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Color rose on Larkin’s cheekbones. “I didn’t know that, either.”
“The counselor left you a message. I heard her do it.”
Larkin rose, shuffled through the stack of pink message slips on her desk, then sighed. “Yes, she did. I just hadn’t read it yet.” She returned to her seat. “What happened?”
“The counselor stayed with him when I was finished questioning him. She called social services and was going to try to convince the mother to get him admitted to a facility for treatment right away. The kid’s depression was off the charts.” And he’d been clutching Sam Reeves’s business card like it was a talisman that could ward off anything bad.
“Thank you for taking such care with him,” Larkin said, her voice thick with emotion. “That poor boy.”
The principal should be thanking Sam Reeves, Kit thought. If Sam hadn’t warned her, she might have inadvertently made things worse for Nathan.
“My parents are foster parents,” Kit said. “I’ve seen a lot of children in a lot of emotional pain. I know the drill.” She shifted in her chair, meeting the principal’s eyes. “His mother was sleeping off a drunk episode this morning, but Nathan filled us in on what might be important details. First of all, he told us that there had been rumors floating around at the time of Naomi’s disappearance that she’d failed to tell her friends about an upcoming audition. That this was why she’d run away. And that her friends had turned on her afterward.”
Nathan had, in fact, corroborated everything that Sam had told her last night.
Larkin sighed. “Teenagers do that. Hear a rumor, spread it. Amplify it. Then another student’s life is upended and they’re suddenly a pariah. Canceled, as they say. That happened to Naomi.”
“Do you know what the audition was for?”
“I don’t. I asked at the time because she’d gone missing and her parents were frantic. But the kids closed ranks. Nobody talked. Of course, they made it seem like they were confused and didn’t know.” She lifted a shoulder helplessly. “Teenagers.”
“I get it.” Kit had been a champion deflector back then, able to bat her eyes innocently with the best of them. Only Harlan and Betsy had seen through her charade. “We’re trying to establish this killer’s MO. How did he target his victims? How did he communicate with them? We have reason to believe that Naomi went willingly the night she disappeared.”
Larkin’s eyes widened. “You think it was someone from the school? From the drama department?”
Kit might have, had it not been for the fact that every known victim had come from a different school. It still wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. “I didn’t say that. What I am saying is that she might have been lured by the promise of this audition.”
“Because the other victims were also into theater?”
Kit nodded. The damn reporter had shared that little fact as well. “Yes, ma’am. Are any of the students who got Naomi canceled still attending the school?”
“Yes. Naomi disappeared in February of her freshman year. Her classmates are seniors now.” Larkin closed her eyes. “Naomi should be graduating next month.”
Kit thought the same about Wren every time she saw a high school graduation in the paper or on TV. “Can you call these seniors into your office? I’d like to ask them what they remember.”
“One at a time or all at once?”
“One at a time, please.”
“We’ll start with her best friend, Madison.” Returning to her desk, Larkin called the student to the front office.
Ten minutes later, a perky brunette wearing an outfit that cost more than Kit’s whole wardrobe knocked on the door. “Mrs.Larkin? I was told to—” She stopped when she saw Kit. “What’s wrong?” she asked suspiciously.
“This is Detective McKittrick. She’s got some questions for you about Naomi Beckham.”
“Like what?”
Larkin pointed to the chair next to Kit. “Have a seat, Madison. You’re in no trouble. The police have reopened the case of Naomi’s disappearance.”
Madison’s eyes were bright blue—probably colored contacts—and were extremely wary as she sat. “Okay.”
Kit had known girls like her when she was younger. Madison gave off a Mean Girls vibe. Definitely a queen bee.
Pasting on a tentative smile, Kit hunched her shoulders a little and the girl took the bait, both her smile and her gaze sharpening. Sensing weakness. Blood in the water.
All the better to lower Madison’s guard.
“Madison, you were Naomi’s best friend back then?”
