So how do I get one of them to come out?
Netti comes around when Seri is scared. I suppose I could try to scare her, but I’m not sure I’d know how. Anything that comes to mind seems more cruel than frightening. Iris just shows up when I least expect it. I have no idea how to draw her out.
Seri comes back, still red-faced and scolding the cat for being so needy. She picks him up and cuddles him as he continues to fuss. She consoles him with some chopped up bits of caribou, and he seems to be appeased. She feeds him and plays with him for a bit, then tilts her head to the side as if she’s trying to appear casual.
“Is this place on a map?” she asks.
“Why do you ask?” I already know the answer, but I’m interested in what she’ll say.
“Just curious.”
“No, it’s not.” I sigh. “The guy looking for you isn’t going to find this place by looking up my address.”
Seri looks at the floor. Since she’s brought it up, I’m more willing to push the issue.
“Are you going to tell me the truth now?” I ask her.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“How about you start with telling me who he is.”
“I’m not sure,” she says, “not exactly. I’m pretty sure he’s one of the guys Iris was involved with, but I don’t know what he wants with me.”
“You think he’s the one who…who killed her?”
She nods.
This definitely explains why Iris would be afraid. If he’s the one who killed her, of course she’s going to be afraid of him and want protection.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second and shake my head, sorting through my own, ridiculous thoughts. Dead people can’t be afraid of the person who killed them, so what really happened? The information I have is too broad, so I try to narrow my focus with more precise questions.
“How long has he been following you?”
“I first saw him in Montana. That’s why I left there.”
“Did you know who he was?”
“I recognized him.”
“How?” I ask. “Did you meet him through Iris?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I hadn’t met him before. She wasn’t with him until after…after she left for college.”
She bites down on her lip. Something about what she said isn’t right, but I’m not sure why. I can hear an odd, distant tone in her voice. It’s not quite like Netti, but it’s close.
“So, how did you know who he was?”
“From the news reports, I guess,” she says. “After Iris washed up on the river bank, there was some news coverage.”
“Did the police ask you about him?”
“No, not me. I think they asked my parents.”
I narrow my eyes. This isn’t adding up. When I was arrested, the detectives involved talked to every teacher I had in school and every student who shared a classroom with me. There is no way they wouldn’t talk to the sister of a dead woman. However, I don’t get a sense that Seri is lying about this, and I remember what Netti said about how Seri compensates for missing information.
Maybe Netti talked to the police, and Seri just doesn’t have the recollection. It would have been a frightening situation, and that is Netti’s forte.
“Do you know his name?” I ask.