Page 33 of Vanished in the Mist
“What? I don’t see anything.”
“Exactly. No one signed her yearbook. At least, not the inside cover.” She flipped to the end. “They didn’t sign the back cover, either. Even casual acquaintances sign each other’s yearbooks.”
“Maybe her mother didn’t want her messing it up by having people write in it.” He motioned around the room. “Look how spotless this bedroom is.”
“Good point. Where’s the senior student section?”
“She was a sophomore. Oh, you want to look for the popular clique.”
“Exactly.” She thumbed through the pictures, stopping at the section for last names starting with aC. “No way.”
Kaden leaned over her shoulder. “Four stars below Tristan Cargill’s picture. I’m guessing that means she liked him?”
“Did you even go to high school?”
He laughed. “Guess I missed some of the more important parts of my education.”
“I’ll say. Yes, she liked him.Reallyliked him. Although I don’t see how. Sounds like he was a jerk, God rest his soul. Ugh. I shouldn’t criticize the dead.”
“I don’t think he cares at this point.”
She lightly punched him on the shoulder. “Who’s next in the alphabet?”
“Jessica DeWalt. I’m guessing we skip her since she put the stars on a boy’s picture. Sam Morton is the next guy in the clique.”
“Morton, Morton.” She flipped several more pages, then stopped.
“There,” Kaden said. “Bottom right.”
“Oh, wow. I wouldn’t have recognized him. He sure changed since high school. A lot more clean-cut. A lot less hair.”
“And five stars. Looks like we have our connection.”
“Looks like. Just for kicks, I’ll check out Jack Neal. Want to bet how many stars before I get to his photo?”
“Wasn’t he the one Stella said was a bully?”
Shanna turned one more page, then froze. “Oh, my.”
Kaden shook his head as he studied the picture. “What the heck did he do to her?”
“Whatever it was, it was bad. I mean, you don’t draw devil’s horns and knives piercing someone’s skull unless you’re really upset at them.” She took a picture of that as well and then handed the yearbook to Kaden to return it to the shelf.
“I think we’ve got what we came for,” she said, when he joined her by the bed again. “We know there was a connection between Tanya and the others. Or, at least, Tanya wanted there to be a connection. The real question is whether they all knew it and took advantage of her in some way.”
“Like hurt her? Or killed her? You really think a group of seniors would murder a sophomore because, what, she was bugging them too much or got caught spying on them?”
“In my line of work, honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me. Just like people go nuts with road rage and do things they’d never dream of under normal circumstances. People can be horrible to each other, given the right conditions.”
“Or wrong ones,” he said.
She nodded her agreement. “Hopefully we can find out the truth about Tanya’s last day by aiming targeted questions and putting pressure on Peyton, Sam and Jack.”
He got up and held open the bedroom door. “Assuming we can find them.”
Chapter Thirteen
Having left Shanna’s car parked farther down the mountain in the hopes that Peyton wouldn’t notice it, Kaden now stood with Shanna on the road in front of the Holloway home. To call the massive, two-story structure a log cabin seemed like an oxymoron. There was certainly nothing rustic about it. It was elegant, stately and, in spite of its size, it seemed to complement its natural surroundings as if it was always supposed to be here. Situated near the top of one of Mystic Lake’s higher mountains, it had nearly 360-degree views from expansive windows on both levels. A wide, wraparound porch gave it a homey feel and easy access to every part of the property.
