“What did you guys talk about?”
Will went silent. I could hear the mumble of the other prisoners’ conversations through the phone.
“Will?” I asked sharply.
He cleared his throat. When he spoke again, his tone was more measured. “I told the detectives this already, but I don’t know how you are going to take it.”
“Take what?” I asked, my tone getting sharper. I didn’t like the idea that he would hide anything from me.
Will took a deep breath. “It was a little weird. She sounded cagey and anxious. She kept asking me about what happened the summer Alex died, the details of the case. I told her what I could. Stuff that was already out there. She kept pressing though, asking me where I was when it happened, who I thought did it if it wasn’t me … I figured someone said something to her at school. This was the first time she’d ever brought it up with me. And she also asked me specificallynotto tell Dad anything. Not that he ever calls me anyway …”
Holy shit. The realization hit me as Will’s words settled in my brain. Hazel wasn’t just learning about Alex’s murder. She was trying tosolveit.
“Oh my fucking god,” I blurted out.
“What?” Will asked quickly, sounding worried.
“Okay, I wasn’t going to tell anyone yet, but I found my book in her locker at the farm. It’s filled with notes, like she was investigating or something.”
“I was worried she might be up to something like that.” I heard Will sigh. “You have to tell the detectives, Rose. It might be important …”
I had begun to tune Will out. I wasn’t going anywhere near the police with this information. They screwed everything up so badly last time, I wouldn’t be surprised if they found some way to blame this on Will too.
All I knew was that Hazel had been researching what happened to Alex, and now she was missing. What were the chances that those two things weren’t related? It felt like vindication. If Hazel was trying to solve Alex’s murder, then she believed Will. She believedme.
But it also meant that Hazel had put herself in danger. Whoever had really killed Alex was still out there, and maybe Hazel had figured out who they were.
9
After I assured Will that I would update him when I could, I immediately went back to Hazel’s book. I was desperate to see what else she had written in there. I was so zoned in that I almost missed the sounds of reporters gathering outside. At some point during the afternoon, they’d started arriving at the house by vanloads. One quick Google search told me everything I needed to know. Hazel’s disappearance had been picked up by the local news, and now her connection to me was out to the public.
It was almost dinnertime when my family finally returned to the house, exhausted and red eyed. I heard the uproar as they drove in, the shouts from the reporters as Tommy, Suzannah, and my father tried to inch their cars through the circus into the drive. I headed out the front door without thinking. It was even worse than it had sounded. The street and front yard were filled with vans, news stations and affiliates printed on their sides. Cameras flashed as Tommy’s car tried to push through, photographers pressing their lenses directly against the windows, their bodies against the doors. Detective Newbury was leading a group of uniformed cops to create a cordon. I waited at the top of the driveway, watching.
“Rose! Rose! Where’s your sister?” I heard someone shout. Fuck. I forgot that showing my face would only bring more attention to us.
“Do you think there’s a copycat, Rose? Or was Will framed?”“Where do you think Hazel is?”“Should the police look for a body?”
My family, finally parked, hustled toward the front door. Tommy and I exchanged a look as he approached. It was so similar to last time. The momentthe news broke about Alex’s murder and Will’s arrest, and the media had swarmed us. It had been the beginning of the end.
“It’s a zoo out there,” Tommy said as we shut the door on the commotion, but not before I launched a pointed glare at Newbury, who was following everyone in. “Has it been like that all day?” he asked me.
My father went straight for the fridge and took out a beer, taking a large sip.
“Yes. They’re fucking vultures,” I replied, drawing the thick curtains on the front window so no one could see in. “They’ve been here for hours.”
My dad shook his head, speaking up. “It’s no use hiding, Rose. They’re going to be there all night. Just like last time. It’ll be weeks before we have any peace. Even if …” He stopped, his lip twitching as he took another sip of his beer.
Ifwasn’t a place any of us were willing to go yet.
“Did you guys find anything today?” I pressed. The reporters’ presence wasn’t helping to alleviate my anxiety.
Tommy shook his head. “No. But thank god we left the kids at Suzannah’s parents,” he said. “They don’t need to experience this.” His eyes looked hard and pained.
“It was a hard day,” Suzannah whispered to me. Her face was expressionless. “No leads or discoveries or anything. Your mom could barely stand it. She was a wreck when she went back to the hotel.”
Later, we ate reheated sympathy casserole silently at the kitchen counter, none of us saying a word as we scarfed it down.
My father disappeared into the computer room for the night. I took out my phone, checking it for the first time in hours as Tommy and Suzannah spoke in hushed tones in the corner of the kitchen. I scrolled past my notifications, now in the hundreds as a result of Hazel’s disappearance hitting the news circuit.I texted Flannery a quick update and then opened up the most recent text from Marta:
