Read Online Dark Passing (The Ella Reynolds Series) by Liz Schulte - Free Book Online
Authors: Liz Schulte
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work construction with my dad.”
“Do you like it?”
He didn’t reply and resumed biting his nails like they were his last meal.
So the kid wasn’t going to make it easy. “What happened the night Mary disappeared?”
Bryan flinched at the sound of her name. “I don’t know.”
“You were there, Bryan. What happened that night?”
He didn’t speak. Anger and bitterness shone in his eyes.
“I’m trying to help you—actually, no, that’s a lie. I don’t care about you. The only thing that matters to me is Mary . I’m trying to help her.”
Bryan’s face pinched. “Nothing happened! She came to my house. We hung out like always; then she left. That’s all I know.”
“That’s all you know? Did you know she was going to move away for college? Did you know the people she met at the university? Would she have gone to hang out with them after leaving instead of going home? Give me something, Bryan. You were the last person to see her. You can’t honestly expect me to believe that I‘ve been looking at this case for all of two minutes and I already know more than you?”
“You don’t know anything,” he shouted suddenly.
I leaned back and tried to keep the satisfaction out of my voice. “Temper, temper, Bryan . Did she tell you she was leaving and you snapped?”
“Fine. We had a fight. Is that what you want to hear?” He clenched his fists and his eyes filled with tears. “She changed. She stopped answering my calls and coming to see me. She was leaving me behind—and I was the last person to know about it.”
I almost— almost —felt bad for the kid.
“I told her if she moved, it would be over between us. She screamed that I didn’t trust her, that I didn’t understand her at all if that’s what I thought. She stormed out. That was the last time I saw her.”
“What time was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try to remember, Bryan. It’s important.”
He made a helpless gesture. “Sometime after 9:00 p.m.”
“Did you talk to her again after she left?”
“No. And I wouldn’t have answered if she called—but she didn’t. I was mad she wanted to hang out with the jocks and other posers, but I would never hurt her. I didn’t talk to anyone until Mrs. Nelson showed up.”
Bryan didn’t look like a mastermind. “What do you think happened?”
“She died.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, lady, I’m trying to move on with my life. I loved Mary, but she didn’t love me. I’m sorry she died, but—” He shrugged and stood up.
“Can you give me a list of her friends? The new ones and the old ones.”
He huffed a little, but eventually rattled off a list of names that I scrawled in my notebook.
“Do you know Nikki Obermiller?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m trying to get ahold of her to ask about Mary. Can you tell her to contact with me if you see her?”
“Yeah, whatever. I gotta go.” He paused at the door. “You seem okay. Whatever Mary got involved in, it got her killed. You should probably stay away from it.”
“If I have any more questions, can I call you?”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said again. The door clicked behind him.
I leaned back in my chair. Hopefully the mystery girl from the café would have more information than Bryan. I studied the list he gave me:
Nikki Obermiller
Amy Armstrong
Austin Burke
Justin White
Alfie Laurie
The last name sounded familiar. I thought back over everything I’d done since I came here. Laurie, Laurie, Laurie… The dinner party flooded back. The politician and his wife, Lola, had said something about Alfie going to school nearby. Martha’s dinner party might turn out more useful than I imagined. I wondered how hard it would be to get in to see a district representative. Couldn’t hurt to ask. I hopped up from the chair and ran into Martha as I was headed out.
“Hello, dear, how’s your investigation going? I was thinking about making a marinated pork loin for dinner tonight, if you’ll
“Do you like it?”
He didn’t reply and resumed biting his nails like they were his last meal.
So the kid wasn’t going to make it easy. “What happened the night Mary disappeared?”
Bryan flinched at the sound of her name. “I don’t know.”
“You were there, Bryan. What happened that night?”
He didn’t speak. Anger and bitterness shone in his eyes.
“I’m trying to help you—actually, no, that’s a lie. I don’t care about you. The only thing that matters to me is Mary . I’m trying to help her.”
Bryan’s face pinched. “Nothing happened! She came to my house. We hung out like always; then she left. That’s all I know.”
“That’s all you know? Did you know she was going to move away for college? Did you know the people she met at the university? Would she have gone to hang out with them after leaving instead of going home? Give me something, Bryan. You were the last person to see her. You can’t honestly expect me to believe that I‘ve been looking at this case for all of two minutes and I already know more than you?”
“You don’t know anything,” he shouted suddenly.
I leaned back and tried to keep the satisfaction out of my voice. “Temper, temper, Bryan . Did she tell you she was leaving and you snapped?”
“Fine. We had a fight. Is that what you want to hear?” He clenched his fists and his eyes filled with tears. “She changed. She stopped answering my calls and coming to see me. She was leaving me behind—and I was the last person to know about it.”
I almost— almost —felt bad for the kid.
“I told her if she moved, it would be over between us. She screamed that I didn’t trust her, that I didn’t understand her at all if that’s what I thought. She stormed out. That was the last time I saw her.”
“What time was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try to remember, Bryan. It’s important.”
He made a helpless gesture. “Sometime after 9:00 p.m.”
“Did you talk to her again after she left?”
“No. And I wouldn’t have answered if she called—but she didn’t. I was mad she wanted to hang out with the jocks and other posers, but I would never hurt her. I didn’t talk to anyone until Mrs. Nelson showed up.”
Bryan didn’t look like a mastermind. “What do you think happened?”
“She died.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, lady, I’m trying to move on with my life. I loved Mary, but she didn’t love me. I’m sorry she died, but—” He shrugged and stood up.
“Can you give me a list of her friends? The new ones and the old ones.”
He huffed a little, but eventually rattled off a list of names that I scrawled in my notebook.
“Do you know Nikki Obermiller?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m trying to get ahold of her to ask about Mary. Can you tell her to contact with me if you see her?”
“Yeah, whatever. I gotta go.” He paused at the door. “You seem okay. Whatever Mary got involved in, it got her killed. You should probably stay away from it.”
“If I have any more questions, can I call you?”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said again. The door clicked behind him.
I leaned back in my chair. Hopefully the mystery girl from the café would have more information than Bryan. I studied the list he gave me:
Nikki Obermiller
Amy Armstrong
Austin Burke
Justin White
Alfie Laurie
The last name sounded familiar. I thought back over everything I’d done since I came here. Laurie, Laurie, Laurie… The dinner party flooded back. The politician and his wife, Lola, had said something about Alfie going to school nearby. Martha’s dinner party might turn out more useful than I imagined. I wondered how hard it would be to get in to see a district representative. Couldn’t hurt to ask. I hopped up from the chair and ran into Martha as I was headed out.
“Hello, dear, how’s your investigation going? I was thinking about making a marinated pork loin for dinner tonight, if you’ll
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