Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
“If this was one of your shows,” Ollie asks as he sits beside me in the back seat of the truck, “what would happen?”
I turn to my brother. Liv is in the front seat with Matt. “Do you watch any of them?”
“Yeah,” Ollie says. “Maybe a better question is how do we avoid an ending like one of your shows?”
“We find her,” Matt says. “It’s after three. She knew your mom was planning a dinner with Jillian at home. I think we can rule out the she doesn’t know she’s missing scenario.”
I turn away and watch the scenes beyond the windows as we travel southwest to Ruby Lake.
While it’s in the same county, it’s two towns and multiple miles away.
As one of the larger lakes in the area, per capita, Ruby has the most seasonal homes.
It isn’t until after we’re fifteen minutes away from Blue Gil that I ask, “How did they get this far away?”
Liv cranes her neck toward the back seat. “We don’t know they’re here. It’s the area that fits the phrogging concept the best.”
“Yes, it does. But reconsider this,” I say.
“Ruby Lake made sense when we were first talking about phrogging, but let’s think about what we know.
Julie and her friend were at the party just east of town.
Her car never moved. No one is admitting to transporting them. How would they get twenty miles away?”
Matt slows the car and pulls off onto a side road.
There’s no traffic as he makes a complete turn, facing back toward the highway. Hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand, he turns, his expression pained and filled with pent-up frustration. “Then what should we do?”
“I say we go back to Blue Gil.” I look from Matt to Liv to Ollie.
“You asked about my shows. Okay, in my show they’re either dead or being held against their will and will most likely not survive.
” Before anyone can speak, I go on. “I’m not saying that’s what’s happening. I’m answering Ollie’s question.”
“Shit, Jillian,” my brother says.
“Oh, come on. You knew the answer. But this isn’t a show. What’s another possibility?”
“They’re found,” Matt repeats.
“Let’s break this down again. Why didn’t Julie take her car?” I ask.
“She was too drunk to drive,” Liv says.
“And?”
“She didn’t want to risk getting pulled over,” she answers.
“Maybe it was more than alcohol,” Matt adds.
“And she didn’t want to go home to Mom and Dad,” Ollie volunteers.
The conversation moves around the car with possibilities as Matt pulls back onto the highway, backtracking the way we’ve come, heading toward Blue Gil.
In the story we’ve concocted, Julie and Marty wandered away from the party, too inebriated to drive.
The possibilities become too numerous if they were given a ride.
“Do we assume they left alone—just the two of them?” Ollie asks.
Liv makes a noise.
“What?” I ask.
From where I’m seated, I can see her shrug her shoulder. In the rearview mirror, her line of vision is out the passenger window.
“Liv?”
“If you’re asking if they might be with guys…”
“Is it a possibility?” I ask.
Liv turns my way. “Are you asking if our sister is a virgin? If you are, I would ask about you at the same age.”
The small hairs on my neck and arms stand to attention. I ignore them. I’m nearly twenty-five years old and have been on my own since graduation. This isn’t about me.
Matt responds, “I’d say any of that harem—”
Liv cuts him off. “No, she’s not a virgin.”
“I wasn’t asking that,” I clarify. “I grew up in Blue Gil, too.” When Liv doesn’t respond, I rephrase my question. “I’m not talking about sex.” It’s my turn to shrug. “Or maybe I am. She and Austin broke up when?”
“After Christmas,” Ollie says. “He was around for all the family stuff.”
There’s another twinge of guilt. I wasn’t around last Christmas or the one before that or...
“I think it was January or February,” Liv replies. “From what Mom and I could figure out, they were on the rocks after the holiday break.”
“So, she’s unattached?” I ask, trying to get everyone on the same page.
There are murmurs of consensus around the car.
“Did she attend prom?” I ask.
“Yes,” Liv answers. “Maybe if you showed any interest—”
“Whoa,” Matt interjects, reaching his hand over to Liv’s knee. “We’re brainstorming.” He lifts his eyes to the rearview mirror. “Jillian, she went with Austin. They’re broken up but are still friends.”
That’s interesting.
“When I spoke to her yesterday afternoon,” I say, “Julie said there were supposed to be a lot of older people at the bonfire, people in town for the funeral.” I look at each person.
“Becky said Austin’s statement was that he left the party early.
I wasn’t at the funeral, but can you come up with a list of people who were there, who might still be here or return? ”
Ollie shakes his head. “The gym was packed.”
“Mom said that football teams came from around the division.”
“On buses,” Matt says. “They also left on buses.”
“That doesn’t mean they didn’t return last night,” Ollie says. “I heard about the party too.”
“From Julie?”
“No, from guys on my high school team.”
“So, it was big?” I ask.
“For Blue Gil, yes,” Ollie says as he brings out his phone. “Maybe there are pictures on social media?” He looks up. “I saw a few last night on Snapchat, but they disappear.”
“You can see whose story it is,” Liv says. “You could contact them and ask. The news of Julie and Marty’s disappearance isn’t official yet.” Her eyes meet mine. “Not enough time has passed.” She turns to Ollie. “Maybe if those people live away, they don’t know.”
“That’s a good idea.” I stare back out the window wondering if Julie is purposely staying away or if there’s more to this.
“I’m not victim blaming,” I preface. “And as it’s been pointed out, I haven’t been paying attention. For my own sanity I need to ask, does anyone think Julie would do this on purpose?”
“Run away?” Ollie asks.
“Would she?”
“Not two weeks before her graduation,” Liv says.
That makes sense.
“I get the feeling,” I begin, “that Sheriff Manes is handling this differently than he did Crai—Coach Gilbert’s disappearance.”
This time, it’s Matt who scoffs. “Yes.”
“People learn from their mistakes,” I offer.
“It’s different,” my brother says as we move closer to Blue Gil. “For one thing, Julie is seventeen.”
I know that. “What about Marty?”
No one answers. It’s Liv who shrugs. “I don’t know for sure.”
“No matter their age,” Ollie says, “around here, they’re still kids.” He shakes his head. “We all are and will be forever in Blue Gil. Coach came here as an adult. An adult man was missing, and people gave him the benefit of the doubt that his status was voluntary.”
“Why?” I ask with genuine concern.
“It was only at first,” Ollie says as we enter the outskirts of Blue Gil. “The word I heard from people I’m still friends with was that Coach skipped town. You know, like there was trouble in his perfect marriage.” There’s an insincere intonation to the way he ended that sentence.
Serena and Joey at the mini-mart comes to mind. I continue staring out the window, hoping someone else will encourage my brother’s thoughts to continue.
“Mrs. Coach didn’t report him missing. The school did,” Ollie goes on.
“But if he normally goes to work, how would she know that he wasn’t at work?” I ask.
“Some think he went missing before that morning.”
“The night before?” My eyes grow wide as I turn to my brother. “Why? That isn’t in anything I read.”
“No, it wouldn’t be.” He makes a noise as he peers down at his phone. “I think I saw her picture at the party last night.”
“Her?” Liv asks.
“The coach’s wife. It was one picture and it was dark. I might be wrong.”
Before our conversation can progress, all our cell phones go off with a text message. Ollie is the first to read it aloud. “Dad wants to know where we are.”
I text back, telling everyone what I’m writing.
“WE’RE ON OUR WAY BACK TO BLUE GIL. DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING?”
My phone pings.
“YES. JULIE WAS FOUND. SHE’S BEING RUSHED TO brONSON HOSPITAL IN KALAMAZOO.”