“Maybe she was just fucked up and didn’t know what she was saying.” But I thought back to how strange Nicole had been acting the week before she died. Had she been fighting with the girls? “We already knew they lied at the trial—that’s not new information.”
“She knew exactly what she was saying. She kept going on about how I couldn’t tell anyone we were talking, that if Shauna found out … she wouldn’t say what she was afraid of, but she was definitely scared. She started coming down from her buzz and said she had to meet her dealer. We were going to get together last night, but she never showed. I got a friend to go over to her apartment but her roommate said she never came home the other night—all her shit’s still there.”
My stomach began to curl inside itself. “She’s a druggie, she could be anywhere.”
He shook his head. “Something happened to her, Toni. Something bad.”
“Maybe Shauna got her out of town, put her up somewhere.”
“She could still talk—there’s only one way to shut someone up for good.”
“It’s a big leap to murder.”
“Not for someone who’s already done it once. I’ve talked to a couple of my old buddies and they said Shauna and her crew changed after that night—you never saw them anywhere; they never hung out with anyone except each other.”
“They were always tight.”
“It was different. Cathy was the only one who went to any parties, and she started getting into heavy drugs. Then Kim left right after our trial…”
“Nothing weird about that. Her mom was a nut job—she probably couldn’t wait to get out of town.”
“Yeah, but this is the weird thing. I heard she just moved back.”
“So what?”
“To help her mom, who’s dying or something.”
“That doesn’t mean anything, Ryan.” I heard the anger in my voice and wondered why I was feeling so agitated, like I wanted to tell him to shut up.
Ryan looked pissed too. “Why are you being so stubborn? You’re shooting down everything I say.”
“I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”
“You’re scared because you know I’m on to something and you don’t want to deal with it. You know I’m right.”
That stung, but I wondered if he was right. If the possibility that the girls had killed Nicole—and now Cathy—was so enraging, I didn’t want to believe it, because then I’d have to get involved, and risk everything that I’d worked so hard to get back, not least my freedom. Still angry, I didn’t answer.
Ryan continued, “From what I hear, Kim hasn’t set foot back in Campbell River since the trial. She’s got a dance studio and a girlfriend. You think she’s going to just leave all that behind to help her mom, who kicked her out when she was a teenager? She has an older sister who still lives in town. Why isn’t she looking after the mom?”
“So why do you think Kim’s back, then?”
“Shauna had to have called her. They must’ve caught wind that Cathy was talking to me and decided to get rid of her. Now Shauna’s making sure she’s got all the players back in town, so she can keep an eye on them and fuck us over.”
“What does she care? Even if they did it, they already got us sent to jail.”
“Yeah, but now she has to make sure the truth never comes out. If Cathy’s dead, who do you think the police are going to look at first, Toni?”
I knew exactly who would get blamed for it.
“What night did she disappear?”
“Wednesday, I think, but I’m not sure. It could’ve been earlier.”
I tried to calculate, think back, panic digging into my blood. “I was at the restaurant that night. I stayed late, cleaning up the kitchen.”
“That’s good. And if it did happen in the last couple of days, I was at my mom’s every night—I’ve been staying there, fixing the house up for her. But we’ll still get questioned, and you know the second there’s any kind of trouble, especially a murder, our parole’s going to be suspended while they investigate.”
And I’d get sent back to Rockland. How many friends did Helen have on the inside? How long before one of them got to me? What about Captain? Even if our alibis checked out, it could take months to get your parole reinstated.
“This is bullshit, Ryan.”
“Damn right. That’s why I wanted to give you the heads-up. Those girls don’t want us out. As long as we’re alive, we’re a threat.”
“If what you’re saying is true and Cathy’s gone, we’re fucked, Ryan. She was the only person who might’ve been willing to talk about what really happened that night. The other girls are never going to admit they lied.”
“I just have to keep digging. Put enough pressure on them, something will blow.”
A door slammed. Someone had pulled into the parking lot. Ryan ducked behind a car. I pretended to get some stuff out of my truck.
“Good evening,” I said to the old man as he went down to his boat. He gave me a smile, but my heart was still tapping in my chest.
When he was gone, I whispered over my shoulder, “You better get out of here.” There was no response. I turned around. Ryan had already left.
CHAPTER TWENTY
CAMPBELL RIVER