26
Noelle had tried three times to call Elise Nunevillier’s parents in South Carolina, waiting an hour each time before trying again.
There wasn’t an option to leave a message; it simply rang and rang.
In between calls, she’d searched fruitlessly for another way to contact the parents.
If she didn’t reach them by this evening—East Coast time—she’d ask the local PD to go knock on their door.
Again she studied the photo of Elise in the mailbox store, trying to picture the part of her face that was hidden by the brim of the cap.
Something about the photo made her skin itch.
Evan and Max had had a little bit better luck with their Elise assignments.
They’d reached two restaurants in Boise where Elise had waited tables.
But the managers had been rather unhelpful, only verifying that she had worked in their restaurants.
They wouldn’t share the name of anyone she’d seemed to be good friends with.
The manager of the last restaurant she’d worked at, which had the unfortunate name of Chug they all wore boots.
Noelle zoomed in and saw Layla was wearing the boots she’d been murdered and buried in.
Damn.
Noelle studied each woman’s face, wondering if she’d spot Elise or Sydney Beason.
None of the other women were familiar. She checked the photo for tags, hoping to find names and profiles for them, but oddly no one was tagged.
She searched Facebook for Layla’s name and came up empty.
Curious, she put in Elise’s and Sydney’s names. Also no accounts.
People are moving away from social media.
Her phone rang. It was the number she’d just called for Pia Jones.
“Detective Marshall.”
There was a pause, and then a woman tentatively said, “You called me a few minutes ago about Layla.”
“Pia Jones?”
“Yes. Did you find her? Is she okay?” The hope in her tone broke Noelle’s heart.
“I’m sorry, Pia, but Layla’s body was found here in Deschutes County.”
A loud intake of air. “Oh my God. Oh my God! What happened to her?” Her voice cracked.
“It appears she was murdered, Pia,” Noelle said gently. “Possibly a month or two ago.”
“A month? And you’re just now calling me? Did you catch who did it?”
“We found her this past weekend and she was identified yesterday. I’m part of a large law enforcement team determined to find her killer.”
There was a pause as she listened to Pia’s gasping breaths. “Are you sure it’s—”
“We’re positive,” said Noelle. “I know this is a hard time, but I have questions about Layla. You were obviously close to her since you reported her missing.” Noelle eyed the photo of the six happy women again.
“Pretty close,” said Pia. “I mean, I hadn’t known her that long, but we’d hit it off right away.”
“Did Layla ever mention that someone might want to hurt her?”
“No. I told the Boise police that. Everyone thought she was great. Lots of fun.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“It was about a week before I filled out the missing persons report. We’d had coffee at Starbucks and were planning a birthday party for another friend.
A few days after that, I texted her about the party and she didn’t reply.
I didn’t think too much of it. We all forget to text people back sometimes.
But then I sent a few texts in a row and she still didn’t answer.
I tried to call her and got her voicemail.
That’s when I went to her apartment and then called the police. ”
“I’ve spoken with her parents. Were you aware they were estranged from Layla?”
“I know she hadn’t spoken to her mom in years. She told me her mom wouldn’t stop trying to run her life. She’d occasionally hear from her dad, though.”
“Do you know when she moved to Idaho? Her Oregon driver’s license was still active when she died.”
“Ummm. I think sometime last November. I met her around Thanksgiving at a country bar during their dance lessons. You know, where you go early to learn the line dances and stuff? Layla stood out. She was really good. I told her that and then we hit it off.”
“Did she have any boyfriends?”
“Guys were always hitting on her, and she never lacked for dance partners, but I don’t think she went on any actual dates.
She liked going to the bar with a girls group and had told me she just wanted to have fun, not get involved with anyone.
She didn’t exactly say it, but I got the impression she’d dated a controlling guy, or he was a jerk or something. ”
“Did she ever say anyone at the bar gave her the creeps? Or maybe she gave a certain guy a wide berth.”
“I thought long and hard about that when I filled out the police report. There really wasn’t anyone.”
“What about at her job?”
“She never talked about it except to tell me how boring it was.”
I’m not getting anything useful.
“I’d really hoped you were calling with good news,” Pia said in a small voice. “But when a cop personally calls you, it’s never good. I can’t believe she’s gone. It’s taken me months to get out of the habit of texting her.”
“Who else do you think could answer questions about Layla’s life there in Boise?”
Pia was quiet for a long moment. “I was her closest friend here. We hung out with several other women, but I’m pretty sure I was the only one she talked to about shit.”
“Can you send me some photos you have of her? And identify the other people in the pictures too, please.” Noelle decided not to tell Pia she’d stalked her Facebook account. “I haven’t found Layla’s social media,” she said in a casual voice. “Do you know where she had accounts?”
“She doesn’t have any,” said Pia. “I thought that was pretty weird, but she said she’d closed them all because she was sick of drama.”
Okay. There could be something more to that.
“Like avoiding her parents?”
“That, and I think she’d had some friendships go bad in Oregon. I don’t know any names,” she added quickly. “She was never specific about what happened. Just that her life was quieter now.”
“Do you think the move to Boise was for the same purpose? To get away from her previous life?”
“Isn’t that why anyone moves?” asked Pia. “Fresh starts? Unless you have to move for work or something.”
That’s how I ended up in Bend.
Noelle had wanted to get away from the bad memories in Sacramento and put space between herself and her ex-husband’s family.
“Where was she after she left Boise?” asked Pia. “If I reported her missing three months ago and you think she died a month or two ago, where was she during that time?”
“I don’t have an answer to that,” said Noelle.
Was she held against her will?
Or did she leave willingly and then things went south?
Layla had left her cell phone and car behind. There’d been no activity on her bank accounts or credit cards. That didn’t sound willing.
Someone had her.
But who? Where?
Noelle thanked Pia for her time and told her to call if she thought of anything else that could be helpful.
She sat for several moments at her desk, trying to think of why someone would hold Layla captive for more than a month and then kill her. Why wait?
Sydney Beason hadn’t been gone for very long. She’d disappeared on Wednesday and been found on Sunday. The medical examiner believed she’d died within twenty-four hours of when she was last seen on Wednesday.
Could Layla have left her apartment on her own? Purposefully leaving things behind and then crossing paths with the wrong person?
Or she thought she was leaving with the right person. And paid for it with her life.
Noelle rubbed the back of her head, a headache starting to bloom. She got her medication out of her purse and swallowed the pills with lukewarm coffee.
Is the same person holding Elise? Or Belle? Both?
They needed more leads.
We need to identify the other remains.