Page 39 of Whispers of Deception

“Don’t touch that,” Augustus snapped, swatting Sebastian’s hand away as he reached for something on the floor. “It’s the lake house,” he muttered, his mind elsewhere.

“No, that’s my muffin,” Sebastian murmured, retrieving his hand-eaten pastry from the clutter.

“Stop. I’m trying to map everything out,” Augustus said, barely acknowledging him as he shuffled papers around.

“Could you use something other than my food to do it?” Sebastian huffed, taking a bite of the rescued muffin.

Augustus waved him off, still engrossed in his work. “How far is the lake house from the Smarty Mart?”

Lilia squinted at her phone, scrolling through the map. “Fifteen minutes.”

“And the Smarty Mart from the park?” Augustus pressed, not looking up.

“What is he doing?” Delilah asked, dropping her bag onto the floor as she stepped closer to the mess.

“I’m retracing Willow’s steps,” Augustus murmured.

“The park is seventeen minutes from the gas station,” Lilia answered, glancing between her phone and Augustus.

“How exactly is that supposed to help us?” Delilah asked, her voice tinged with skepticism.

“And the park to Circle 9?” Augustus continued, ignoring Delilah’s question.

“Nine minutes,” Lilia said.

Augustus furrowed his brow, leaning back as he tried to piece together the timeline. “Okay, so she leaves the party at 11 p.m. She drives to the Smarty Mart and gets gas or something. Why stop at the park?”

“Maybe she stopped to eat her snacks?” Eleanor suggested from where she was sitting on the couch.

“Why not just eat them in her car?” Augustus countered.

“Do you think she met up with someone?” Sebastian wondered aloud.

“The eyewitness report said she was alone,” Lilia pointed out.

“So she stopped to eat her snacks, and then she drove to the hotel? What happened after that?” Augustus asked, frustration seeping into his tone.

“Nothing. Everything ends after that—she just . . . ” Lilia’s voice faltered.

“Vanished,” Augustus finished, his voice hollow.

A heavy silence settled among them, each lost in their own thoughts, the enormity of their task settling in.

Eleanor finally broke the silence. “Okay, so hypothetically, if we were building a suspect list, who would be on it?”

“The mystery guy should be at the top of the list, for sure,” Lilia suggested.

Delilah nodded, her gaze moving to the free wall in Augustus’ apartment, now filled to the brim with the pages from Willow’s journal, newspaper articles, and photographs. “I vote for Mr. Montgomery.”

“You’re joking?” Lilia looked at her in surprise. “Why would he kill his own daughter?”

“Willow hated her dad, and besides, who reports their daughter missing two days later?” Delilah shot back.

“The police already secured his alibi. He and Mrs. Montgomery were out of town. New York, if I’m remembering correctly,” Lilia countered.

“I still think he should be on the list,” Delilah insisted, her eyes not leaving the wall.

“And who else? Professor Jameson?” Eleanor added.

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