Page 38 of Vanished in the Mist
Chief Dawson leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “Wait a minute. Now you’re changing your story and saying you and your friends didnotkill Tanya Jericho?”
“What? No. No, I’m just explaining what happened.”
Shanna exchanged a quick look with Kaden, who shrugged, as confused as she was.
“Let’s back up,” Dawson said. “Two weeks after graduation, the third week of May and the night that Tanya Jericho went missing, you said she again followed you and your friends to one of the bonfires you liked to hold out in the woods by the lake.”
“Yes. I’ve told you that like four times already.”
“It’s important to get this right. It’s a different bonfire than the one in that picture that Ms. Hudson showed me, correct?”
Peyton clutched Shanna’s hand more tightly. “Yes. This was a different one, the last bonfire we ever held because—because of what happened that night.”
Dawson referred to his notes on the coffee table in front of him. “Got it. You were all five partying as in drinking and getting high on marijuana. You heard a noise and realized Tanya was watching you. That made you mad.”
“Well, yes. Of course. We’d told her to stop following us around and spying. We’d all graduated by then and thought it was ridiculous for a kid to be following five adults around like a lost puppy.”
The empathy Shanna had begun to feel for Peyton after she’d broken down earlier was rapidly drying up. Did the girl have no clue how bad she sounded? She’d admitted to murder and here she was, victim-blaming. The whole thing made Shanna want to pull her hand free and join Kaden on the other couch. But she couldn’t risk doing anything that might stop the confession. They still needed the final clue, the location of Tanya’s body.
Tension showed in the lines around Dawson’s mouth as he continued to politely question Peyton. But his professionalismkept him from revealing any anger or disgust as he worked at getting the truth. “Where exactly was this last bonfire held?”
“In the woods, by the lake.”
“Near where our divers have been searching? Where we found Tristan Cargill?”
She frowned. “No, of course not. I’ll never understand why Tristan was found over there. All of us, including him, stayed on our side of town.”
Dawson blinked, looking confused. “Where is our side of town?”
“You know, past the marina, but on the other side of the lake. On the same side as Stella’s B and B but way down.”
“So it’s past the campground.”
“A few miles past, yes. But—”
“On the other side of the lake. Got it. Is there a landmark you can give me?”
“I don’t know about any landmarks right there, but it’s past the Andersons’ place and the mountain that looks like it’s been split in two.”
“Cooper’s Bluff?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s it. Maybe a mile past that.”
“All right. We’ll get you a map in a bit and maybe you can show me. Let’s get back to what you were saying earlier. At this bonfire, when you saw Tanya, Jack dragged her into the clearing by the fire. And the rest of you…spoke to her. Correct?”
Her hand squeezed Shanna’s again. She was shaking, ever so slightly, her face pale. Maybe the way she was talking was more false bravado than lack of caring about her victim. Shanna squeezed back and Peyton gave her a grateful look, leaning into her side.
“Correct,” Peyton said. “But you’re—you’re making it sound better than it was. We were mean, Chief Dawson. We said terrible, hurtful things. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have said themsober, but I don’t think me or the others would have been quite as…horrible if we weren’t drinking and smoking.”
“But no one hit her, or assaulted her in any way?”
She cleared her throat, her gaze falling to her lap. “Not at that point, no.”
“Walk me through it, right up to where you said she was in the water. That’s where you lost me earlier. After you had the shouting match by the bonfire, Tristan grabbed her and—”
“No. Tristanshovedher. His leg was hurt, remember? He was using a cane to walk so he couldn’t grab her arm. He would have fallen. He bumped her, really. Hard. It was Jack who grabbed her and dragged her toward the lake.”
“What did you and the others do when Jack was dragging her toward the water?”
