Page 74 of Liars

Then I dialed.

Riiing. Riiing. Riiing.

I tapped my finger against the side of my phone, a trembling in the pit of my stomach.

Come on. Pick up.

Voicemail.

Of course, she wasn’t just sitting at her desk waiting for me to call. My parents weren’t her only case, but that didn’t make my disappointment any easier to swallow.

I left a quick message. Gave her my new number in case she didn’t have it.

And then?

The waiting game.

Something I sucked at.

By the end of the day, I was close to calling again and leaving another message—one that made it crystal clear how important this was. Urgency pressed into me, my nerves thrumming.

I paced my bedroom.

Why did it feel so impossible to sit still?

She didn’t return my call.

Not that night.

Not the next day.

Not the day after that.

When nearly a week had passed, I was done waiting and decided that if I didn’t hear from her by Saturday, I was going down to the station myself, but on Friday after school, my phone rang with an unknown number. I answered immediately.

“Kaylor.” The detective’s voice came through the line. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for some time. I’m happy you finally called.”

My pulse kicked up. “I would’ve called sooner if I’d known you were trying to reach me.”

“I’d like you to come to the station,” she continued. “There are some questions I need to ask. And I’ll answer any you have as best as possible, without jeopardizing the investigation.”

“So, you’re still investigating?”

“Yes.”

A beat of silence.

“You said you’ve been trying to reach me,” I pointed out, my grip tightening on the phone. “But I haven’t had any calls or messages.”

She hesitated before she carefully said, “Your godfather hasn’t made it easy for us to speak.”

My stomach dropped.

She sighed. “I understand he’s looking out for you. That he wants what’s best. But if I’m going to do my job—if I’m going to get you closure—I need to ask questions. And they might not be easy ones.”

“I can handle it.”

“I think you can, too. You strike me as someone stronger than people give you credit for,” she said. “Can you come to the station on Saturday?”

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