Page 25 of Nowhere Good

He leaned in “Yeah, what is this?”

“Screenshots taken from Kelsey Campbell’s cell phone.”

“Kelsey.” Dillon’s brows stitched so tightly together, they became one. While in custody, he hadn’t been informed of Kelsey’s death, and Seth tried to measure any deceit on his face—anything to suggest he already knew. “What’s she got to do with this? Why are you looking through her phone?”

“Do you know her?”

“I mean, yeah. We went to high school together.”

“Are you friends? Acquaintances?”

Dillon stared at him. “If you’ve got her phone, then you already know. What’s this all about?” He shuffled around again. “You didn’t tell Claire or her family, did you?”

“Dillon, Kelsey Campbell was murdered last night. You were the last person to speak with her.”

Shock crossed Dillon’s face, followed by disbelief. He had the audacity to smirk. “Bullshit.” But it quickly fell off. “Wait. Really?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Whoa. Whoa, okay, I was at home sleeping. I was like, Snapchatting her before I went to bed. I never met up with her. Can’t you like, see the messages?”

“We’ll be able to get them. I’m giving you a chance to tell the truth upfront, which’ll look a lot better for you later.”

Dillon sank in the seat, reminding Seth of an angry little boy. “I told you the truth. Never met up with her and never planned to. We were talking dirty or whatever.”

“Can you be more specific?”

He said nothing. So, it was going to be like that.

Seth took the paper back, then tossed three other images on the table one-by-one. “Eliza Johnson, Kelsey Campell, and Claire Dyer.”

Dillon trembled, his breathing growing more intense as he took in the images.

“Can you tell me, in your own words, what these three women have in common?”

“Common? I dunno. They’re all girls? They—they’ve got the same, like, hair. I guess they look alike.”

“You can see the problem I’m having here. We’ve got three girls. They all look alike. One of them is your girlfriend, and the other two were murdered. Both victims have been linked to you. How are things with Claire going right now, anyway?”

“I dunno. She’s been my girlfriend forever, so we’re obviously working out.”

“Six years, right? And you live together too. Tell me about that.”

Dillon’s throat visibly tightened. Seth could see it now, clear as day—talking about Claire got under his skin.

“I told you, we’re fine. Not much else to say. The Kelsey stuff wasn’t serious. It was like… having fun.”

“For sure, I get that. Good-looking guy like you, why should you stick to one girl, right?”

“I mean, I dunno, me and Claire aren’t really like that anymore. We live together, but we don’t… I don’t really see her that way anymore.”

Claire’s words from last night slipped back into his mind. “Most days, I think he hates me.”

“It’s hard to stay attracted when someone gets on your nerves, right?” Seth leaned his elbows on the table and lowered his voice, like this moment was just between them. “Relationships are hard. I mean, I get it, man. I used to date this girl for years, like you and Claire. All throughout high school. Once you get past that honeymoon phase, things get rough. You know what I mean—the nitpicking, the nagging. My girl knew how to cut deep.”

Dillon didn’t take the bait, but Seth noticed the twitch in his nostril, the way his eyes drifted down and to the left, like he was reliving his own version of the bullshit Seth was giving him. And it wasn’t all bullshit—he did date a girl for years once, and she did cut deep—but murdering her or someone who looked like her never crossed his mind because he wasn’t a psychopath. But he knew how to think like one.

“I get it, Dillon. Really, I do. Sometimes, you wish you could just… make them shut up, stop telling you how to live your life. You work hard to pay for your home—who’s she to complain about a few messes from a party? But that Ron Dyer is a big guy. I wouldn’t wanna get caught laying a hand on his daughter—”