by E. E. Borton
“You’re a mess, Brit.”
“I know,” said Brittany, sitting up. “Wow, if Tyler ever found out, it would devastate him. That boy has had a crush on you since he was ten. And if he found out it was his brother, it would kill him. This is such good stuff, Em. We should have our own reality show.”
“Enough, Oprah. Let’s go.”
As they walked out of the back door to the pool deck, the usually serene backyard was alive with teenage chaos. Music was blasting, and boys were doing flips off the diving board to impress the girls. The girls were in huddles pretending to ignore the boys. When Brittany and Emily arrived on scene, all eyes turned to them, including Conner’s.
“Hey, handsome,” said Brittany, giving him a hug.
“Hey, beautiful,” said Conner. “I can’t stay long. I have to be back at practice in two hours.”
“It’s okay,” said Brittany, earning a smile from Emily. “I know it’s important. You can come back after if you want. We’ll still be here.”
“That sounds good,” said Conner, turning to Emily. “Hey, Em. It’s good to see you. How have you been?”
“Doing well, thank you.”
“Did you hear anything about LSU?”
“Not yet,” said Emily. “I probably won’t know until closer to Christmas, but it’s looking good so far.”
“That’s great,” said Conner. “I hope you get in. Come say hi to the guys.”
Brittany and Emily walked with Conner to the table next to the diving board. Most of the boys sitting were fellow football players, including Tyler. He was the shortest of the group and only an inch taller than Emily. When he saw Emily, Brittany started to giggle. His face was beet red. As he stood to greet her, his knee caught the edge of the table, sending most of the drinks to the deck.
“Calm down, Tyler,” said Brittany. “They’re just boobs.”
Chapter 17
Daddy’s Girl
It was time for her to start facing her demons. By the end of the phone conversation between Karla and the Greenes, all three were in tears. It was the first time they had spoken to each other in years. The weight of Karla’s guilt was tremendous, but not as tremendous as the relief when the Greenes lifted it. They made plans to reunite as soon as Karla returned.
There was little comfort when she made the second phone call. She didn’t like deceiving Tyler, but Kate assured her that the damage would be reversible. The team agreed it was the only way to get him to talk.
It was time for Brittany and Tyler to face their demons as well. They wouldn’t have a choice. It took six days to make all of the arrangements. The timing had to be perfect.
“Your favorite daughter is home!” said Brittany, squeezing through the front door with several bags.
“There’s my baby!” said Mrs. Greene, jumping to her feet from the couch.
“You moving back in?” asked Mr. Greene, standing. “We already rented your room.”
“Funny, dad,” said Brittany, noticing the two strangers sitting in living room.
“Just set these down,’ said Mrs. Greene, giving her daughter a tight hug. “We’ll take them up later.”
“Come sit, sweetheart,” said Mr. Greene, putting his arm around her. “I’d like you to meet our new friends.”
“I’m Kate and this is my sister, Abby,” said Kate, extending her hand.
“Pleased to meet you,” said Brittany, smiling.
“They’re here from Florida,” said Mr. Greene. “They’re helping Karla find Emily.”
Kate was expecting a reaction. She didn’t expect her to turn white and grab for her father’s arm. He helped her to the couch as Mrs. Greene brought her a glass of tea.
“I know this is upsetting,” said Mr. Greene. “We’ll be right here beside you the entire time, okay?”
“I’m not ready for this, Dad,” said Brittany, clutching his hand. “It’s too soon. I’ve told them everything I know.”
“I understand that,” said Mr. Greene. “They’re not the police. They’re private investigators.”
“I can’t go through this again,” said Brittany. “Please, Dad. You know how hard all of that was for me.”
“I do,” said Mr. Greene. “But if anything ever happened to you, I’d want answers and I’d want them fast. We’re going to do everything we can to help them.”
“We spoke to Emily’s mom last week,” said Mrs. Greene, taking a seat on the other side of her daughter. “She sounded so good, Brit. We all talked for hours and it was like having the old Karla back. She’s desperate to find out what happened to Emily, and your dad’s right. We’re going to help them. No matter what it takes.”
“She wrote about you all the time,” said Abby. “Since she was a little girl.”
“What do you mean she wrote about me?” asked Brittany, wiping away tears.
“Emily started journaling when she was twelve,” said Kate. “She didn’t stop writing in it until her eighteenth birthday.”
“She adored you,” said Abby. “You helped her get through one of the roughest times of her life. She wrote pages and pages of how you made her life better and stood by her when her mother was sick. You meant the world to her.”
“We told them what you told us about the party,” said Mr. Greene. “But they need to hear it from you.”
*****
Tyler parked his truck in Karla’s empty driveway. She had asked him to stop by and bring in the mail while she was gone. When he walked inside, he was startled by the strangers in her living room.
“Who the hell are you?” asked Tyler, holding the door open. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re friends of Karla’s. My name is Grey and this is Tony, but you can call him Chief.”
“I’m not calling him anything,” said Tyler, reaching for his phone. “I’m calling the sheriff.”
“Sheriff Lewis knows were here,” said Chief. “He also knows why.”
“Tyler,” said Grey, getting his attention. “You need to understand that we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to be staying in Boudreaux and making a lot of trouble for anyone who doesn’t help up find Emily.”
“I already told that Kate lady that I don’t know anything more,” said Tyler. “Why are you harassing me? I didn’t do anything to her. I tried to help Karla find her, and this is the thanks I get? She set me up.”
“Sit down, son,” said Chief. “We’re not looking to jam you up. At this point, we don’t think you had anything to do with her disappearance. You need to talk to us and keep it that way.”
“I know you guys aren’t cops,” said Tyler. “I don’t have to say anything to you.”
“Trust me,” said Grey. “You’d rather talk to us than the cops.”
“The sheriff needs a reason to change this case from a missing persons report to something a lot more serious,” said Chief. “The reason we give him to do that is going to be you.”
“Bullshit,” said Tyler. “I had nothing to do with it.”
“It?” asked Chief, cocking his head. “What it are you referring to?”
“Her being missing,” said Tyler. “I don’t know anything about her being murdered.”
“We never said murder, son,” said Chief. “But since you brought it up, you need to know what we know.”
“We know you put your hands on her,” said Grey. “You got rough and she told you to stop. You didn’t, and she had to fight her way out of your truck. A couple of months later, you brought her to the party where things really got messy.”
“You’re out of your minds,” said Tyler. “Did Brittany tell you that? If she did, she’s lying through her teeth. I never touched her. All I did was take her to the party. That’s it.”
“Emily told us,” said Grey. “She wrote everything down.”
“She’d fucking dead!” said Tyler, taking a step towards them. “She didn’t tell you a goddamned thing!”
“You’re not good at this, son,” said Chief. “I thought you’d be a t
ougher nut to crack.”
“You two can go to hell,” said Tyler, turning to leave.
“Sit down,” said Dawson, coming from around the corner. “You’re not going anywhere.”
*****
“I can’t talk about that night,” said Brittany, tearing up while looking at her father. “You shouldn’t be either. The sheriff told us not to.”
“No, he didn’t,” said Kate. “I spoke with him yesterday. The gag order is for her arrests and court appearances. Those took place after the party.”
“You need to talk to them now,” said Mr. Greene. “If you don’t, Tyler will.”
“What?” asked Brittany, losing her color again. “He’s here?”
“No, he’s not here,” said Kate. “He’s with a police officer and an FBI agent. They’re questioning him as we speak.”
“I’m going to be sick,” said Brittany. “I’m not kidding.”
“Go with her,” said Mr. Greene, looking at his wife.
Since they couldn’t arrest or split two suspects in interrogation rooms, Kate and Grey needed to make sure Brittany and Tyler were blindsided in two different locations. They also had to make sure the twenty-year-old adults wouldn’t be able to walk away from them.
Kate understood the relationships they had with their families. Brittany wouldn’t be able to run from her parents, and Tyler wouldn’t be able to run from Dawson. It’s the reason they had to wait six days for Brittany to come home from school and for Dawson to travel from North Dakota.
“I know this is incredibly difficult, Mr. Greene,” said Kate. “But it’s the only way to keep them out of much bigger trouble.”
“Please call me Jim,” said Mr. Greene. “I think we can dispense with the formalities here. Yes, this is difficult. I’m sorry, but I still can’t believe my daughter had anything to do with what happened to Emily. They were very close.”
“I’m sorry as well, Jim,” said Kate, looking at her text message. “But she did.”
Sitting at the console at the team’s rental house, Evan saved the recordings of the phone calls. He recognized the cell phone numbers he hijacked from Brittany and Tyler. He didn’t recognize the number of the second call Brittany made while in the bathroom at her house pretending to be sick. Kate had a hunch where the second call went, but she needed Grey to make sure.
“She just called him, didn’t she?” asked Jim, lowering his head. “Why?”
“To make sure he was sticking to their story,” said Kate. “Knowing what they have going on over there, Tyler’s probably in no position to take a phone call.”
*****
“Dawson?” said Tyler, widening his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving your life,” said Dawson, walking up to his brother and giving him a hug. “What have you done?”
“Nothing,” said Tyler. “I didn’t do what they’re saying I did. I swear to you, I had nothing to do with it.”
“With what?” asked Dawson. “You keep saying that. What happened to Em? What do you know?”
“I just need to talk to Brittany first,” said Tyler. “Please, just let me talk to her for a minute. You don’t understand what’s going on here. We didn’t do anything to her, Dawson. I swear to God we didn’t.”
“That’s going to be a little difficult right now,” said Grey, keeping up the pressure. “She’s at home right now with her parents and two of our investigators.”
“What do you think they’re talking about?” asked Chief. “You should be very concerned about that. If I were her, I’d be throwing you under the bus.”
“No,” said Tyler, looking at his phone. “She’s more worried I’m throwing her.”
*****
“Are you okay?” asked Abby, looking at Brittany while she settled back into her seat.
“No,” said Brittany, reaching for both of her parents’ hands. “You have no idea how much this hurts. She was my best friend and I couldn’t help her.”
“Help her with what?” asked Kate. “What happened at the party?”
“Tell them,” said Jim, squeezing her hand.
“It was the first time I caught her using drugs,” said Brittany. “I wanted her to have a great eighteenth birthday after everything she’d been going through with her mom. Ms. Karla was doing a little better, but it was still so stressful for Em. I wanted her to relax and have a good time, so I made it a surprise party and told her it was my Christmas party. I invited all of her friends. Most of them I knew well, but there were a few I didn’t. I just knew that she’d want them there.”
“She was very excited about it,” said Abby. “Is that why you helped her bury the hatchet with Tyler?”
“Yes,” said Brittany. “I knew something had happened between them, but she never told me what it was. He had a huge crush on her for as long as I can remember. I was sure it had something to do with that. I just reminded her what great friends they were, and whatever he did she needed to forgive him. She agreed, and they ended up coming to the party together. Everything was going great until those guys showed up.”
“What guys?” asked Abby.
She looked over at her father. “Tell them, sweetheart,” said Jim. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“I love you, Dad,” said Brittany. “But you can’t keep that promise.”
For the first time during their conversation, Kate knew she was telling the truth. She also knew everything she told them after that would be more lies. Brittany wasn’t trying to be deceitful. She was trying to protect her parents.
They both knew her father wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. He wouldn’t be able to protect his daughter any better than Karla was able to protect Emily. Brittany was scared for him.
Abby looked over at her sister and saw the familiar distance in her eyes. She knew she was taking herself into the dark place Abby would never be able to understand. A place Kate went to keep promises that others couldn’t.
“You’re right, Brittany,” said Kate, leaning forward. “He can’t protect you. I will.”
Chapter 18
Chemistry
(August 25th, 2012)
Emily and Brittany dove into the pool and glided underwater to the shallow end. All eyes were on them when they popped up from below the surface. Most of those eyes belonged to the boys who were silently planning their strategies to get closer to them. Some of the eyes belonged to other girls who wished that they would go away.
“I can’t believe our senior year starts next week,” said Brittany, pushing herself up on the stairs.
“I know,” said Emily, sitting beside her in the shallow water. “I’m going to have a heart attack waiting for my letter.”
“Oh, please,” said Brittany. “With your GPA, you’ll get in. I’m the one who should be worried. What if I don’t get accepted to LSU? I’ll never see you again, and Conner will drop me like a hot rock.”
“You worry too much,” said Emily, leaning back on her elbows. “You’ll get in too. Besides, I’ll always be there for you.”
“Ugh,” said Brittany. “Here comes trouble.”
Mark Hall was the first to put his plan into action. He brought two of his friends as back-up. He was the son of a district judge and didn’t let anyone forget it. Girls found him attractive, and he was popular in school. He wasn’t popular because he was smart and friendly. He was popular because he threw parties where alcohol and fights were guaranteed. Mark was confident and aggressive.
“Hey, ladies,” said Mark, staring at Emily’s chest. “You both are looking good today.”
“Thanks,” said Brit, noticing his stare. “I thought you were having a party at your house.”
“I am,” said Mark. “It starts at eight. You two are coming, right?”
“Not sure,” said Brit. “Em and I need some girl time. We’re probably just going to stick around here tonight.”
“I gotta tell you, Em,” said Mark, sliding onto
the stair beside her, “you’ve changed a lot since last year. You look amazing. I mean, you were always pretty, but damn. You’ve changed a lot.”
“Thank you,” said Emily, trying to slide closer to Brittany.
“I’m serious,” said Mark, putting his hand on her knee. “You should come tonight. It’s going to be fun. You and I need to catch up.”
“I would,” said Emily. “But Brittany needs my expert advice.”
“About what?” asked Mark, moving his hand up her thigh. “Maybe I can help.”
“It’s girl stuff,” said Emily, pushing his hand off of her. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Sure,” said Mark. “I get it. Just give me a hug and we’ll catch up later.”
Before Emily could respond, he stood and pulled her up. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her into him. At first her arms were dangling by her side, but she conceded and hugged him back. She could feel his erection growing against her stomach as he held the embrace as long as she would let him.
“I can’t breathe,” said Emily, pulling away from him.
“Because it’s a good hug,” said Mark, smiling at her. “Don’t get jealous, Brit. You’re spoken for.”
“My loss,” said Brittany, rolling her eyes.
“I’ll see you later,” said Mark, wading into deeper water with his friends.
“That was gross,” said Emily, sitting on the step. “I could feel his hard-on.”
“Come on,” said Brittany. “You know you liked it. You should go out with him.”
“Are you kidding me?” said Emily, cutting her eyes at Brittany. “Please tell me you’re kidding. He just wants to get into my pants.”
“Why is that so bad?” asked Brittany. “That’s pretty much what all guys want. I mean, he’s not that bad looking, and he obviously wants you.”
“Who are you?” asked Emily. “What have you done with my best friend?”