I Know What You Did

by N L Hinkens

  “Good idea. He’ll be glad to see you. I’m going to hand out some flyers to the teachers at school and ask them to pass them out. Apart from that, there’s not much we can do other than be there for him.”

  “I’ll let you know how he is,” Liam called, before disappearing into the shower.

  Jo hurriedly pulled on her clothes and tied her hair back before slapping on some lip gloss and smacking her lips together to set it. That was about all she had time for. She wasn’t hungry for breakfast anyway, not with her stomach roiling at the thought of Ed briefing a sobbing assembly of kids on their beloved teacher’s disappearance. She would be flat out today counseling distraught students.

  By the time she arrived at the school at seven-fifteen, over half the teachers were already there, in addition to several police cruisers. They gathered in the staff break room, whispering among themselves in hushed tones until seven-thirty when Ed appeared, flanked by the police officers. He inhaled a deep breath before addressing the staff. “Good morning. As you’re all aware by now, Robbie Gleeson reported Sarah missing yesterday. Her status remains unchanged.” He traced his fingers across his forehead in an agitated fashion before continuing, “Unfortunately, it seems that I have another missing persons’ report on my desk this morning.”

  The oxygen seemed to leave the room as everyone sucked in a breath. The teachers stood silent and unmoving, as if Ed’s words had cast a spell over them, freezing them in place. Their expressions ranged from incredulous to petrified. Jo could almost hear the tick-tocking heartbeat in her chest accelerate as adrenaline flooded through her. There must be some mistake. This couldn’t be happening. These kinds of things didn’t happen in a small-town high school. And then an awful thought struck her. What if it was Robbie? Maybe he’d taken it upon himself to go off looking for Sarah. Or worse, what if he’d harmed himself? Her eyes darted over the wooden expressions of the police officers, a silent platoon bolstering the veracity of Ed’s shocking disclosure that a second person from the school had gone missing.

  “Sérgio Tomaselli called me this morning,” Ed continued. “He reported his son, Noah, missing around ten o’clock last night.” He paused as another ripple of shock coursed through the room.

  Once again, Jo felt her legs about to buckle beneath her. She was still weak after the miscarriage, and the trauma of this second announcement wasn’t helping. She grabbed the back of a chair for support, loathe to draw attention to herself by taking a seat.

  Ed cleared his throat and began again. “Apparently, Noah told his family he was staying at a friend’s house on Wednesday night, so they were unaware of the fact that he didn’t go to school yesterday until he failed to show up at home following football practice. After talking to some of Noah’s teammates, Mr. Tomaselli learned that Noah skipped both school and practice.” Ed turned hesitantly toward the police officers. “Did one of you want to elaborate?”

  A burly plainclothes detective stepped forward. “I’m Detective Saunders, lead investigator on this case. As Mr. McMillan has stated, Noah Tomaselli, a seventeen-year-old minor, is now officially a missing person. Currently, we have no leads on where he went on Wednesday night or his whereabouts after that. We’re extremely concerned for his safety, and for that of the missing teacher, Sarah Gleeson. At the moment, we have no reason to believe there is any connection between the two cases, although we haven’t ruled anything out yet. That being said, I would ask you to do your best to quell any rumors students might generate about serial kidnappers and such.” He stepped back and nodded to Ed to continue.

  “Naturally, this is going to be an extremely difficult day for all of us at school,” Ed said, his tone grave. “I’ll be making an announcement about Noah at a special student assembly this morning. Furthermore, the police have requested permission to question his teachers and friends, and also his girlfriend, Mia Allen. I apologize in advance for any disruption to your classes and ask that you make facilitating Detective Saunders’ interview requests a priority.”

  Jo’s stomach curdled as Ed’s voice droned on. The room seemed to spin around her, Ed’s jaw moving up-and-down like a shredder slicing and dicing her dreams and hopes yet again. She had to do something to make sure Mia didn’t tell the police about Noah’s baby.

  9

  Sequestered in her office, Jo picked at her fingers beneath her desk as she waited for Detective Saunders to join her. She had intended to look for Mia immediately after the staff meeting, but Ed had intercepted her and told her the detective wanted to interview her first. The roller coaster of emotions she’d been forced to endure over the past few days was beginning to catch up with her. The devastation of another miscarriage that always left her feeling like a war zone inside, the short-lived joy of anticipating parenthood with Liam that had briefly lit her spirits, the blinding terror of finding out that Sarah was missing, and now—the shattering of her dreams in the most random way possible. Her baby’s biological father was missing. Mia would be questioned. The truth would all come tumbling out. Fate had conspired against her, denying her a baby yet again. Indignation brewed inside her, but she fought to keep her anger at bay, reminding herself that this was not about her, no matter how much she wanted it to be. This was about two missing people, and she needed to act like the professional she was and rise above her personal heartache.

  A knock on the glass door made her look up. Detective Saunders strolled into the room and sat down in the chair opposite her. He inspected his surroundings in one efficient sweep, his trained eye cataloging, assessing, and observing, no doubt already drawing conclusions about her from the contents of her office. Jo smiled weakly across the desk at him, for once feeling oddly displaced and out of control in her own space. Did he sense she was hiding something?

  “Thanks for taking the time to see me, Mrs. Murphy,” he began, pulling out his notebook.”

  “Of course,” Jo replied, grimacing inwardly. As if she had a choice in the matter. “Please, call me Jo.”

  He gave a slight tilt of his head in acknowledgment. “I’ll try to keep this brief as I know you’ll have your work cut out for you once the student assembly disperses, which is why I wanted to interview you first.”

  “Yes, I expect that will be the case,” Jo agreed, wary of the friendly overtures she recognized were designed to soften her defenses.

  “I understand you broke up a fight on Tuesday between Noah Tomaselli and his girlfriend, Mia Allen?”

  Jo gave a small shrug of acknowledgement. “I would hardly call it a fight. They were arguing. Mia was upset and beating Noah on the chest.”

  Detective Saunders frowned. “Did he hit her back?”

  “No, he didn’t touch her. He’s a big kid, a football player. He stood there and took it. Mia was more flailing her arms around than punching. I doubt she hurt him.”

  “What were they arguing about?”

  “She accused him of cheating on her.”

  “Did she mention any names?”

  “None that I heard.” Jo hesitated. “She mentioned something to the effect that it had been going on for a while.”

  Detective Saunders made a few notes and then looked up again. “What happened after you broke up the argument?”

  “Mia stormed off after I threatened to call security. I asked Noah if he was all right. He seemed more embarrassed that the other students had witnessed it than anything else. I told him to come see me in my office Thursday morning after break. I needed to take a statement from him, it’s school protocol.”

  Detective Saunders gave an approving nod. “Did you also make an appointment with Mia Allen? From everything I’ve heard, she was the one who instigated the fight.”

  Jo squirmed uncomfortably in her seat under the detective’s eagle eye. She didn’t want to mention the fact that she’d already counseled Mia earlier in the week. Detective Saunders would want to know why. “Not yet, I wanted to talk to Noah first of all to get his take on it.”

  “I see.”

 
; Jo could tell from his tone that he didn’t see at all. It struck him as odd. She cringed when he scribbled something in his notebook and underlined it.

  “And Noah didn’t turn up for his appointment yesterday?” Detective Saunders went on.

  “That’s correct. I logged into the school system and saw that he’d been marked absent for the day. I figured he was sick and forgot to cancel.”

  Detective Saunders tapped a forefinger on the desk for a moment looking pensive. When he spoke again, he switched gears. “I understand you and your husband are friendly with Robbie and Sarah Gleeson?”

  “Yes, we socialize with them on a regular basis. My husband takes care of the school’s computer network.”

  “Can you tell me what Sarah’s mood was like in the days before she disappeared?”

  Jo blinked, disconcerted by the question. “Fine, I mean she’s a very happy person by nature.”

  “So, you don’t think there’s any chance she might have harmed herself?”

  “No, absolutely not! Not Sarah. That’s not possible. We had plans to get our hair done and go to lunch on Saturday.” Jo frowned down at her desk, shaking her head, considering this angle for the first time. “No, Sarah enjoys every minute of life. All you have to do is take a look around her art room at all her paintings and inspirational quotes to know she was a very upbeat person.”

  Detective Saunders took a few more notes and then twisted his pen between two fingers as though considering how to frame his next question. “How was her relationship with her husband, in your opinion?”

  Jo stared aghast at the detective, not liking the direction the interview was taking. “They have a great relationship. Robbie’s a very funny guy and Sarah’s the kind of woman everyone wants to be around, a ray of sunshine.”

  “So you never saw any hints of unhappiness between them?”

  Jo averted her gaze as she contemplated the question. They appeared to be happy, as far as she could tell. They certainly didn’t argue in front of her. Sarah had mentioned recently that things weren’t always what they seemed, that spouses sometimes got the wrong end of the stick, but she’d just been trying to cheer Jo up, make her feel like all couples had their struggles. Granted, Robbie had acted a bit put out about Sarah’s plans for Europe, but that was typical couple stuff too. Liam would probably react the same way if she planned a big overseas trip and then tried to talk him into it. She wasn’t about to throw Robbie under the bus for no good reason. “They’re extremely compatible. I think they’re very happy together.”

  Detective Saunders pressed his lips together and gave a terse nod. “I appreciate your time. I have one more favor to ask. I need to interview Mia Allen, Noah’s girlfriend. Unfortunately, her mother has to work this morning, but she gave me permission to interview her daughter provided you were present.”

  Jo wet her lips, her heart knocking against her ribs. Would she have to sit here and listen to Mia tell the detective that she was expecting Noah’s baby, twisting the knife in her wound? Or could she find a way to warn her not to bring it up—some subtle signal? “That’s fine,” she croaked. “A verbal permission from a parent will suffice.”

  Detective Saunders nodded and got to his feet. “Thanks, I’ll fetch her. It’s probably easiest to conduct the interview in your office if you have no objections. Maybe you can round up another chair while I’m gone.”

  Once the detective’s footsteps faded into the distance, Jo sank her face into her hands. She couldn’t force Mia to conceal the truth from Detective Saunders. She had to prepare herself for the worst. If Mia broke down and told him everything, Jo’s chance to adopt her baby would be gone. Once the Tomaselli family found out that Mia was carrying their grandchild, they would almost certainly move to adopt it, especially now if, God forbid, something had happened to Noah. Jo groaned. She pulled out her phone and started typing a quick text to Liam but thought better of it and deleted it. There was nothing he could do to help her through this interview, and there was no point in burdening him until it was over and she knew where they stood. It broke her heart to think he might not become a father this year after all, but she needed to focus on the more pressing issue. Two people were now missing from the school, one of them a minor. It was her job to assist the police in whatever way she could, no matter the pain it caused her in the process.

  With a sigh of resignation, she opened the drawer on her desk and lifted out some Advil. She swallowed two pills with a swig of water just as Detective Saunders and Mia appeared in the doorway. Jo looked up, startled. “Oh, I didn’t expect you back so soon. Let me run next door and grab a chair.”

  She returned a moment later with a plastic stacking chair and placed it next to the padded chair opposite hers. Detective Saunders gestured to Mia to take a seat. She slumped down and immediately folded her arms across her chest avoiding meeting Jo’s eyes.

  Detective Saunders sat down next to Mia and nodded at Jo. “Mrs. Murphy, why don’t you begin by explaining to Mia what we’re trying to accomplish here today.”

  Jo raised her brows, taken aback at being called upon. She’d envisioned her role as an observer, but not to smooth the way for the interrogation with an uncooperative student. She wondered briefly if Detective Saunders was testing her in some way.

  “Mia,” she began in a subdued tone. “I know you must be really worried about Noah. Rest assured, the police are here to do everything in their power to help find—“

  “I don’t need your sympathy,” Mia snapped back.

  Ignoring the outburst, Jo continued, “You’re not in any kind of trouble. Detective Saunders just needs to ask you a few questions.”

  Mia pulled down the corners of her lips but offered nothing that indicated she would cooperate.

  Jo nodded to Detective Saunders. “Over to you.”

  He turned to Mia. “I understand you and Noah argued the day before he went missing. Can you tell me what that was about?”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’ve already heard the gory details. It was all over campus five seconds later.”

  Detective Saunders fixed a placid smile on his lips. “I’d like to hear your account of what happened.”

  Mia let out an aggrieved sigh. “He’s cheating on me. It’s been going on for months. The scumbag wouldn’t admit to it.”

  Jo flinched at Mia’s tone. Her voice was hard as steel. She sounded a whole lot more angry than hurt, but then pain could make you react in strange ways sometimes.

  Detective Saunders wrote down some things on his notepad. After a moment or two, he glanced up again. “Do you have any idea where Noah went after school on Wednesday?”

  Mia shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

  “So, you didn’t try and contact him—text him or call him at all on Wednesday evening?”

  Mia’s eyes darted from Detective Saunders to Jo. “I don’t remember.”

  Jo shifted uneasily in her seat. She and Liam had been at Mia’s house until around six-thirty that night. Hopefully Mia wouldn’t bring up their visit.

  “You don’t remember?” Detective Saunders set down his pen and fixed a stern gaze on her. “This is important, Mia. I’m trying to find your missing boyfriend. If you lie about any of the details in this investigation, you could get into serious trouble. You know we only have to look at your phone to see who you texted and when.”

  Mia let out a huff of annoyance. ”I might have texted him to meet me at the skate park.”

  Jo’s eyes widened.

  “What time was that at?” Detective Saunders asked, no hint of surprise in his voice.

  “Nine, I guess.”

  “Why did you want to meet him?”

  “I wanted him to tell me the truth. I wanted to know who he was seeing.”

  “And did he tell you?”

  Mia fixed a granite-like stare on the detective. “Not at first.” She fluttered her eyelashes and gave Jo a crooked grin. “We were drinking vodka. Eventually, he loosened up an
d admitted he was sleeping with someone else. But he still wouldn’t tell me who.”

  Jo gritted her teeth, suppressing an exasperated scream. Vodka! So much for good pre-natal care. She was going to have to have a serious talk with Mia first chance she got.

  Detective Saunders made another note. “And how did you react to Noah’s admission?”

  “How do you think?” Mia scoffed, firing a challenging look in Jo’s direction. "I told him I never wanted to see him again, and drove off.”

  Jo winced at the thought of Mia drinking and driving with her precious cargo on board. She had a sick feeling Mia was enjoying making her squirm at her reckless behavior.

  “Did he seem upset at all that you were breaking it off with him?” Detective Saunders asked.

  Mia cut a hard laugh. “Not in the least. He said I was doing him a favor.”

  “I see.” Detective Saunders scanned through his notes quickly before continuing. “Did you have any other communication with Noah after that?”

  Mia shook her head. “It’s over. I’m done with him. I’m moving on.” She caught Jo’s eye and a small triumphant smile tugged at her lips before she whisked it away.

  “Mia,” Detective Saunders said in a measured tone. “Can you think of any other reason why Noah might have been upset enough to take off on Wednesday night?”

  “I told you, he wasn’t upset. He was laughing at me!” Mia retorted.

  “Got it.” Detective Saunders snapped his notebook closed. “Thanks for your help. You can return to your classroom now. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.”

  Without another word, Mia rose and exited the room.

  Jo waited for Detective Saunders to say something, but an awkward silence ensued as he rubbed his jaw, frowning.

  Finally, Jo spoke up. “Did you need anything else from me?”

  He peered at her from beneath his brows. “Not at the moment. But I’ll keep you on standby. I have a feeling I’ll need to interview Mia Allen again before this is over. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming.”