30. Lottie
Lottie
“ Y ou shouldn’t go.”
My head drops back, and I barely contain my groan. “For the millionth time, we will be in a public place, and they’re Crystal’s former students.”
“And for all you know, they could’ve been the ones to kill her.” Teddy’s hands are on his hips, his muscles tight as he stares at me from across my bedroom.
I have to force myself to focus on our infuriating conversation instead of his drool-worthy tattoos. “What do you want from me? I have a job to do. I can’t just drop off the face of the Earth.”
He huffs out a breath. “You’ve never gotten a threatening message before.”
I bristle. “How would you know?”
Teddy spears me with a look that makes me deflate. He’s annoyingly right. I’ve never been threatened while covering a case. There’s only been one time I’ve felt in danger, and that was because the man I wanted to interview was a little too sleazy with me. It had nothing to do with the case.
“I still don’t know what you want me to do.
I have to go. It’s my job.” I close the distance between us to wrap my arms around his waist. He’s stiff for half a second before he melts into my embrace.
“I know you want me to be safe. But isn’t this even more of a reason to keep investigating?
This asshole is out there threatening people.
Who’s to say he hasn’t hurt multiple other women since Crystal’s disappearance? ”
“Why does it have to be you, though? The police can take it from here.”
“Because they’ve done such a great job so far?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
Disapproval lines his face. “They’re still better equipped than you are.”
“Maybe, but no one else is looking for her. Sheriff Lansing can’t continue investigating a cold case, so who better than me to try to find her killer?”
“I’m going with you, then. I don’t trust that you won’t be ambushed or something when you get there.”
“I will only accept this compromise if you keep your distance. Your mean mug would scare even the innocent away.”
He frowns. “I do not mean mug.”
“You’re doing it right now.”
I start giggling when Teddy tries to relax his face. All it does is make him scarier.
“Fine. I’ll stay away, but I will remain within hearing distance. Got it?”
I press up onto my toes to kiss him. “Got it.”
“Thank you so much for doing this.” Tara shakes my hand, making her blonde, kinky-curled hair bounce. “It means more than you know.”
Cadence steps up next to Tara. They’re wearing matching In Memory of Crystal Mansgrove T-shirts. “Seriously. We’re very grateful to have such a popular podcast shining a light on Ms. Mansgrove’s case.”
Their enthusiasm sets me at ease as we find a seat in the coffee shop in Greensboro.
Neutral ground felt like the right decision all around for this meeting.
Teddy is already sitting at a two-top table a few spots away from an open four-person table.
It’s as if we’re on a covert mission or something.
I guarantee he’s kept that table free for us.
I direct the girls to it, knowing Teddy would be pissed if we sat anywhere else. I’m slightly tempted to find out what he’d do to me if I disobeyed his request, but that’s not something I should think about before a podcast interview.
“Zachary and Steven should be here soon. They’re the last of our admin group we’ve created,” Candace says as we sit. Tara drags two more chairs over from the table between ours and Teddy’s.
I grab out my equipment to get things set up while we wait.
While researching Crystal’s former students, I came across a memorial Facebook group for her.
I was touched to see people were still posting despite it being over a decade since she went missing.
I immediately reached out to Candace and Tara, the two main admins of the group, to set up this meeting.
Zachary and Steven are the other two moderators and asked to join our chat today.
I was more than happy to have the extra people.
Candance swipes her black hair over her shoulder. “Have there been any more issues from the shit stirrer?”
“Thankfully, no.” Tara turns to me. “We had this guy join the group who would comment on every post to start arguments. Mostly disagreeing with someone’s theory or saying nobody cared about Crystal anymore. It was super weird, and we finally had to kick him out of the group.”
I perk up. “Do you know who it was?”
“It said his name was Daniel, but I don’t believe it was a real name. His profile screamed fake, so we think he just got off on making trouble for everyone.”
Zachary and Steven walk up to the table before I can ask any more questions. I stand and hold my hand out. “I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Zachary.” He’s the complete opposite of Steven, with black hair and brown eyes. Even his skin tone is darker.
Steven smiles at me. “It’s good to meet you. Thank you for doing this.” He swipes a hand over his blond hair and sits next to Candace. “How are you two?”
“Good.”
“Can’t complain.”
Zachary sits next to me, and once we’re all settled, I start my spiel.
“Thank you guys for agreeing to meet with me. It’s not always easy to talk about stuff like this, so I appreciate you taking the time to chat.
If it’s okay with you, I’m going to record our interview.
I likely won’t use all of it for the podcast, but I promise not to change anything you say to make it sound inflammatory. Authenticity is my biggest priority.”
“We know.” Tara smiles at me.
“We listened to a couple of seasons after you reached out to us. You’re really great at your job,” Candace adds.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” I look at Steven and Zachary. “Are you two okay with me recording the interview?”
Zachary nods. “Fine with me.”
“Me, too,” Steven says.
“Okay, let’s start with introductions. Please state your name, the years you were in high school, and what class you took with Crystal.”
All four do their introductions. They were in the same graduating class and had drama class with Crystal, although at different times of the day.
“Tell me about your relationships with Ms. Mansgrove. What did you think of her?”
Tara jumps in immediately. “I loved her. I’ve always been a theater nerd, and to have a teacher who loved drama as much as I did was the best. I got lucky enough to have her for three years straight.”
“She never let me get away with shit.” Zachary huffs out a laugh.
“You were always trying to get her to react,” Candace says.
“And she never gave in?” I grin.
Zachary shakes his head. “Not for a second. She made me want to be a better person.”
“She believed in us misfits when nobody else did,” Steven says with a solemnity you can’t fake.
“Seriously. I never had a teacher who treated me with respect like her. I lived in an unkempt trailer and had a shitty home life. Not a single one of my teachers gave me the time of day except for her.” Tara’s words are met with nods from the rest of the group.
“How did you find out she was missing?” I ask.
Candace looks at Steven. “She was supposed to meet with Steven and me for an extra practice session that night. We had a big play coming up, and neither of us could figure out the dance routine.”
“She never showed,” Steven says. “We thought she just forgot, but then the next day at school, we had a substitute teacher. We all thought it was weird. She’d never missed a day of school before. Not without warning.”
“Then the rumors started flying.” Tara rolls her eyes. “People were saying she ran away or was murdered. None of us could figure out the truth until the police showed up to question all of us in her class.”
“That was awful. I thought they were blaming us because we were supposed to have met with her that night,” Candace says.
“The police singled you out?” I frown.
Steven clenches his teeth. “Big time. I was tempted to say I did it just to get them to stop interviewing me. It was awful.”
“How scary. Especially when you were only teenagers.” I make notes as we continue to chat. I want to explore the meeting Crystal was supposed to have with Candace and Steven. How many people knew she did that? Who knew she had a meeting that night?
I manage to squeeze those questions in naturally, and the answers are insightful.
Candace said Crystal did that for every play they produced.
If a few students were struggling with learning lines or choreography, they would schedule extra time to work on it—usually on a weekend.
The whole cast also knew who needed the extra help.
Crystal wasn’t shy about calling them out or telling them to find a time to practice with her.
But the most important question remains. What happened between the last time Crystal was seen at the grocery store and when she was supposed to meet her students?