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“Do you think he still goes there?”
My mom shakes her head. “I doubt that. He would have graduated by now.”
She’s right.
Still, something is off with that school, and I’m determined to find out what it is.
“I FEEL LIKE A CRIMINAL, and it’s exhilarating,” Paulie whispers, clapping his hands together. “Is this how you feel all the time hanging with those gorgeous bikers?”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. “A little less sneaky, they just go in and cause trouble.”
“Guys, shhh,” Halo hisses.
Paulie looks to me, and his eyes widen, then he grins.
He’s such a troublemaker.
We scour the hall once more and then unlock Alyssa’s door. Stepping into the room is eerie in a way that sends chills up my spine. Something to do with the fact that she spent her last moments in this room before going to that shower. At least, that’s the story they’re telling everyone. I’m starting to believe nobody actually has a decent lead on this case.
Which is why we’re standing in the room, staring at the dark space.
“I don’t know where to start,” Halo croaks, and my heart breaks for her.
Walking over, I stop in front of her and offer my warmest smile. “If you don’t want to be in here, we understand.”
She swipes a tear from her face and shakes her head. “No, I want to find out who did this, too.”
The room has mostly been cleared out. There are no signs of any electronic devices, or anything that could have evidence on it. By the looks of it, they have even taken some of her clothes. I’m sure they have scoured this room, but if I were to guess, I would say they assume they know who did it – points to myself – and because of that, they might have left something.
Cocky bastards always think they’ve got it right, when half the damn time they’re wrong.
“I think we need to look in places they wouldn’t think, places only a young girl would hide things,” I say, staring around the room. “Like behind furniture, under floorboards, under dressers ...”
Paulie gives me an impressed look. “I’m not sure if I should be scared or ...”
I laugh, cutting him off. “I like true crime. Come on, let’s get to work before we get into trouble.”
We all start looking around the room, quietly moving furniture and looking under things like her mattress and dresser. Nothing is showing up, but I’m convinced there must be something here, something that could help. Getting down on my hands and knees, I use my phone to look under all the furniture and that’s when I notice what looks like a photo all the way at the back of her dresser, on the ground, kind of tucked behind the curtain.
Stretching my fingers out, I push my arm under it as far as I can and grasp the photo, pulling it out.
Using my phone, I flip the picture over and stare at it. It’s ripped, and the heads of the two people have been torn off, but it is a photo of a couple. I can’t tell who they are, but it’s without a doubt been torn in a fit of rage. I know, I’ve done it. Turning to Halo, I usher her over, and she takes the photo from me, studying it.
“That’s Alyssa, for sure. And it’s recent because she only just got that purse.”
She points to a pretty black purse Alyssa has clutched under her arm. The man with her has a hand dangling over her shoulder. He seems to be built fairly well, nicely toned and muscled, and he’s wearing a black tee and a pair of faded jeans. His brown suede shoes and her pretty red dress tell me that they were maybe going somewhere nice.
Squinting, I try to take note of what’s in the background.
“I know where this is,” Halo whispers, pointing to a set of tables and chairs in the background, unique by the pretty garden set behind them. “It’s a couple of towns over, my parents took me there once and I remember because the garden was so nice.”
“Do you know who he is?” I question.
She shakes her head. “No, he doesn’t seem familiar, but it doesn’t help that I can’t see his face. He has a tattoo, look ...”
She points to a tattoo peeking out of the top of his shirt. It’s hard to see because we can’t zoom in on this damn photo, curse old fashioned things. Still, it looks like it might be some kind of Celtic symbol. The only reason it’s visible is because the shirt he is wearing has a V neck and dips low enough to show it.
Still, it’s something.
