My eyes devour every word of the article. The small-town publication reported that Kelly Porter went missing after she snuck out of the house to meet a boyfriend.
“Who was her boyfriend at the time?” I ask.
“Um.” Courtney taps her bottom lip. “Jonathan Reynolds. He was the most popular guy in school—the tall jock with rich parents type. All the girls were after him.” Courtney stops and looks at Finn. “Except me. I preferred the quiet, sensitive types. Musicians, if you want to be specific?—”
“So, Jonathan was arrested?” I interrupt her, glaring a hole into her skull.
Finn looks up from the yearbook, and I can tell he’s laughing at me by the slight twitch of his dull-pink lips.
“No.” Courtney blinks. “Jonathan had an air-tight alibi. He was at the basketball court with his friends when Kelly came out. But here’s the thing.” Courtney leans forward. “Everyone knew Jonathan’s family was tight with the sheriff’s office. There’s no way his mother would let him get arrested and ruin his golden future. They were the ones pushinghardfor the fact that Kelly was just missing.”
“So, why do you think she died?”
“One of his friends told someone that he lied about Jonathan being there. He said Jonathan left the court earlier than what they told the police. That rumor got around town.”
“The cops ignored that? They just wrapped up the case saying Kelly ran away?”
“There was no evidence of foul play, and the parents supposedly found a note,” Courtney says with a casual shrug. “A few years later, the Porters moved away, and I heard they passed in a plane crash. The only person left is Kelly’s aunt. I’m not sure where she is though.”
I scratch the base of my neck, mentally sorting through the new revelations. How does the Kelly I know factor into all this? Is she the same person who was rumored to be murdered by her boyfriend back from the dead?
Or an entirely different person altogether?
“J,” Finn calls. He holds out the yearbook and taps one long, tan finger against a group picture.
I take a cursory glance at first and then double back and snatch the yearbook from him. The photo reveals a group of ten high schoolers holding up a sign for a charity canned food drive. The two girls in the middle lookexactlyalike.
“Courtney, did Kelly have a twin?” I demand.
“No, she didn’t.” Courtney scoots to the edge of her chair to see into the yearbook, and her eyes brighten in recognition. “Oh, that’s Gina Codd. There was this other girl who lookedjustlike Kelly. I mean, there were minor differences, but they lookedsomuch alike that people kept mistaking them for each other.”
“Were they secretly sisters switched at birth?” I ask. “Or did Kelly’s dad have a mistress?”
“No, no. Mr. Porter was downbadfor his wife. The guy was couples goals for everyone in town.”
“What about Gina’s parents?”
“Gina’s dad worked in the mines, and her mom was a seamstress. You could pretty much tell Gina and Kelly apart by their style. Kelly was always wearing the latest designer clothes and Gina…” Courtney’s eyes dart to the left as she sheepishly admits, “They called Gina ‘Budget Kelly.’”
My heart starts flogging my ribs.
I get an excited surge in my gut.
I’m on the cusp of the breakthrough I’ve been searching for.
“I’m guessing Kelly didn’t like that very much,” I murmur, so excited that I can barely speak.
Beep. Beep.
Finn gives me the stink eye.
“Did Gina ever fight back in some way? Or did she ever have a disagreement with Kelly?”
Courtney scrunches her nose. “Not as far as I can remember. She was younger than us, so she was in a different class.”
My excitement plummets.
“Although… there was a rumor going around a little before Kelly disappeared. One of Jonathan’s buddies said Budget Kelly did her makeup and hair just like the Real Kelly and fooled Jonathan into sleeping with her. Then he found out who she was and told her off.”
