Page 66 of Twice Missing
"Like Jacob Moon who was dating her?"
Marcus' face twisted with anger. "Especially that piece of crap. Saying I burned down his trailer. Then accusing me of preventing his sister from leaving my place."
McKenzie chimed in, thick with sarcasm. "So what were the restraints on the wall for, décor?"
"What I do in a bedroom is none of your damn business," Marcus snarled. "But they weren't for what they are accusing me of."
"We're not. She is," Noah pointed out.
"Well, she's as full of crap as her brother."
McKenzie's voice dripped with disdain. "And you sound like a real gentleman. A real winner."
Marcus raised his middle finger. "Fuck you!"
Noah, sensing the escalating tension, tried to steer theconversation back on track. "Look, we just want to hear what you know."
Marcus cocked his head, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And I just told you I don't know anything."
"Well, we came all the way up from High Peaks to speak with you," Noah said, trying a different approach.
"Then I guess you wasted your damn time," Marcus sneered. "I don't give a crap. I know how this song and dance plays out. You're here to try and befriend me, get me nervous like you know something I don't. Soon you will shift in your chair a little closer in an attempt to make me feel like the walls are closing in. Hear me out. I have had people point fingers at me since that girl went missing."
"And why would that be?" Noah asked, his voice neutral.
Marcus' response was a torrent of bitterness. "Because they like to blame the bad guy rather than face the truth that maybe she is responsible for whatever happened to her. But no, they don't want to hear that. Let's play the victim card. The sob story. Boo-hoo. I don't give a fuck! I had nothing to do with that Bravebird girl. And as for Abigail or Jacob Moon, they are pieces of shit for all they have put my family through."
"What have they done?" Noah probed.
"Man, enough with the questions," Marcus exploded. "You are no better than them. Neither of you pieces of scum are. All you are is government puppets paid to hound innocent people. Maybe you should be looking elsewhere."
Noah remained calm in the face of Marcus' outburst. "We have been. We've spoken to Sarah, Abigail, even Jacob and they all say you knew her and were dating her."
"I don't give a crap what they said. They are full of shit. Nor do I care how far you came to speak to me."
"Look, we are not just focusing on you, there are others," Noah said, trying to ease the pressure.
"Then speak to them and leave me the hell alone."
Noah stared at Marcus, allowing a pregnant pause. He knew that the silence between questions and answers often gave a person time to think, to unravel, to shift in their story, or even reconsider.
"Okay. I can appreciate that," Noah said finally. "Off the record, maybe you can help us with something you are unrelated to but might have some knowledge about." He took out his phone and brought up a photo of Emily Carter. He set the phone down, turned it, and moved it toward Marcus. "Have you seen her before?"
Noah watched Marcus carefully, not mentioning that Emily was dead or had been missing for ten years. He wanted to gauge the reaction and compare it to the one Marcus had given when shown Kayla's photo. The reaction was telling. Marcus' eyes drifted down, then slowly worked their way back up to Noah's gaze, as if he was contemplating what to say next. There was no fast answer, no screwing up of the face, no sense that they were wasting his time. He lingered. He knew. Noah could tell, yet what came out of Marcus' mouth next was nothing more than denial.
"Never seen her before," Marcus said, his voice carefully neutral. "Then again, I don't get off the res that much,and your people don't come here much unless they want to gawk, pretend they give a shit, or act like our nation isn't ours. Either way, I can't help you."
Noah took his phone back. "It was worth asking." Without missing a beat, he shifted to another topic. "Did you know Selena Lightfeather?"
"I did." That was the first honest answer out of Marcus' mouth. There was no hesitation or even attempt to distance himself. "She was a good person. Didn't deserve what happened to her."
"Do you know if she ever mentioned High Peaks? Visited there?"
"No."
"In the time she was missing before her body was found, did you hear any rumors of where she might be?"
"Nope."
