Page 12 of Silencing Stolen Whispers
“Hannah didn't really have time for a social life outside of law school. Between classes, studying for the bar, and trying to please our parents, she barely had time to sleep. She reallyonly had one friend—Jade Patel.” Bailey pulled another tissue from the pouch. “That was the difference between us, you know? Hannah spent her whole life trying to meet everyone else’s expectations, especially our parents. I couldn't give a shit about their approval."
“Scriven,” Kinsley murmured before meeting Alex’s gaze. She then directed her stare at Bailey. “Katherine and William Scriven are your parents? Corporate law, if I remember correctly.”
Alex wasn’t surprised that Kinsley had recognized the surname, given their profession. Her father ran in those circles, whereas Alex was really only familiar with the prosecutors and a handful of defense attorneys.
“That’s them,” Bailey said rather bitterly. She pushed away a flyaway strand, her gaze once more drifting to the front door of the cabin. “They always pushed Hannah too hard, especially Mom. Our whole lives, too, but especially these last few years. She wanted the perfect daughter, and Hannah killed herself trying to be that for them.”
The unfortunate phrasing hung in the air. Bailey winced, tears threatening to spill over again. Alex shifted slightly in his seat, the wooden chair creaking beneath him. The morning sun had grown hotter, baking the clearing where the cabin sat, and the suit jacket became a bit too heavy. Perspiration dripped down his temples, but he kept his focus on Bailey, whose grief ebbed and flowed. He allowed her a few more minutes to gather herself before he pressed further.
“You mentioned a friend by the name of Jade Patel. What can you tell us about her?”
“Jade still has a year left of law school, but they were roommates,” Bailey divulged as she went through another tissue. Alex wasn’t sure if she spoke in the past tense because Hannah was gone or if the two women were no longer rooming together. Fortunately, she answered his question before he couldverbalize it. “Since Hannah graduated last month, Jade got another roommate heading into summer.”
“And Hannah was okay with that decision?” Alex inquired, not wanting to assume that was what Bailey meant to say. With her nod of agreement, he then followed up with another question. “I take it they were close?”
“Iwas Hannah's best friend.” The distinction seemed important to Bailey, a territorial marker defining the relationship with her twin sister. “Jade was just a law school friend. And I know this sounds bad, but she and Hannah had a falling out right before Hannah packed up her belongings. I don’t know all the details, just that Hannah felt she made a mistake and Jade found out about it.”
“And Hannah didn't share the details with you?” Alex pressed gently.
“Not really.” Bailey suddenly looked very young and extremely vulnerable. She drew a shuddering breath. “Hannah was more upset about the bar exam. And the last thing I said to her was that I didn't want to be her emotional support animal anymore. That she should figure things out herself for once, because the rest of us have problems, too.”
The confession spilled out of her, and fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks. Her entire body seemed to cave inward. Alex and Kinsley paused their questioning to give her some time to calm down.
“Sisters fight, Bailey,” Alex offered up quietly. “Siblings, parents, friends…it's normal.”
“Not us.” Bailey shook her head as if to emphasize her point. “Not like that. I was just so angry that she wouldn’t stand up to them. And now she’s gone.”
By this time, Bailey had collected a wad of tissues. She wiped her face with them before standing, not caring that the packet oftissues fell to the ground. Alex followed suit after picking up the small pouch.
“Are we finished? I need to call my parents, and I—what am I thinking? I can't tell them this over the phone. I need to go to their office.”
“Bailey, this is just a formality, but we need to document where you were last night,” Kinsley said, intentionally being the one to request an alibi. Every one of Bailey’s answers had been directed at him. He would have done the same as Kinsley had Bailey forged a rapport with her instead of him. “From after your call to when you drove here this morning.”
“At my apartment,” Bailey responded before rattling off the address. She didn’t seem to mind sharing the information since she was preoccupied with one task. “How am I going to tell them?”
“Bailey, we've covered what we need for now, and we’ll be in touch if we have any follow-up questions. Since Detective Aspen and I will need to speak with your parents as well, why don’t we give you a?—”
Before Alex could finish extending his offer to drive her into town, she turned and walked to her yellow Volkswagen. Her movements were stiff, almost robotic, the initial shock giving way to the numb functionality that often followed devastating news.
The beetle's engine sputtered to life.
Bailey backed up quickly—too quickly—nearly clipping Kinsley’s Jeep in the process before righting the vehicle and accelerating down the gravel drive, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.
“We shouldn't have let her drive,” Kinsley said as she stood beside Alex, both of them monitoring the compact yellow car disappear from view.
"I don't think we could have stopped her.”
The drawn-out honk of a horn wasn’t the reason Alex spotted a dark SUV approaching, followed by the white forensics van. It was a wonder Bailey hadn’t swerved right into the oncoming vehicles.
“Perfect timing,” Alex said as he slid the packet of tissues into his pocket with the used nitrile gloves. “We’ll leave the scene to Wally and forensics. We should really try to reach the Scrivens' office before Bailey does. If she's as emotional when she sees her parents as she was here, we might not get much coherent information from them.”
Kinsley reached out and placed her hand on his arm to stop him from heading toward Wally’s SUV. Her blue eyes displayed concern, and her mouth was pressed into a tight line.
“Doesn't it strike you as odd that Bailey didn't ask how her sister died?”
Alex replayed the entire interaction in his mind, testing Kinsley's assertion against his recollection. His partner was right. Bailey Scriven hadn’t inquired once about the circumstances surrounding her sister’s death.
Shock?
