Page 56 of The Truth You Told

MARPLESASSISTANT:Circumstantial

DRSHERLOCK:Except that he fits the rest of the profile Kilkenny has given of AM

MARPLESASSISTANT:How did you even find this dude? He’s just a random person and now he’s being accused everywhere of being AM

DRSHERLOCK:He knew one of the victims ...

MARPLESASSISTANT:Circumstantial

DRSHERLOCK:Someone posted a picture of him in the crowd that gathered after adifferentvictim than the one he knew was found ... anddon’tsay circumstantial again!

MARPLESASSISTANT:As you just said, his delivery routes go by the body drop sites ... if he was there at all, he probably just stopped to see what was going on. Have you ever heard of Richard Jewell?

DRSHERLOCK:The guy who got blamed for the Olympic bombing scare in Atlanta

MARPLESASSISTANT:Yupppppp ... his life was ruined because he was falsely accused. Ruined, my dear Sherlock Holmes. Think about that before accusing someone off coincidental evidence

DRSHERLOCK:His name isn’t actually everywhere, just on sites like this. And it’s three in the fucking morning, Miss Marple. On a true crime discord where we shoot the shit about active crime cases. Who exactly am I hurting?

MARPLESASSISTANT:That’s my point ... you just never know

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Shay

October 2010

Three and a half years before the kidnapping

Shay hated lying to Beau, but she knew he wasn’t going to approve of what she was about to do.

He would defend Max with his dying breath, even if their sister were the one holding the knife. Shay loved Max, but that didn’t stop her from being worried about her. In fact, it just made her worry more.

She’d mostly talked herself out of thinking the serial-killer box meant anything but natural curiosity. But Max’s blankYou shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want an answer tostill sent shivers along Shay’s skin.

Max had been distant ever since, but Shay wasn’t shocked by that turn of events.

“Shay?”

Dr. Tori Greene’s voice broke her out of her doom-spiraling.

“I’m sorry, did we have an appointment scheduled?” Tori asked, looking between Shay and her secretary, who was, of course, sanctimoniously shaking her head.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize,” Shay said, standing. “I was actually hoping I could chat with you real quick. Maybe off the record.”

That got a small smile. “I’m not a journalist.”

But then she gestured toward her office before turning back to her secretary. “We’re done for the day, Chrissy.”

Shay had been in the inner sanctum before, but never as anything other than Max’s guardian. It felt different taking the comfortable—but not too comfortable—seat across from Tori.

It felt vulnerable.

Tori grabbed one of her notebooks, but kept it closed on the arm of her chair as she studied Shay. “I can’t tell you what Max and I discuss in our sessions, if that’s why you’re here.”

“No, no.” Shay rubbed sweaty palms against her jeans. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come, but ...”

Like any good psychiatrist, Tori seemed to know how to wait out the awkward silences.

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