Secrets We Keep (Thistle Cove 1)

17

Kenley

“Any idea what this is about?” I ask on the way to the office. Finn walks behind me, like if he goes slow enough maybe we’ll never get there. “Do you think it’s because we skipped yesterday?”

“They didn’t call Ozzy or Ezra.”

I slow my pace. “Maybe they have news about Rose?”

He sighs, leaning his back against a row of lockers and rubbing his forehead. “This whole thing is crazy.”

I stop. “I know.”

“Where the hell is she?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did, but I have no clue.”

He clenches his jaw, making the lines sharp and his looks deadly. He looks up at me, and it almost hurts to hold his gaze. “I’m sorry about what happened that night—at your house. They’d already done it when they called me to come outside. Probably because I would have told them to knock it off. It was mean, and if I’d known it was going to trigger this…” he searches for words, “…this divide between us, I would have done so many things differently, but everything got so out of control starting at that very moment. Like a runaway freight train. I don’t think I really understand that until the last few weeks.”

His apology catches me off guard, so much so that I’m unable to adequately respond. I just jerk my head down the hall and say, “We should probably get down there.”

He nods and pushes off the wall, keeping up a little better this time. He gets to the office first, opening the door for me. I pass through and he follows, both of us taking a seat on the long row facing Ms. Stewart the administrative assistant's desk.

We’re barely settled when Mr. Russell walks out of this office and says, “Mr. Holloway, you go to my office. Ms. Keene, the conference room.”

“Do you mind if I ask what this is about?” Finn asks.

Mr. Russell frowns, looking genuinely sad. “The police need to ask each of you a few questions. Nothing serious.”

I bite my tongue before I blurt that there’s no such thing as the police talking to you about something un-serious. Especially in a situation like this.

“Did something new happen?” I ask, my voice coming out quieter than I mean for it to. “Did they find something—her?”

“I think the detectives can help answer any questions you may have, Ms. Keene.” He nods toward the conference room. “Go ahead.”

Finn and I share a look before we part, heading in opposite directions. He looks tired. I feel tired, but that’s overtaken by nerves when I walk through the conference room door and see Chief McMichael and another police officer I’ve never met before. She’s not in a uniform, but a blouse and jacket. Her hair is in a messy bun with strands falling over her ears.

“Kenley,” the Chief says, “I’m not sure we’ve formally met, although I know my daughter Allison was on the yearbook staff with you two years ago.” He offers me his hand and I shake it. Then he gestures to the woman next to him. “This is Detective Belcher.”

Her grip is so strong that I’m pretty convinced she yanked my arm out of the socket. I hold back a grimace and sit across from them. Detective Belcher pulls out a notepad and pen.

“What’s this about?” I blurt, feeling anxious and ready to get it over with. “Is there news about Rose?”

Chief McMichael says, “Unfortunately, no. You and Rose were close friends at one point, weren’t you?”

“Before high school, yes. Not so much in the past few years.”

“You had a falling out?”

“You could say that, yes.”

“Anything we should know about?”

“Not unless you’re interested in the petty drama of fourteen-year-old girls.” That earns a smile from Detective Belcher. She gets it. “Look, whatever went on between me and Rose was old news. We didn’t speak or have anything to do with one another. It was no big deal.”

“What about your friend Alice Kendrick?”

I freeze, my stomach turning to lead. “What about Alice?”