Page 115 of Our Daughter's Bones
How many girls were screaming for help right now? How had they gone three Septembers without knowing what had happened?
She used to believe that a city was just geography. Now, the realization hit her that an address was so much more than that. It contributed to who we were. It made us part of a community. Communities dictated what we allowed and what we didn’t.
As a community, Lakemore was at the brink of a test—perhaps the most crucial test it would ever face. What would it choose? Justice for the lives of innocent women, or the sport that gave Lakemore an identity and a purpose?
To Mackenzie, the answer was straightforward. But she knew that “right” was not just a matter of facts. It was a matter of perspective.
Hours had bled into days. No progress had been made. The tips stopped coming in, and there had been no suspicious sightings. It was looking increasingly likely that Abby was already dead. Divers had been given the green light to cover as much of the river as they could—but they had found nothing. Was Abby still alive, or had the currents carried her corpse far away, like they had with Daphne Cho?
Mackenzie spent days going over her notes, statements, and forensic reports. She hoped to find some answers, but was faced with more questions. She’d felt they were closing in, that the pieces were sliding into place, but as quickly as they’d picked it up, the trail had gone cold. It was infuriating.
She avoided spending time at home. Sterling called and texted her multiple times a day. She knew she was drifting—he did too. She wondered if he was trying to hold on to her. Did he even want to? How hard would he fight for them?
Meanwhile, Lakemore’s focus had shifted to the next football game—Sharks vs Eagles tomorrow night. It was going to be an easy victory for the Sharks. As a result, the city prepared for a celebration. Restaurants offered a discount for wearing a Sharks T-shirt. Bars were booked solid. Some streets had been shut down for victory parades.
The news either covered the game or updates on Erica’s murder. Abby was mentioned in passing. Samuel and Gabriella were interviewed. Their pleading eyes urged the public to come forward if they had any information. They offered a whopping fifty-thousand-dollar reward to anyone who would have useful information for the police. Nick had been on the phone for the past two days—listening and confirming every piece of information. As expected, all of them were bogus tips—people preaching their theories hoping they were right and would get that money.
Mackenzie sat at her desk holding the missing pages of the diary and going over Abby’s neat handwriting, her use of formal language, the poetic description of her fear.
Abby had been wrong about Bill Grayson. His alibi for the time she disappeared was rock solid, and they couldn’t place him at the cabin any time in the last few weeks, although they were still working through his calendar. But someone even more twisted had picked up the dirty legacy left behind by the most beloved man in Lakemore. Someone had taken it to another level and slaughtered those girls. Like they weren’t even human, just objects to be discarded after they served their purpose.
“Do you think Max switched out Abby’s pills?” Nick asked.
“That scrawny kid is the new Club 916?” She turned on her chair to face him.
“I don’t know. I’m just shooting in the dark. Nothing fits anymore.”
“The copycat club has to have someone big. They’ve gotten away with so much.”
“Maybe they’re just lucky bastards.” He tucked a cigarette behind his ear. “This is LakemurderA lot of shit happens here.”
“I hate that name.”
“I know. For a New Yorker, you’re very loyal.”
She ground her jaw. “Do you still think Bill Grayson is involved?”
“Why wouldn’t he clean the blood in his cabin, Mack?”
There was that. Her brain was going in circles. She kicked back in her chair, trying to disconnect and start from the beginning, and spotted Daniel walking to Sully’s office.
His face was red and mouth twitchy.
Mackenzie and Nick shot from their chairs and followed him when Lieutenant Peck appeared at Sully’s door.
“Did you call a meeting?” Nick asked.
“Come in,” replied Peck, leaving the door ajar.
As soon as Mackenzie entered Sully’s office, she sensed tension thickening the air. Sully sat behind his desk with his arms crossed. Peck stood next to him with his back straight and an eyebrow raised.
“What’s this about?” Daniel asked slowly, sitting across from Sully.
Sully looked up at Peck.
“Agent St. Clair,” Peck spoke. “Captain Murphy and I have decided that it’s best to take you off the case.”
Mackenzie was standing behind Daniel, so couldn’t see his face. But she saw him grip the handles of the chair tighter and squirm in his seat.
