“Do you have any idea what happened?” Kate asked.
“I can tell you about your sister, but I don’t really know what happened to her.”
“Please...anything you can tell me will be more than I know now.”
Vera nodded. “Well, I mentioned our rules. I know they may sound harsh, but we’ve learned they provide the best chance for the girls. The applicant must agree to stay for one full year, during which time they must forgo all family ties. They have to give up cell phones and social media. There is no smoking, no alcohol, absolutely no drugs. They completely forfeit their privacy during that year.”
“And my sister agreed?” Kate asked.
“That’s right. She was very sick at first as the drugs began to wear off, but she was determined.”
Kate smiled sadly. “Her friend Lollie said she wanted to change her life.”
Vera smiled. “Everyone here is supportive of each other. After a week or so, Tina had physically recovered from the symptoms of withdrawal and begun to get stronger. The girls all liked her. She found a particular friend in her roommate, Holly Jensen, who was also eighteen. Holly has been with us for several months, so she knows her way around. And Holly’s pregnant, which gave them a special bond. Apparently your sister loved babies.”
Kate’s features clouded. “She collected dolls when she was a little girl. She liked the baby dolls best. Of course, I was so much older, we never really played together.”
“Could we talk to Holly?” Jase asked.
Vera glanced over at her husband.
“I think in this case, that can be arranged,” Jim said, rising from his chair. “I’ll go get her.” He walked out of the parlor, his footsteps receding down the hall.
“Have you talked to the police, Mrs. Lockwood?” Jase asked, wondering why Detective Benson hadn’t mentioned the rehab center.
“Please, call me Vera, and no, we haven’t. The police never came here asking questions. We didn’t know anything useful even if they had. And the truth is, everything that happens here is private. We don’t divulge information on the girls who live here, and we didn’t even hear about the murder until several days later.”
“When was the last time you saw Tina?” Jase asked.
“She had supper with us the night she was killed. We realized the next day she was gone, but we didn’t know she had been killed until we read it in theMorning Newsa few days later.”
“Do you know why she left?” Jase asked.
Vera gripped her hands in her lap. “It came as a complete surprise. Everything seemed to be fine at supper, then the next morning, she didn’t come down for breakfast. Holly said Tina must have left the house while she was asleep.”
Vera smiled sadly. “There are no bars on the windows or doors. No one forces the girls to come here and no one forces them to stay. Not all of them are strong enough to make it through the program.”
“But my sister wanted to change so badly,” Kate said. “Something must have happened to change her mind.”
The sound of approaching footfalls ended the discussion and drew their attention to the door. A young woman with long dark hair and dark eyes followed Jim into the parlor. She was wearing a knee-length knit dress that curved over her baby bump.
“This is Holly Jensen,” Jim said.
Jase rose to greet her and so did Kate. She smiled. “Hello, Holly. I’m Kate and this is Jason.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” She didn’t look like a prostitute. She looked healthy, her eyes bright and her skin clear, though Jase figured he’d find old needle marks under the long sleeves on her dress.
“You were a friend of my sister’s,” Kate said. “You knew her as Tina Galen, but her real name was Chrissy Gallagher.”
Holly nodded. “Yes. Tina told me.”
So Chrissy had decided she could trust Holly. Jase hoped that wasn’t all Tina had revealed. He glanced over at Jim. “We’d like to talk to Holly in private...if that’s possible.”
Jim’s attention swung to the girl. “Holly?”
“It’s okay. Tina was my friend.” She looked at Kate. “She talked about you all the time.”
Vera rose from her chair, and she and her husband left the parlor, sliding the old-fashioned oak doors closed to give them privacy. Holly sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs, and Jase and Kate sat back down on the sofa across from her.
