair. “Tanya? I don’t…like I said. We weren’t friends. It’s not like we hung out together. Ever. Look, I’ve answered your questions even though I don’t know anything.” She stood. “It’s getting late. I need to go.”

Shanna checked her phone as she too stood. “It’s only lunchtime. You have an appointment?”

“Appointment. Right. Yes. I have to, ah, be somewhere.”

“Of course. Sorry to have kept you. Thank you for helping.”

“Helping?”

“With our investigation into Tanya’s disappearance.”

“Oh. Right. Sure.” Peyton couldn’t seem to get to the door fast enough, pulling it firmly closed behind her as if to ensure that Shanna wouldn’t follow her.

Shanna turned around at the door. “I screwed that up.”

Kaden crossed to her. “What do you mean?”

“Without being obvious, look past me through the windows. She’s on the phone, isn’t she?”

“She’s backing out but, yeah, looks like she’s talking to someone. Hands-free phone, I’m guessing.”

Shanna swore. “She’s hiding something. And now, she’s telling whoever else knows her secret that we’re on to them.

I should have been more careful, not gone full bulldog on her trying to rattle her.

It could have been more helpful to have a bug in her car before she called whoever she’s speaking to now. We might have learned quite a bit.”

“You’re talking about planting a listening device in her car? Isn’t that illegal?”

“Not if I got approval from law enforcement as part of the murder investigation. I should have talked to the chief before pressing so hard.”

“I don’t think we’ve learned anything useful enough to convince the police to get a warrant. Or did I miss something?”

She headed into the main part of the kitchen area. “How much did you drink before I came inside with Peyton?”

“I was kidding earlier. I didn’t get anything.”

“Perfect. Are you willing to be our designated driver today?”

“You do know it’s not even one in the afternoon, right?”

She grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She opened the bottle and took a deep sip. When she set it on the countertop, Kaden leaned on the raised part of the counter across from her.

“What did you learn from that interview?” he asked.

“That depends.”

“On?”

“On whether Tristan Cargill went missing before or after Tanya.”

He stared at her a long moment. “You suspect Tristan had something to do with Tanya’s disappearance?”

“I think it’s possible that he had some part in it, yes.”

“And then what? Someone found out and killed him, as revenge?”

“Maybe.”