Page 77 of The Girls in the Snow

Nikki’s stomach soured. She didn’t like where this was headed.

“Then one night, a few days before they disappeared, Madison overheard her parents fighting. Her mother, mostly. Her little brother came into Madison’s room crying and saying it was his fault,” Brianna said. “He’d been snooping through Mr. Banks’ office and found a box of pictures. Mr. Banks was in most of them, and there were different women, and they were naked. Some weren’t even awake.Mrs. Banks got really upset, so Bailey felt like it was his fault. Madison told him it wasn’t, and that whatever happened was between their mom and dad. Madison intended to confront her parents about it. She was certain Mr. Banks was the one who approached Kaylee. She was going to ask her about it.”

“Did she talk to any of them?”

“I don’t know. They disappeared the next weekend. I think her mom made her promise she’d let her handle things.” Brianna crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers leaving pressure marks on her skin.

“Did Madison see the pictures?”

“I don’t think so,” Brianna said. “But Maddie knew they must have been as bad as Bailey said because her mom was a wreck.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Parents fight, don’t they? Madison loved her stepdad, and they were close. Just because he cheated on Maddie’s mom doesn’t mean he’d hurt Maddie, right?” Brianna hugged her chest, her gaze pleading with Nikki to agree.

“I can’t answer that right now, but I promise to keep digging until we know what happened to them.” Nikki thanked Brianna for her honesty and walked outside in a daze.

Nikki could see that at least six more protestors had joined the group outside the government center when she arrived. Doug folded his arms over his chest and stared at Nikki. She ignored him and scanned the group.

Bobby stood on the other side of the entrance with a couple of protestors Nikki recognized from the first day she’d arrived. Nikki pointed to the parking lot, signaling him to follow her, and then pulled into the nearest parking spot.

She heard the shouts as soon as she stepped out of the jeep. The entrance didn’t have any sort of barricade, and the rest of the protestors seemed to be warning Bobby that he was crossing a line. At least the group respected the law enough to protest outside of the parking lot.

Bobby stopped a few feet away from her. “Just so you know, they’re all recording this on their phones. It’s like I’m crossing a picket line or something. They’re going to pounce when I come back.”

“I can take care of that.”

Most of the protestors quieted down as she approached, and Doug’s crude voice was quickly hushed by a young woman half his size. She stepped forward, her cell phone pointed at Nikki.

“Agent Hunt. Are you going to talk to us about Mark Todd?”

“I legally can’t talk to you about him,” Nikki replied. “Mark Todd is appealing his conviction, and I’m not only a witness, I’m an FBI agent. Believe it or not, my speaking to you could have a negative effect on his case. I’m sure Ms. Newport would tell you the same thing.”

“Then what are you doing?” Doug replied, coming forward.

“I’m working an active murder investigation. One of the victims was a family friend of Bobby’s, and I have a couple of things to verify with him. That’s the only reason he’s speaking with me, so please don’t ambush him when he returns.”

She walked back to Bobby.

“I need you to be completely honest with me. I don’t think you would hurt Madison, but I need to know if you’re aware of anyone else Kaylee or Madison was spending time with before they died.”

Bobby looked stunned. “I already told you I don’t know anything else. They spent so much time together: gossiping, chatting, running about just the two of them. It’s why Madison and I weren’t as close anymore. They were best friends. And I hadn’t seen either of them since I took them to Hudson.”

“All right,” Nikki said.

“Did she suffer?” Bobby’s voice cracked. “Could the medical examiner tell if it was quick?”

“You don’t want to hear the answer to that,” Nikki replied. “Are you staying in Stillwater until the funeral’s over?”

“Um, I think so. My professors have been good about me doing online work.”

“I’m glad,” Nikki said. “And I have a favor to ask.”

His eyes lit up. “Of me? Sure.”

“You’ll go back to school after the funeral and not get hung up here with the protestors. If you’re passionate about Mark’s innocence, there are things you can do from campus. Don’t let all of this interrupt your life.”

Bobby looked down at his scruffy shoes. “My life’s already been interrupted plenty, Agent Hunt.”

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