Page 22 of Vanished in the Mist
“What about Tristan Cargill?” Shanna asked. “Did he go swimming in that area a lot? Or boating?”
“No. Never. That’s not an area where we, I mean he, would ever hang out. Wrong side of town, you know?”
“No. I don’t know. Can you explain it to me?”
Peyton let out an impatient breath. “That’s not one of the nicer parts of the lake. And it’s dangerous, with steep drop-offs. My friends and I hung out in the more, you know, exclusive areas.”
“Then why were you and so many of your high-school classmates out in that area today?”
“The same reason everyone else was. To see what was going on. You hear lots of police sirens and stuff, you go look. It’s a small town.”
“Okay, I get that. You said you didn’t hang around Tanya. What about Tristan? Did he?”
She made a derisive sound. “You know he’s rich, right? I mean, his parents are rich. They have homes all over the country and only come here in the cooler months. For the most part, Tristan has always lived here alone. Well, except before he turned eighteen they always had a housekeeper. I mean, it’s not like his parents could leave a minor unsupervised for months, right? Anyway, no. Tristan never hung with Jericho, I mean Tanya, either. You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that cop I heard by the lake was wrong. The body they found must be Tanya. There’s no reason for Tristan to have even been there. He’s on his gap year.”
“Gap year?” Shanna asked. “Like when someone skips a year after high school before starting college?”
“Exactly. Wish I could have done that but my parents would never go for it. He was due to head off to Europe a few weeks after graduation. That’s the last I heard about him.” She clasped her hands tightly again and looked down at the floor.
Kaden exchanged a knowing look with Shanna. Peyton Holloway was hiding something. The question was whether it had anything to do with Tristan’s disappearance, or Tanya’s. Or neither. Nothing she was sharing seemed like anything they could base an investigation upon. Then again, he wasn’t the PI. Maybe Shanna was getting more out of this than he was.
Shanna continued to press for more details, but the young woman wasn’t very forthcoming. Then Shanna suddenly threw Peyton a curve.
“When was the last time you saw Tanya?”
Peyton stiffened in her chair. “Tanya? I don’t…like I said. We weren’t friends. It’s not like we hung out together. Ever. Look, I’ve answered your questions even though I don’t know anything.” She stood. “It’s getting late. I need to go.”
Shanna checked her phone as she too stood. “It’s only lunchtime. You have an appointment?”
“Appointment. Right. Yes. I have to, ah, be somewhere.”
“Of course. Sorry to have kept you. Thank you for helping.”
“Helping?”
“With our investigation into Tanya’s disappearance.”
“Oh. Right. Sure.” Peyton couldn’t seem to get to the door fast enough, pulling it firmly closed behind her as if to ensure that Shanna wouldn’t follow her.
Shanna turned around at the door. “I screwed that up.”
Kaden crossed to her. “What do you mean?”
“Without being obvious, look past me through the windows. She’s on the phone, isn’t she?”
“She’s backing out but, yeah, looks like she’s talking to someone. Hands-free phone, I’m guessing.”
Shanna swore. “She’s hiding something. And now, she’s telling whoever else knows her secret that we’re on to them. I should have been more careful, not gone full bulldog on her trying to rattle her. It could have been more helpful to have a bug in her car before she called whoever she’s speaking to now. We might have learned quite a bit.”
“You’re talking about planting a listening device in her car? Isn’t that illegal?”
“Not if I got approval from law enforcement as part of the murder investigation. I should have talked to the chief before pressing so hard.”
“I don’t think we’ve learned anything useful enough to convince the police to get a warrant. Or did I miss something?”
She headed into the main part of the kitchen area. “How much did you drink before I came inside with Peyton?”
“I was kidding earlier. I didn’t get anything.”
