Page 38 of Little Child Gone

“He’s a really good drummer,” Neena said. “We both played quads for marching band and ended up next to each other. I don’t know how familiar you are with school bands,” Neena said. “But band camp is really intense. You learn the routine for the fall, and it’s worse for freshmen.”

“I actually played clarinet my first couple of years in high school,” Nikki said. “Please tell me the band uniforms aren’t wool anymore. My sophomore year, it was really hot for the first home football game. Something like ten degrees above average, even at night. My friend nearly passed out.”

“They’re still wool,” Neena said. “Itchy and awful.”

“Seriously?”

“You can get uniforms in Dac Wool, which is a blend of wool and polyester, or even a hundred percent polyester. Wool’s the most expensive and the material breathes better.” Neena shrugged. “If we were in the south, I’m sure we’d go polyester. But those October games can be frigid.”

“Fair point,” Nikki replied. “I love drumlines. How many quads do you have?”

“Six during marching band season,” she answered. “Taylor and I had to try out, and the rest are older kids. I think that’s part of the reason we bonded. Freshmen aren’t usually good enough for marching band drumline.”

“Did you and Taylor get flack for that?”

“Not really,” she said. “The older kids have been pretty cool.”

“His parents said he’s been dealing with some bullying. Do you know anything about that?”

Neena made a face. “Adrian Lynch. He’s a sophomore and a total douchebag. Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I’ve known plenty of them,” Nikki said. “What exactly happened?”

Neena bit her lower lip. “Didn’t his parents or sister tell you?”

“They did, but kids your age tend to tell their friends the more accurate version,” Nikki said. “I’m not judging him if he kept the details from his parents, but I do need to know the truth.”

“A couple of weeks before Halloween, Adrian Lynch asked Amelia out in front of a crowd of her friends. She’s friends—or was—with Adrian’s sister. She told him her parents wouldn’t let her date until she was sixteen.” Neena sipped from her water bottle. “He called her a fat slut, started making fun of her in front of half her class, because they were waiting on the bus. Other kids started chanting, too.”

“Kids can be awful,” Nikki said.

“Taylor and Logan came to my house after band practice. Amelia called crying and told him what happened. That’s the first time I’d seen him angry. Logan and I had to keep him from leaving my house to find Adrian.”

“So he confronted him the next morning?”

Neena nodded. “He walked up behind Adrian in the high school parking lot, grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and hit him right in the face before Adrian knew what happened.”

“You saw this?” Nikki asked.

“Logan did,” she answered. “They were walking from band practice to first period.”

“What did Adrian do?”

“He jumped at Taylor, and they rolled around on the floor fighting until one of the assistant principals broke it up.” Neena scowled. “Poor perfect specimen got popped in his smart mouth. Taylor was suspended for a week, and Adrian just three days.”

“Perfect specimen?” Nikki asked.

“That’s what he calls himself.” She rolled her eyes. “Adrian, I mean. He told one of his friends, who was nice enough to tell someone else.” Neena smirked.

“Tell me about Logan,” Nikki said. “The Halls mentioned he was another close friend.”

“Uh, not much to tell,” she said. “Logan and I have been friends since fifth grade. We started in percussion together, but Logan switched to trumpet. Taylor just fit in with us.” Her eyes widened. “I need to text him. He has some kind of stomach bug.”

“Actually, would you mind letting me tell him?” Nikki had to consider all of Taylor’s friends as suspects at this point. She didn’t want Logan to have time to come up with a story, but she couldn’t tell Neena. “Initial reactions usually contain the most details. You don’t think Taylor could be hiding out there for some reason?”

“And not tell his siblings?” Neena shook her head. “He’s had his issues with his mom, but he loves his brother and sisters. He wouldn’t leave them there.”

Nikki homed in on her admission. “You mean with their parents? Why not?”

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