The Foxglove Killings

by Tara Kelly

  “I can’t.”

  I put my hand on her arm, pulling her into a hug. “I’m here for you, okay? Whatever you need.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  A phone rang, making us both jerk a little. It took me a few seconds to realize it was coming from my pocket. I’d taken the emergency cell in case Mom decided to call home while I was gone.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” I said without letting her talk.

  Megan moved away from me and sat on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest.

  “Those detectives came to the house looking for you,” Mom said, her voice tense. “Nobody answered, so they came here. Where are you?”

  “Alex’s.”

  “Get back to the house now. I’ll tell them to follow me,” she said. “They want to talk to Jenika, too. Do you know where she is?”

  My gaze met Jenika’s; her frown told me she could at least hear some of what Mom was saying. “She’s here.”

  “See you soon,” she said, hanging up.

  My heart was pounding again, sweat forming down the back of my neck. “Get rid of that video of Christian,” I told Jenika. “Now.”

  “What video?” Megan asked.

  Jenika shrugged, not even a flicker of concern in her expression. “There never was a video. I’m not that stupid.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

  “It kept your mouth shut, didn’t it?”

  My mouth, as in I was the only one in the dark. “Did Alex know?”

  She motioned to the window. “We should get back, don’t you think?”

  “Answer me.” He knew how worried I was, how I couldn’t sleep over it. If he’d lied about that, too, I’d never forgive him, whether he was dead or alive.

  She tilted her chin up, her eyes narrowing. “No.”

  I let out a breath. She could’ve been lying—but why? If she wanted to mess with me, saying yes would be the way to go.

  “He have any idea how little you trust him?” I asked.

  She didn’t comment either way. She stared back at me, her eyes nearly black in the dim light.

  I opened Alex’s window and stepped back. “You first…”

  Chapter Twenty

  Detective Hahn and Detective Sandoval sat on our old white leather couch, just like the first time they came over. Only Hahn’s grandfatherly smile was gone, and Sandoval didn’t have my little brother’s yellow mug in his hand. Their attention was fully on Jenika and me. I could feel them studying my shaking hands, the fact that I couldn’t decide how long to look them in the eye. Too long made me nervous. Too little made it look as if I was hiding something.

  I motioned for Jenika to take Eric’s recliner, but she settled on the floor instead. She looked perfectly calm, like she did this kind of thing every day.

  “Why do I need to be here?” she asked straight off.

  “Do you know Christian Barnett?” Detective Sandoval asked.

  Jenika’s dark eyes darted between them. “Yeah…”

  “What about Alex Pace?” he continued.

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s why you need to be here,” Sandoval said.

  “It’s a small town. A lot of people know them,” she said.

  I pressed my lips together, wishing she’d shut up. She was going to get us both harassed even more.

  Sandoval squinted at her, his thick fingers tensing around his knee. “Two teens, one of them you say you know, have been murdered. That concern you at all?”

  “Of course it does,” Jenika answered without missing a beat. “I’m just not sure how I can help.”

  Hahn stayed quiet and expressionless, watching us both.

  “Answer a few questions, and we’ll see,” Sandoval said. “That’s not a big deal, is it?”

  “What do you want to know?” I asked.

  Jenika shot me a dirty look and shook her head.

  Detective Hahn straightened, motioning to Jenika and me. “You’re both friends with Alex, yeah? Would you say you’re close?”

  “He’s my best friend,” I said, without even thinking about it.

  “We’ve hung out a little the last few weeks,” Jenika said. “Wouldn’t say I know him that well.”

  No, you’ve just seen him naked. Sandoval started writing on that pad of his, keeping his head down.

  Hahn focused on me. “How long have you been friends?”

  “Since fourth grade.”

  “That’s a long time,” he said. “You must be pretty upset about him being missing.”

  “I’m terrified.”

  Sandoval looked up from his pad then, his dark eyes softening. He had seen how scared I was when I thought that body might be Alex’s. That alone should tell them I had no idea where he was.

  “Is this about Alex or the murders?” Jenika asked.

  “We want to find him, make sure he’s safe,” Hahn said to her. “Don’t you?”

  Jenika folded her arms, her lips set in a firm line. She was probably thinking the same thing I was. They thought we’d talk more if it seemed like they were only concerned about his welfare. But giving them attitude wouldn’t help, either. They wouldn’t buy anything we said.

  “Does Alex have an interest in firearms?” Sandoval asked. And there it was—the question I’d been dreading.

  “No,” I said. “That was his grandpa’s thing. He hates guns.”

  “His grandfather left him one, didn’t he?” Sandoval pressed.

  “Yeah, but he wanted nothing to do with it. Cindy, his grandmother, keeps moving stuff around and then forgetting where she put it. It might not even be missing.”

  “So, you know it’s missing?” Hahn asked.

  “His sister told me.”

  Hahn studied my face, my hands, long enough to make me fidget even more. I was messing this up, probably making Alex look even guiltier by answering questions they didn’t ask.

  “Any idea where he might be?” Hahn asked.

  “You mean if he hasn’t been taken against his will?” I asked. Hahn gave me a nod in response. “We’ve looked everywhere for him. Everywhere we thought he might go.”

  “Who’s we?” Sandoval asked.

  “Me and Jenika.”

  “Where’d you look?” Hahn asked.

  I rattled off the list of places, knowing that if Alex did take off on purpose, he wouldn’t go to any of them. He’d be somewhere none of us knew about.

  “He go to Rainbow Creek Park a lot?” Hahn asked.

  “Not any more than other places,” I lied. “He likes to feed the ducks, catch tadpoles.”

  Hahn’s lips turned up a little. “Really?”

  “He loves animals,” I said. “Called the police once because his neighbor yelled at her cat.”

  “Huh…” Hahn said, glancing over at Sandoval.

  Yeah. Not the kind of guy to behead a deer.

  “When’s the last time you saw him?” Hahn asked me.

  “He came by my house about 12:30 a.m.—on the fourth. Or the fifth, technically. He stayed until…” I paused, remembering Alex waving at the camera. “He stayed until about 2:30.”

  “I noticed you got a camera above the entranceway now,” Sandoval said. “Any chance that picked him up?”

  “It did. I have it on an SD card.”

  “Would you mind giving that to us?” Hahn asked. “It would be helpful.”

  “Okay.”

  “Can you walk us through that last night you saw him?” Hahn said. “Why’d he come over so late?”

  My fingers were grasping at the end of my T-shirt. I didn’t want to walk anyone through that night. “He comes over late sometimes—just to talk. Listen to music. I gave him his birthday present.”

  “Did he seem upset at all?” Sandoval asked. “Say anything unusual?”

  I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “He’s been going through a lot with his grandpa dying. He didn’t say anything about taking off, though. He left a note, but…Zach broke into my room tha
t night and stole it.”

  Sandoval’s head jerked up, and Hahn’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean he broke in?” Hahn asked.

  I told them what happened, including Zach forging a note from Alex and how Zach had been leaving me anonymous letters before that. “The cameras got him going to my window.”

  “How do you know he wrote them?” Hahn asked.

  “Because he admitted to it.”

  “Is that why you both threatened him yesterday, at Vista Pizza?” Hahn continued.

  “Threatened?” Jenika broke in. “Nova said if he didn’t give her the real note from Alex, she was going to turn that video over to the cops. You call that a threat?”

  Sandoval was flipping through his notepad. “So, you didn’t accuse him of arson and say you were going to break into his house and mess him up?”

  “No!” Jenika said, keeping her eyes on me.

  I shook my head in agreement, part of me wishing I’d slugged him yesterday—while I still had the chance.

  “Why didn’t you contact the police right away?” Hahn asked me. “He could be charged for trespassing at the very least.”

  “I thought he might know where Alex was. It was the only way I could think of to make him talk.”

  “Why would he know where Alex is?” Sandoval asked.

  “Because Zach has this vendetta against him,” I said. “Because he saw…” I closed my eyes. I didn’t mean for that to come out.

  “He saw what?”

  I took a breath, trying to slow my heart. “When he broke into my room, he saw that me and Alex had… We’d been messing around.” I could feel Jenika’s gaze on me, burning into my skin.

  Sandoval’s lips parted, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he busied himself with writing.

  “You and Alex are more than friends, then?” Hahn asked.

  “I don’t know what we are.”

  Hahn nodded slowly, his blue eyes going from me to Jenika and back. “Is it safe to say there’s been ongoing problems between you and the summer residents? And by you, I mean the two of you, Alex, and some of your friends?”

  I didn’t know how to answer that—we were damned either way. “I’d say it takes two sides to make a problem.”

  Hahn held his hands up. “I’m not making any assumptions about who started what. But there’s definitely been some bullying, yeah? Some physical fights, too?”

  “What are you getting at?” Jenika asked.

  Hahn nodded at me. “We heard that you and Alex got into an altercation with Christian Barnett on the night of the Fourth. Is that true?”

  I told them what went down at Oswald Beach, including how they’d scared Megan and came after us. “Zach’s making a lot of crazy accusations without anything but his mouth to back him up,” I said. “You might want to keep that in mind.”

  Hahn’s eyes narrowed at me, as if I was a sign he couldn’t quite read. “We’re not accusing you of anything. We’re trying to get the whole picture, okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Let’s back up a week,” Sandoval said. “It was clear Christian had been in some sort of physical altercation when we spoke to him prior to the Fourth. Now, he claimed he didn’t know who attacked him. But when we spoke to other people, both your names, Alex, and Matt Delgado came up as possibly being involved.” He made a shrugging motion with his hands. “Any reason they’d single you out?”

  I didn’t want to lie again. I was sick over all the lying. But there was no choice. With Christian dead, that night made us look guilty as hell.

  “Like we just went over,” Jenika said. “We don’t get along. Of course they’re gonna point fingers at us.”

  Sandoval nodded, cocking his head to the side. “It’s kind of strange, because witnesses said Christian left to walk a couple girls to their car, but he never came back. When they saw him the next day, he had bruises on his face and his car had been vandalized.”

  “I’m sure he was drinking,” Jenika said. “Maybe he cut the wrong person off.”

  “Maybe, but,” Sandoval continued, “multiple witnesses heard Alex threaten to physically harm Christian a few hours before the party.” He shifted his gaze to me. “This was at your family’s diner.”

  “You mean Gabi and Zach, Christian’s friends?” I asked. “I didn’t hear him say it.”

  “Okay,” Sandoval continued. “But didn’t you say that you and Alex were driving in the area that night?”

  “Yeah, and I also said we didn’t go to the party.”

  “This feels a lot more like an interrogation than a few questions,” Jenika said.

  Sandoval glanced at Hahn and motioned to the room around us. “If we were interrogating you, you’d be in a much less comfortable place—believe me. Right now, we’re asking questions, and you’re answering at your own free will.”

  “Okay. Then I’m done answering questions,” she said.

  “That’s your right,” Detective Hahn said. “Look, I know you want to look out for and protect your friends. Even I was a teen once. I get it. But this isn’t just a ‘your side against their side’ situation anymore. Two kids are dead here.” He kept his focus on me as he spoke, probably because he figured I’d be more likely to break. “So if the two of you are lying or holding back any information, even if you don’t think it’s relevant, you’re potentially endangering someone else’s life.”

  I tried not to let his words get to me, but they were, slowly nipping at my gut. I wasn’t just protecting myself and Alex; I was protecting Jenika and Matt, too, people I didn’t trust at all.

  “In my experience,” Sandoval cut in, “people have a hard time keeping anything but the truth straight. They’re not too good at keeping secrets, either. If you’re not being completely honest here, there’s a good chance we’re going to find out about it.” His stare made me feel cold to the bone.

  Gabi and Megan did leave right before the fight broke out. Gabi could’ve seen both our cars parked down the road. But if the cops had any evidence we’d been at Winchester Beach that night, they wouldn’t be trying to intimidate it out of us.

  Instinct told me not to talk—not yet. I couldn’t throw myself and three other people under the bus until I dug a little deeper.

  “I understand,” I told them. “If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.”

  Jenika stayed silent, her arms folded tight across her stomach.

  “Do you mind getting us that SD card and the letters, as well?” Detective Hahn asked.

  “Sure,” I said, getting up.

  After handing everything over, they gave us their cards again and left, saying they’d be in touch again soon and to let them know if we hear from Alex.

  Mom emerged from her room as soon as they were gone. One look at the fear in her eyes told me she’d heard every word.

  “Nova?” she asked. “I want to talk to you.” She nodded toward her room. “Right now.”

  After shutting the door behind us, she sat beside me at the foot of her bed. “You’re going to tell me everything,” she said.

  “Mom…”

  “I’m not asking this time.” Her voice rose. “Start talking.”

  I wrapped the edge of her floral patterned comforter around my hand, wondering how much to tell her. If I should tell her everything. She’d already heard plenty… “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Did you lie to them?” She lowered her voice, as if she feared they could hear her somehow.

  I stayed focused on my hands. I couldn’t lie anymore, not to her; it was taking all I had just to function. “Yes…”

  She cussed, putting her hands on her cheeks. Then she let out a breath, staying silent for a few seconds. “About what?”

  I had to tell her. So I did. About Alex’s car being vandalized and what he, Jenika, and Matt did to him later that night. “Christian and his friends did the same thing to Alex a few years ago.”

  “And that makes it okay? You should’ve told me, Nova. You should’ve—�
�

  “I know.”

  “If those detectives find out…” Mom closed her eyes, shaking her head. “This isn’t something I can bail you out of!”

  I couldn’t think about that. Thinking in what-ifs would break me down more. “Zach’s been planting these rumors, getting people to think Alex is behind these killings. I had to protect him. Nobody else is going to do it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me Zach broke into your room?”

  “Because you’d call the cops right away.”

  “Yeah!” She threw her hands up. “That would be the logical thing to do.”

  “I thought he might know where Alex is—”

  “What about you?”

  I wrung the comforter in my hands like a sponge. “What about me? I’m not the one missing.”

  “Look…” Mom paused, her hazel eyes searching my face. “I know you love him. I love him, too. I don’t want to believe for a second that he’s involved in this, but—”

  “Don’t say but,” I said. “You know him.”

  “He’s gone. His grandpa’s gun is gone.” She touched my arm, but I jerked it away. “Those kids have bullied him for years…”

  “He didn’t do this!” My voice reverberated around the room, making me wince.

  Mom grabbed my hand, forcing me to let go of the comforter. “I’m not saying he did. But these are the things people are seeing.”

  “They’re seeing wrong.”

  “And if we’re talking about the Alex I know, I agree,” she continued, her voice softening. “But you told me yourself, he’s been changing. He’s been getting into fights…”

  “Mom, stop.” My leg jiggled, urging me to run.

  “Honey, sometimes even the best of us break. I’m just asking you to prepare yourself for the possibility.”

  I knew the possibility was there—but I wasn’t going to accept it. Not until I had to.

  “What about Jenika?” I whispered. “She thinks Christian started that fire, and now he’s dead.”

  Mom breathed out, tilting her head up. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I must’ve checked on her three times, just to make sure she stayed put on that couch. She was there every time.”