Page 36 of Where Daisies Breathe (Star Meadows #2)

“True.” I contemplate everything we’ve discovered. “What do you even think this is? Like a cult?”

His fingers briefly stop moving on the keyboard. “I don’t want to label it that just yet.”

Just yet. However, that means he might later, once we’ve found out more.

If that turns out to be the case, then it means my parents were in a cult.

Which means I was, too.

It takes all of my willpower not to crumble. But I keep focusing forward on the future,, where hopefully some answers will finally be uncovered from the graves that have been sealed for years.

Ellis and I continue doing our research.

I spend some time looking at the photo of the photo we found up on top of the cliff—the real one is sealed up in evidence.

I’m trying to figure out if I know this girl in the photo.

She looks vaguely familiar. At this point, that probably means I have met her, but my brain has erased her from my psyche.

If I had to guess, though, I wonder if she’s related to my aunt.

Eventually, we call it a night. Ellis walks me to my car.

The sun is setting behind the peaks of the mountains, casting a bleak look on the sky.

Ellis waits for me to pull out of the parking lot before walking back toward the hotel.

We agreed to meet up tomorrow morning before I go to the wake so we can go over details and he can set me up with a recording device.

My nerves are buzzing by the time I arrive at the house where Clara and I are staying, but I attempt to calm down before walking in to avoid adding to her stress.

“Hey,” I greet her as I enter the house.

She’s lounging on the sofa with Bailey curled up by her feet, and she has her laptop open. The moment I note her expression, it becomes evident that her mood matches mine.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I toss the keys and my bag onto the end table.

“Well, I was bored, and so I stupidly started reading up on the body that was found the other day. And that led me down this rabbit hole I really wish I’d never gone down.

” She sits up and lowers her feet to the floor.

“Did you know that Star Meadows isn’t the only town where a girl was found dead with a word cut into her flesh?

It happened one other time in this small town in Utah. ”

I freeze, my back stiffening, my heart going eerily still in my chest. “What’s the name of the town?”

“Forkfield… Why do you look so pale suddenly?” she asks me. “Wait… Is that the town you lived in before your family moved here?”

I nod, sinking into a chair. “It is.” My throat is congested with words that are terrified to come out, threatening to choke me to death. “How is it that Ellis hasn’t found this yet?”

“Well, none of this information is from any newspaper articles. People were discussing it on this thread I accidentally stumbled upon. I guess it’s considered just a rumor, and the police never confirmed it.

But a few ex-cops have gotten on the thread and say that they were there when this girl’s body was found.

But the police labeled her death as an overdose, so the case was closed.

One person said that this detail was erased from the girl’s autopsy report and the police reports, but that they saw the word on the girl’s body when she was found.

” She glances back at the screen. “There’s been speculation that more girls have been found like this, but it’s been covered up. ”

“Just like in Star Meadows,” I mutter, reclining back on the sofa. “Can you show me the thread?”

She nods, tucking a strand of her blond hair behind her ear before handing me her laptop. “It’s open on the page. I haven’t read through all of it yet.”

I set the laptop on my lap and begin reading through the thread.

Clara stands up. “I’m going to make us some coffee.”

I glance at her. “You want to drink caffeine this late?”

“Oh, absolutely, because I sure as hell am not going to be able to sleep. Might as well enjoy being wired, right?” She smiles before making her way into the kitchen.

I return my focus to reading. I reread all the information Clara had already told me about and then continued. Eventually, she hands me a coffee. I take a sip as I pause on a particular section of the thread.

“It says this girl’s body was found in a park near the mountains—just like that girl that was just found.

” And that the word cut into her back was…

slut .” I gulp down another swallow. “So, whoever cut me up that night may have been the same person who killed this girl.” The words roll off my tongue and shatter against the air, sending slivers of fragments in the air that are razor sharp.

Could the killer be in my family? Could it be Trystan? My uncle? Jason?

But Jason didn’t live in Forkfield, at least from what I’m aware of.

“What do you mean: whoever cut you the other night?” Clara’s worried voice drags me from my thoughts. “When did you get cut?”

Shit. I forgot I hadn’t told her about that yet.

“What’re you talking about, Aves?” she asks again as she settles on the cushion beside me with a coffee mug in her hand.

“I…” I stare at her. I’ve been trying to gather up the courage to tell her. I don’t want to, but I think I need to. Summoning a deep breath, I set the coffee down on the table in front of me. “There’s some stuff I still need to tell you. Stuff that’s happened to me.”

By the time I finished telling her everything that happened from the night at the bar to today, plus showing her the mark on my side, she’s absolutely horrified.

She has the coffee mug cupped in her hands but hasn’t taken a sip since I started talking.

She hasn’t said much either. Her silence is unnerving, and I worry she’s upset.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just…” Exhaling, I collect my coffee and take a drink. “It’s hard to talk about. Plus… I have this bad habit of keeping secrets because that’s what I was taught to do.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. I just wish you had felt like you could’ve told me sooner.”

“It had nothing to do with you.”

“I know, but I still wish you could have. I mean, I was there that night when you were cut.”

“I know, but you said you can barely remember anything.”

“I can’t really, but I’m going to try. Maybe mediation will help.

” She considers this before setting her coffee down on the table.

“I’m going to work on trying to dig up some sort of memory of that night, but first, I have to ask: Should we be worried about one of your family members showing up here?

Could that have been why Bailey was acting weird earlier?

Because one of them was creeping around here? ”

“I’m not sure.” My attention strays to the unlocked front door. I get up and slide the lock over before facing her. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a flight home? Or drive my car? I can pay for the gas?—”

“Nope.” She holds up her hand in front of her. “We’re not going there again. I may be freaked out, but I am not bailing on you. We drive home together, bestie, no matter what.”

She sounds so much like Clover that it’s alarming.

“Now, I’m going to meditate for a few minutes while you finish reading that thread.” She pushes to her feet. “And then we’re going to turn on a happy movie to fall asleep to, or else I’m going to have nightmares.” She exits the room.

I return to the sofa and continue reading through the thread. I do that for a while. Most of the people on it appear to be out-of-towners who are into true crime and have heard whispers of rumors about alleged murders that were covered up there.

A few people who live in Forkfield reply to some of the questions.

The one I stay focused on the most is the man claiming to be the officer from Forkfield.

He gives details of the account from what he witnessed, and those are chillingly similar to the girls found in Star Meadows.

Stuff like words carved on their flesh, bodies found in a forests or park areas near the woods, and all of the girls were known for drug addictions.

But as I reach the bottom, the conversation shifts to someone with the handler, MysteriousFlowerField joins the conversation.

MysteriousFlowerField436: It’s funny everyone thinks this is only happening in Forkfield.

Badgeofthestorm113: Do you know another town that’s had similar deaths? Because if you do, maybe we can connect them somehow.

MysteriousFlowerField436: The question should be, what towns don’t have their lies and deceit? However, if you’re looking for a specific town, try searching for towns located north of Forkfield, particularly those situated in the middle of the woods.

Badgeofthestorm113: That description fits many towns.

MysteriousFlowerField436: True. But you say you’re an officer, so you should be able to figure it out. No crime can be wiped entirely clean unless you get rid of all the weeds. And that’s never possible. Weeds always grow back.

The officer doesn’t respond, and that conversation happened over a month ago.

Strange, but even more strange is the name MysteriousFlowerField436 .

I could be overthinking, reaching too far, basing the assumption on hope.

But I can’t help but think of Clover. Flowers and Clover.

And Camilla said Clover hid her secrets in the daisies.

Maybe this girl in the thread is Camilla.

Perhaps she’s the girl pretending to be Clover.

Or if I’m being my totally crazy self, maybe this is Clover.

I’m seriously losing my mind, but there’s no going back now. I may regret what I do later, but I might not.

I create an account, using an alias and creating the handler runnermountaingurl387 :

Then I type a reply:

runnermountaingurl387: Is the town you’re referring to Star Meadows? Do you know what happens in the woods out there?

It might be a risky move, but I’m learning that playing it safe isn’t always the best way to get answers.

It’s how secrets stay buried.