Page 80 of Into the Shadows

The forty-five-minute drive to Greensboro goes by in a flash. Nerves flutter in my belly. Could this really be the big break I’ve always dreamed of having? Maybe Candace is having trouble with someone.

Teddy would be even more pissed if she came to me instead of the police.

I find a parking spot down the street and walk into the coffee shop. Candace isn’t here yet, so I grab a coffee and find a table. She comes in a few minutes later, searching the room for me. I give her a wave, and her shoulders relax.

“Hey.” I stand to give her a hug. “Everything okay?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know, Charlie. Something weird is going on. A while ago, we started getting threatening messages from a spam account that said if we didn’t take down Crystal’s memorial group, we’d regret it.”

Those words bring back a memory of the text I received. “I hope you didn’t do that.”

She shakes her head. “Of course not. But I did hide thegroup to make it look like we did. The problem is, it didn’t fool this guy for long. A few weeks later, the messages started back again, except I was the only one getting them.”

“What?”

“Tara and I were both getting messages. Now, it’s just me. She’s super worried.”

“I bet you both are.”

“That’s not the worst part. They also threatened you.”

“Hold on. Someone was sendingyouthreatening messages, and in those messages, they threatenedme?”

She pulls her phone out to show me.

Stop talking to reporters. If you say another word about Crystal’s disappearance to Charlie Jackson or anyone else, I’ll hurt her and you.

“Candace.We need to take these to the police.”

“I already tried. The Greensboro police department said, ‘Sorry, we can’t help you.’”

“Until an actual crime is committed. Such a stupid rule.” I roll my eyes.

“Agreed. But I needed you to know what’s going on.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. I want to ask her something, but I’m not sure if I should.

“I already know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is no. I don’t know if Zachary, Steven, or Tara could have something to do with this. Given their connection to Ms. Mansgrove, it’s possible, but I’ve never had a suspicion until now.”

“How much time have you spent with Zachary and Steven?”

“Not much in recent years. We used to be close after graduation, but we drifted apart. Life got in the way, and we didn’t stay in touch like we’d wanted.”

I sit with that for a minute. Candace jumps in before I can share my theory. “You think it was one of them who hurt Crystal?”

I shrug. “I don’t have any facts to back up the claim, but yeah. They both knew her schedule. They’d have a window of opportunity to attack. Steven could have used the extra practice to act surprised when she never showed. I’m not sure about Zachary, but he still had the opportunity. They’ve both been involved in her memorial group, so they’d be up-to-date on the case.”

“Do you think they’re the ones messaging me?”

“It’s possible. After the episode about the divers aired, they could’ve felt threatened.”

Candace sits straighter in her chair. “Steven was super wired that night.”

“What night?”

She closes her eyes as if she’s trying to recall the memory. “The night of her disappearance. He was bouncing around and acting over the top onstage. And he never once asked about Ms. Mansgrove. I texted people and told him it was weird that she wasn’t there. He kept saying that she probably just forgot.”

“That’s not totally abnormal,” I hedge.

---