“I’ll stand, thanks,” Peters said in his deep baritone.
Julie pushed aside a basket teeming with pouches and pots of cosmetics samples and tiny bottles of hotel shampoos, then perched on the edge of the coffee table, trying to look as natural as possible. The room was silent for a moment. Julie listened carefully for any noises from her room down the hall. So far, Parker had been silent as a mouse.
McMinnamin cleared his throat. “So, Julie, we’re actually surprised you’re home tonight. We hear there’s a big Halloween party.”
Julie blinked. How on earth did the cops know that? Did they keep tabs on all the Beacon parties . . . or just recent ones, in light of what happened to Nolan? “Uh, I’m not really up for partying these days,” she muttered.
McMinnamin nodded, as though this were completely understandable. “We’d like to ask you some questions about one of your classmates, Ashley Ferguson. You probably know that Ashley has been missing from her home for a couple of days now. Yes?”
“Uh-huh,” Julie recited.
McMinnamin stared at her with his rheumy blue eyes. “Her family is very worried about her, and we’re just following up on every lead. We heard you and Ashley had some problems.”
Julie shrugged. “Ashley found out about”—she gestured at the room, the house, the yard around her—“all this. My mom’s hoarding. And she exposed it to the entire school in an email.”
McMinnamin and Peters blinked and waited for her to continue.
“But I was trying my best not to let it get to me.” She looked back up at the detectives, locking eyes with McMinnamin. “High school can be brutal sometimes.”
McMinnamin pursed his lips, as if deep in thought, then clicked the top of his pen a few times. “Where were you on Tuesday afternoon, after you left Dr. Rose’s office at the police station?”
Julie pretended to think about where she’d been, though she’d been rehearsing her lie for days. “I was with Parker.” McMinnamin’s eyebrows rose slightly, and he looked over at Peters. Peters nodded. “We were out shopping. All afternoon,” Julie said confidently.
The officers stared at her, their eyes narrowing. “Parker who?” McMinnamin finally asked.
Julie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Uh, Parker Duvall? My best friend?”
McMinnamin glanced down at his notepad. He scribbled a few notes, then exchanged a silent look with his partner. “Right. Parker Duvall,” Peters said. “Got it.”
Julie was seized with a sudden fear that she’d said the wrong thing. Are they going to want to question Parker now? She wasn’t sure Parker could handle it. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned Parker at all. Maybe she should have said she was with Carson. He would have covered for her.
McMinnamin’s voice brought Julie out of her reverie. “Okay. Thanks for your time, Julie.” He stood.
“If you think of anything else,” Peters added, “will you let us know?”
“Of course,” Julie assured them.
McMinnamin shook her hand. Peters tapped two fingers to his forehead as a good-bye. She led the men to the door, trying to seem as if she had all the time in the world. She shut the door behind them and leaned against it, relief washing over her. That hadn’t been that bad at all. Except for the part where she’d basically steered them right toward Parker. But they hadn’t asked where Parker was or anything—or given any indication that they wanted to speak with her. And by the time they did come back, having realized that Parker usually camped out at Julie’s house, Parker and Julie would be long gone.
First, though, she needed to make one call. It had become painfully clear to Julie that she couldn’t handle this alone. She needed help—and there was only one person she could think of to call, despite her many, many reservations. Julie picked her way along the hallway back to the living room couch and sat down. She didn’t want Parker to hear her do this. She slipped her cell phone from her pocket and tapped F-I-E into the contact search window. Elliot Fielder’s name popped up instantly, and she dialed his number.
“Parker?” He sounded anxious. “Is that you?”
Parker? Julie was confused. Why would he be expecting Parker to call? She hung up the phone reflexively and pushed back through the hall and into her room, ready to ask questions.
That was the problem, though: The room was empty. Julie looked around, her heart lurching into her throat. “Parker? Parker?”