Page 22 of The Girls in the Snow

“No, just the front and back door.”

“Does either camera capture the driveway at all?”

“Not that I can remember.”

Nikki found her key fob and turned the jeep on, giving the seats a few extra seconds to warm up. “Did you notice Miles’ demeanor change when I asked about his dad being there?”

“He couldn’t get his mouth full fast enough.”

“Exactly,” Nikki said. “He’s covering for his dad. No chance the security footage could have been swapped for another day?”

“Not with his setup. Connected to the internet so it pulls the date and can’t be altered. I went through it twice to make sure the girls never came into the house. Hanson didn’t leave out the front or back door. Miles said he was home. So did his wife. I didn’t pursue that angle. I guess I should have.” Miller looked down at the ground and kicked a chunk of dirty, frozen snow.

“I probably would have done the same thing,” Nikki said. “But after talking with Miles and his dad, I think Drew left sometime that day, in his car. No camera on the garage to capture it.”

“And he makes his son lie for him,” Miller said. “What kind of parent does that?”

“The kind who has a secret,” Nikki said.

Seven

During the short drive to Kaylee’s home, Nikki called the Comfort Inn and Suites and reserved a room.

Jessica Thomas’ house was less than a fifteen-minute walk from the Bankses’ home, but the area felt entirely different. Kaylee had lived in a cookie-cutter condominium that looked exactly like the other dozen on the street. The Thomas home was minimally decorated with careworn furniture, but it seemed much homier than the Bankses’.

Jessica sat at the table in her maroon work scrubs and stared vacantly at Nikki. Her long dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and streaked with grays. She had a lean look about her, with bony cheekbones and pallid skin.

“How are you holding up?” Miller asked.

Jessica’s thin arms hugged her chest. “I keep telling myself to wake up. Like it’s all a nightmare.”

Nikki had done the same thing during the nightmares that lingered for months after her parents’ murders. Her brain would desperately scream at her to wake up before she went into the house, but Nikki never managed to listen.

“This is Special Agent Nikki Hunt with the FBI,” Miller said. “She wants to ask you a few more questions, if that’s okay.”

“Did that Frost guy do this to my girl?” Jessica asked.

“We’re examining all possibilities,” Nikki said.

“If it’s not Frost, then why are you still here?” Jessica asked tiredly. “I know who you are, and I read the paper. I can’t imagine you’d want to stick around. All the new evidence…”

Nikki’s heart skidded to a stop before ramping up again. New evidence? She’d been told that Mark had asked for new evidence to be re-examined, not that there was anything new to look at. Nikki couldn’t think about that right now. “Finding the person responsible for the girls’ deaths is my priority.”

“And what if the Frost Killer dumps some woman?” Jessica replied. “Will you just leave the case hanging?”

“Jess, you don’t need to worry—” Miller began.

Jessica’s voice grew louder as she white-knuckled her coffee cup. Her eyes bore into Nikki’s. “I need to know that you’re going to work this case until it’s solved, no matter what happens.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nikki said. “I know you’ve answered the same questions over and over, so I’m going to try not to be very repetitive, but I do need to ask them again. That’s why I’m here. And I won’t be leaving until I find your daughter’s killer.”

“My kid’s just another dead teenager to you,” Jessica snapped. “If you catch Frost, you’ll make national—”

Nikki reached over the table and placed her hand over Jessica’s trembling ones. “I swear to you that I will see this case through.”

Jessica’s shoulders inched down. “I’m holding you to that, Agent.”

“I fully expect you to,” Nikki said. “Sergeant Miller said Kaylee was grounded and without her phone,” Nikki continued. “That she didn’t have permission to go to Madison’s.”

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