Games We Play (Thistle Cove 2)

“What can you tell me about Jacqueline Cates?”

He freezes, like completely stops moving and for a second, I think he’s had a stroke. I touch his arm. “Chief McMichael?”

“I’d been waiting for someone to bring up her name. I thought it would be Janice Hill.” He chuckles softly. “It didn’t cross my mind it would be you."

He picks up his coffee and gestures to the table where Ozzy watches us from across the room. “If you really want to talk about this, let’s go take it over there where there’s less nosey neighbors.”

My heart skips, shocked that he’s willing to talk, even more surprised that he’s willing to talk in semi-privacy. I may actually finally get answers about Jacqueline. I lead him over to the table, while Ozzy watches us with curiosity.

“Mr. Drake,” Chief McMichael says, taking the opposite side of the booth. I slide in next to Ozzy and his hand lands on my thigh. “I told Kenley I’d been waiting for someone to bring up Jacqueline. I was shocked no one did when the Waller girl went missing.”

“Until this week, I never knew she existed,” I say. “It’s only by chance that one of the alumni mentoring the float building brought it up. I found her picture in the yearbook and a few articles online. Can you tell us anything? Did you know her?”

“I had the unique position of both knowing Jacqueline Cates before she died—she was my girlfriend’s younger sister, and the bad luck of being the one to find her body.”

Ozzy’s grip tightens around my leg. He speaks first, “You found her by the water?”

He nods, looking worn out and sad. “It was the last day of the search. Like Rose, there were rumors that maybe she’d run away from home, or hurt herself, but we spread through the town looking anyway. The Chief at the time, Bryson, radioed to call it in, but something was nagging at my gut. I kept looking and there she was, pale, looking like she was taking a nap by the water.” He swallows. “If I hadn’t seen the mark on her neck, or the bruise on her cheek, you’d never know she was gone.”

The waitress walks over with a plate in one hand and the coffee pot in the other. She slides the food over to the Chief and refills his cup.

“Thanks, Nancy,” he says, grabbing his fork. “If you’ve done your research, and it seems like you have, Jackie was strangled. Best we know, she was either snatched off the road or someone picked her up.”

I glance at Ozzy. “Do you think it’s someone she knew?”

He builds a sandwich out of his toast, bacon, and eggs. “It usually is.”

“But you never arrested anyone, or even had a primary suspect,” Ozzy says.

“No. The Chief interviewed half the town. Nothing ever came from it.”

“Why do you think it’s kept so quiet, a girl was murdered, and there’s no memorial or mention of it in the papers or anywhere else for the last twenty-five years.”

“Small towns have one of two ways they like to handle tragedy. We either wallow in it and let it over take us, or we push it aside and pretend it never happened.” He takes a sip of coffee. “I think the fear of the unknown with Jackie made it easier to pretend, otherwise it meant there was a boogeyman out there and no one wanted to think about that.”

He frowns again, focused on his breakfast. I get the feeling he’s close to not speaking any further.

I take a stab at one last question. “Do you really think Rose’s death was a suicide?”

He picks up his sandwich and stares at it for so long that I think he won’t answer, but his pale blue eyes meet mine, and he says, “I think that until we find Rose’s body, anything is possible, but for now, it’s resolved. I never understood why Chief Bryson let Jackie’s case flounder until I became Chief myself.” He takes a bite and chews for a long minute. “I may be the head of that department, kids, but I don’t hold the most power in Thistle Cove. The town wanted Rose’s case solved, and it’s solved, even if the results aren’t satisfying.”

“You’re saying someone wanted Rose’s disappearance to be ruled a suicide.”

“I’m saying that you’re poking a hornet’s nest that I’ve been sitting under for thirty years. If I were you, I’d put down the stick.” With that, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet, leaving twenty dollars on the table. “Drop one of those ad forms off by the front desk at the station. I’ll see what I can do.”

He slides out of his seat and waves to Nancy, the front door jangling as he leaves.

Ozzy and I look at one another, confused and overwhelmed by everything Chief McMichael just told us, except one thing: the warning at the end.

17

Kenley

After Ozzy and I get back from lunch, I walk down the hall to my locker. I spot Finn near his, a crowd separating us. I can’t help but note and instinctively react to the two girls talking to him. No one I really know. Two juniors—clearly determined to make a move on Thistle Cove’s new and recently available bachelor. Particularly one with no announced homecoming date. Jealousy pools in my stomach. I know it’s uncalled for, but still, it sucks not being able to claim him publicly.

He’s alone when he passes by me a moment later, our eyes locking, and then he gives me the smallest, stomach flip-flopping wink.

I’m flustered when I open my locker, barely noticing the slip of paper that falls to the floor. I glance down, thinking it’s trash, but it’s neatly folded. I pick it up and read the messy scrawl inside.