Page 53 of Into the Shadows

I perk up. “Do you know whoit was?”

“It said his name was Daniel, but I don’t believe it was a real name. His profile screamed fake, so we think he just got off on making trouble for everyone.”

Zachary and Steven walk up to the table before I can ask any more questions. I stand and hold my hand out. “I’m Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Zachary.” He’s the complete opposite of Steven, with black hair and brown eyes. Even his skin tone is darker.

Steven smiles at me. “It’s good to meet you. Thank you for doing this.” He swipes a hand over his blond hair and sits next to Candace. “How are you two?”

“Good.”

“Can’t complain.”

Zachary sits next to me, and once we’re all settled, I start my spiel. “Thank you guys for agreeing to meet with me. It’s not always easy to talk about stuff like this, so I appreciate you taking the time to chat. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to record our interview. I likely won’t use all of it for the podcast, but I promise not to change anything you say to make it sound inflammatory. Authenticity is my biggest priority.”

“We know.” Tara smiles at me.

“We listened to a couple of seasons after you reached out to us. You’re really great at your job,” Candace adds.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” I look at Steven and Zachary. “Are you two okay with me recording the interview?”

Zachary nods. “Fine with me.”

“Me, too,” Steven says.

“Okay, let’s start with introductions. Please state your name, the years you were in high school, and what class you took with Crystal.”

All four do their introductions. They were in the same graduating class and had drama class with Crystal, although at different times ofthe day.

“Tell me about your relationships with Ms. Mansgrove. What did you think of her?”

Tara jumps in immediately. “I loved her. I’ve always been a theater nerd, and to have a teacher who loved drama as much as I did was the best. I got lucky enough to have her for three years straight.”

“She never let me get away with shit.” Zachary huffs out a laugh.

“You were always trying to get her to react,” Candace says.

“And she never gave in?” I grin.

Zachary shakes his head. “Not for a second. She made me want to be a better person.”

“She believed in us misfits when nobody else did,” Steven says with a solemnity you can’t fake.

“Seriously. I never had a teacher who treated me with respect like her. I lived in an unkempt trailer and had a shitty home life. Not a single one of my teachers gave me the time of day except for her.” Tara’s words are met with nods from the rest of the group.

“How did you find out she was missing?” I ask.

Candace looks at Steven. “She was supposed to meet with Steven and me for an extra practice session that night. We had a big play coming up, and neither of us could figure out the dance routine.”

“She never showed,” Steven says. “We thought she just forgot, but then the next day at school, we had a substitute teacher. We all thought it was weird. She’d never missed a day of school before. Not without warning.”

“Then the rumors started flying.” Tara rolls her eyes. “People were saying she ran away or was murdered. None of us could figure out the truth until the police showed up to question all of us in her class.”

“That was awful. I thought they were blaming us becausewe were supposed to have met with her that night,” Candace says.

“The police singled you out?” I frown.

Steven clenches his teeth. “Big time. I was tempted to say I did it just to get them to stop interviewing me. It was awful.”

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