Page 54 of What She Saw
Patty had left her mother’s home when she’d started dating Larry. When my mother got pregnant, my grandmother had forbidden her to see Larry again. Patty had refused. But as soon as Larry found out about me, he’d cut ties. My sweet, loyal mother had gotten herself pregnant by a psychopath who would slaughter three random people in a bar fight two years later.
Larry’s genes swam in my body, and my grandmother blamed all my quirks on him. I never hurt anyone like Larry had, unless they attacked a member of Team Outcast first. And even then, my revenge was nothing super violent. I wasn’t the sweet, kind, or vulnerable girlmy mother had been. Nor was I a crazed psychopath like my father. I was somewhere in between.
“Why did Debra move out?” I asked.
“My mother married a guy who could be a real jerk. I went along to get along, but not Debra. She didn’t like Frank and never held back. Mom didn’t want to lose Frank, so she told Debra to move out. And she did.”
“How long did she live on her own?”
“Ten months.” As she sipped her lemonade, the muscles of her neck moved as if her throat hurt. “When she left the house, it all changed. Mom got weirder and Frank meaner. I spent my time hiding at friends’ homes or my bedroom.”
“Did you see Debra often?”
“At first yes. I’d stop by the dry cleaner’s after school. I’d bring us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and we’d talk. It was nice.”
“But that changed?”
“She got busy. Supporting herself, applying to colleges, and trying to be a teenager took all her time.”
“Debra dated a guy named Kevin, right?” Stored details from Taggart’s case notes rushed to the front of my brain.
“Kevin Pascal.” She set the glass down and rolled her shoulders as if shedding an old grudge.
“I’m assuming he wasn’t Prince Charming.”
“He wasn’t bad. He was attractive. Bought her flowers. Even flirted with me in a way that made me feel special.”
“Why did she break up with him?”
“Kevin didn’t like her spending so much free time on schoolwork. He got annoyed when she talked about going to college. He wanted a simple hometown girl who wouldn’t achieve much and thought the sun rose and set around him.”
“A witness testified that Debra and Kevin showed up at the concert together.” I didn’t need to reference my notes. “He was wearing his security guard uniform. They were seen going their separate ways.”
“She was meeting me at the festival. But her boss told her she had to close the store at the last minute. She called and said she’d get there when she could. I went ahead with friends. Kevin happened by the dry cleaner’s and offered her a ride.”
“Nice guy.”
“He liked to be the knight in shining armor.” A halting breath filled her lungs.
“You made it your business later to talk to everyone who saw Debra at the festival.”
“I did. I wanted to account for every second. I wanted to find her. But piecing together the evening was easier said than done. Booze, crowds, and chaos swallowed up my memory.”
The value of original sources could never be underestimated. “What didn’t you tell Taggart that you thought wasn’t important at the time?”
She drew in a steadying breath as if still carrying a weight. “I hooked up with Kevin at the festival.”
That was a new tidbit that had never been discussed. “Can you expand on that?” I made sure she saw no judgment. I didn’t care that she’d slept with her sister’s ex. What I cared about was how new information would get me to my goal.
She held my gaze for a moment and then said, “I was near the stage, off to the side. He saw me and came over and said hi. I was wasted. And Kevin was Kevin, always charming. He took my hand in his and asked if we could go to a quieter place to talk. He’d missed seeing me.”
Kevin had seen an opportunity and taken it. “And?”
“We walked away from the crowds toward the farmhouse.”
“Did you go inside?”
“There was a large shed in the backyard.”
