Chapter Five #4
“Talia.” Emmy leaned toward the girl. She knew in her gut that Talia was hiding something more important than skipping school. “Baby, it’s all right to tell me if Mandy was seeing anybody. A couple of people have already told me the truth. You’d just be confirming what I already know.”
Talia’s gaze went back to her mother.
Valerie said, “You need to be honest.”
Talia swallowed so hard that her throat made a sound. “Mandy told me she was seeing somebody, but …”
Emmy waited for her to finish the sentence.
“It’s a secret ’cause he’s older.”
Emmy felt her stomach clench. “Older like my son?”
Talia’s gaze flitted toward Cole before resting back on the handkerchief. “I don’t know. She never said.”
“Did she tell you his name?”
“No, ma’am. She wasn’t allowed to ’cause it was a secret and her mom would get really mad if she found out they were spending time alone together.”
“My God.” Valerie’s hand went to her heart. “Was he ever alone with you?”
Talia shook her head. She was more alert now, being careful with her words. “I think I saw her get in his car once but they were really far away so I didn’t see his face or what kind of car it was. I promise.”
Emmy kept her voice calm. “Did Mandy describe the man, or give you any details about who he was?”
Talia shook her head. “She never talked about him. She said they would both get into really bad trouble if people found out.”
Emmy paused to think through the next part, because relationships between girls were complicated. “Would Skylar Guthrie know? My son told me that she was one of Mandy’s friends, too.”
Talia shook her head again. “Mandy wasn’t talking to Skylar lately. They were mad at each other.”
“Do you know why?”
“No, ma’am.”
Emmy couldn’t tell if she was being truthful, but she moved on. “Let’s talk about this older man. How long had Mandy known him?”
Another shoulder shrug. “A few months?”
“Do you know how much time they spent together?”
Again, she shrugged, but said, “A lot, ’cause she stopped hanging around with me as much, like, especially the last few weeks.”
“Okay.” Emmy tried to regroup. “This next question might sound bad, but I promise you, no one will be in trouble. Have you ever heard Mandy say the name Woody?”
“Oh.” Talia’s eyes went wide in surprise. She clearly knew who Woody was. “No, ma’am. Mandy would never.”
“That’s not the name of the older man she was seeing?”
“No, ma’am. He was older than that. At least she made it seem like he was. He had a real job and everything.”
“What kind of job?”
“She didn’t say, only that he got paid and sometimes he bought things for her.”
“Do you know what things he bought?”
Talia was sitting up straighter now. She shook her head.
Emmy pressed, “Was Mandy using drugs?”
“Drugs?” Valerie sounded aghast. She squeezed Talia’s hand. “Have you been using drugs?”
“No,” Talia said. “Mom, obviously not.”
“Nothing is obvious,” Valerie insisted. “You never told me any of this. Mandy’s hanging out with a grown man, doing drugs, skipping school, lying to her mother?”
“God, Mom. Mandy’s probably gonna die and you’re worried we smoked some weed?”
“Weed?” Valerie’s voice trilled up. “When did you start smoking weed?”
“Jesus!”
Emmy was helpless to stop the girl when she pushed herself up from the couch and stomped down the hallway.
“Talia!” Valerie had stood, too. She threw her hands into the air in frustration. She asked Emmy, “Should I have her tested for drugs? What if she’s doing fentanyl?”
Emmy wasn’t going to weigh in. “Do you mind answering some questions for me about Mandy?”
“I don’t think I know anything about her.” Valerie sat back down. She was clearly still angry. “Mandy’s practically lived here since the first grade. Apparently, she’s been putting on an act this entire time.”
“Valerie, Mandy’s still a child. Does it really matter if she skipped school and lied to her mother? My jail would be full if I went after every kid in town who made a stupid mistake.”
Valerie shook her head. The anger was gone. Now there was only self-recrimination. “What did I miss?”
“If you’re like me, you missed everything. Teenagers hide stuff from their parents. It’s a rite of passage. Normally, it doesn’t matter. This time, it does.”
Valerie let her head fall into her hand. “I’m not sure I can add anything to what Talia’s already told you.”
“Did you notice a change in Mandy lately?”
She was obviously about to say no, but then she stopped herself. “Actually, she seemed lighter lately. More like she was before Bill came into the picture.”
Emmy gave her time to think.
“Mandy was effervescent as a child. So funny and light. The first time Talia brought her home, I was delighted. She was just such a beautiful, sweet girl.”
Emmy knew there was a second part.
“And then things started getting serious between Allison and Bill and—” Valerie huffed out a breath.
“I didn’t put it together at the time, but I’ve been reading these posts online about people seeing Allison with a black eye or a cut lip.
She’d say it happened at work, but I don’t think that’s true.
It makes sense that Mandy changed, especially when they all moved in together.
I guess that was six years ago? She became quieter, more introspective.
I thought it was tween stuff. Talia was a handful at that age, believe me.
Moody and angry one minute, happy and excited the next.
But Mandy’s swings were darker, more serious. I should’ve noticed, but I didn’t.”
Emmy knew how easy it was to miss things. “Did Mandy ever confide in you about anything?”
“No, she was very hesitant to open up. Now that I know what was happening at home, I understand why. She never invited Talia to sleep overnight once they moved in with Bill. I should’ve seen that something was off.”
“Did you ever have any conversations with Mandy?”
She chewed her lip. “It was always very superficial—How’s school? What are you enjoying? What are you reading? We never talked about anything deeper than that.”
“What about Allison? Did you know her very well?”
“We were mom friends, but her world was so different from mine. I look at spreadsheets all day. She chases bad guys. Or at least she used to. I heard she’s been doing private investigator stuff since she retired, but it’s been years since I’ve had a real sit-down with her.
I’m a single mother with a mortgage. I have to triage my time. ”
Emmy knew exactly what she meant. “You said that you asked Mandy about school. Did she ever talk about teachers she liked? Maybe she confided in one of them.”
“She never mentioned anyone. I know that Talia loves your brother, Tommy. She was in his advanced history class before he retired to take care of your—oh, no—” Valerie’s hand fluttered to her heart. She looked aghast. “Your mother’s funeral was today.”
The piece of glass lodged itself back in Emmy’s throat.
“I’m so sorry. With all that’s happened, I had forgotten.”
Emmy worked to keep her expression neutral, but the wrongness flowed back into her body. She had forgotten her own mother’s funeral, too. “Thank you.”
Valerie said, “I can’t imagine how you’re handling all of this.”
“Thank you,” Emmy repeated. Her voice had a strange echo inside of her head. The room suddenly felt claustrophobic. How had she let herself forget?
“Ms. Wilkinson,” Cole said. “I wonder if you would mind if I asked Talia to show me her phone?”
“Her phone?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cole gave Emmy a careful look before turning back to Valerie. “It might help us identify the older man that Mandy was seeing. I’d only need to look at Snap or Discord to get the connections. Do you think she’d be open to showing me?”
“I think so, yes.”
“I’ve got this, boss.” Cole gave Emmy that same, careful look again. “You can take the cruiser. I’ll walk back to the station.”
“Okay.” Emmy started to leave, but sheer repetition put the right words in her mouth. “Valerie, I appreciate your cooperation. We’ll do everything we can to make sure we get justice for Allison’s family.”
Valerie shook her hand. “Thank you, Sheriff.”
Emmy grabbed at the Velcro straps around her duty vest as she walked out the front door. She got no relief from pulling the heavy ballistic panels away from her body.
The next few minutes skipped forward like a bad recording.
She was opening the door. Cranking the engine.
Driving down the street. Two right-hand turns put her in the station parking lot.
She was out of the car. She was walking through the squad room.
She bypassed her father’s office. The office they had shared for ten years.
Emmy’s office alone for the last six weeks.
Then she was pushing open the bathroom door.
Then she was on her knees in front of the toilet coughing up strings of bile.
Emmy sat back on her heels. Her brain felt like it was throbbing against her skull.
She could hear a ticking sound coming from the dripping faucet because no one in this station ever bothered to turn it all the way off.
She looked up at the bright overhead lights.
Sniffed to clear her nose. Forced herself back into her body.
Felt the ache in her tailbone. The twinge in her shoulder.
The tightness in her back where the muscles were looking for an excuse to seize.
“Jesus,” she whispered. She was turning into a basket case. Even Cole had noticed, which meant that Emmy had managed to unlock a new level of bad parenting.