“Yes,” I confirm. “I found it odd that he didn’t stay to sing me Happy Birthday, and then we––”
“Whoa, back up a little bit. I need to get this story straight. He was…”
“At our house,” my mom smiles.
“Yes, he was at our house. So was his father, Judge Ravenshaw. They came over for my birthday dinner.”
“What time?”
“Dinner started at six.”
“What time did he leave?”
My mom pulls out her phone and says, “I have timestamps. He truly left the second before we sang Happy Birthday to Adela. I’m not sure why he didn’t stay. His father seemed rather annoyed that he was leaving.”
The detective turns to me. “Did he say why he was leaving?”
I shake my head.
“Okay. Tell me the time.”
My mom finds the time of the video, and Negan jots it down on his notepad. “You may continue, Adela,” he says warmly.
“We ate cake, and then I convinced my friends to get into Maeve’s car and drive to the address Cody gave me.”
“Do you have the address?”
I nod, pulling up our text messages on my phone. It’s the last thing he texted me. My gut pulls tight.
Negan writes down the address and says, “Whose address is this?”
“Someone from the team.” And then I pause because I don’t know if that’s true. I add, “I believe.”
His eyes meet mine. “Did you meet the owner of the house?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. There were multiple people. I’d say about a dozen new faces when we arrived. I didn’t recognize anyone, and no one was introduced to me as the person who lived there.”
“Okay,” Negan says with a nod. “Then what happened?”
“Cody seemed a little upset.” I pause. “He specifically told me not to bring any of my friends, but it was my birthday, so I thought nothing of it.”
My mom looks at me. “He was upset about that?”
I nod, feeling guilty.
She looks at Negan and says, “Cody is a sweet boy. He rarely gets mad, and they barely fight.”I admit, “I was a bit thrown off that he was upset with me. I mean, it was my birthday. I found it odd. And then he pulled me into the hallway, and he…kissed me. And then his friends came into the hallway, asking to be introduced. Cody seemed annoyed, and then he forced us to leave.”
“What do you mean he forced you to leave?”
I shake my head, shutting my eyes. “Sorry, I’m speaking too quickly. Um –– he didn’t physically do anything. He just said it was time for me and my friends to go, so we left.”
There’s a moment of silence. Negan stares at me in thought. “Anything else?”
I nod. “He wanted me to stay the night at his place.”
My mom’s face twists.
I look at her and say, “Right? Odd.”
