Taylor’s lip quivers and her eyes become shiny, but she doesn’t say anything.
Molly looks around at the others and shifts to a more formal tone. “First, thank you for everything you’ve been doing. Helping Pa try to find Lucas, I mean. And like I told Pa today, you do need to find him. While he’s not the man who killed me, I’m pretty sure he killed Mama. I don’t think he really wanted to. I think maybe he really did love her in his way. But I overheard him talking about the girls they were bringing in. And . . . Mama may have had her issues with drugs and God knows she’d managed to ignore all the bad things about Lucas for years. But she was a good person. She just made the mistake of thinking Lucas was too, and when I explained what he was into, she confronted him. I told her not to. I told her we should leave, find Pa, let the police handle it . . . but she wanted to give Lucas a chance to do the right thing. Instead, I’m pretty sure he shot her. And then he handed me over to . . .”
Her voice shakes as she continues, “I heard his name as Craig, although Aaron seems to think it’s really Graham Cregg.”
Sam leans forward in his chair and reaches across to squeeze my hand. “Do you think you could identify him if Aaron finds a photograph, sweetie?”
Aaron slides his chair back to the computer and begins typing before Sam is even done with the question.
Molly nods. “Absolutely.”
She pushes up from the couch and walks us over to the desk. Before she looks at the computer screen, she squeezes Aaron’s shoulder. “I meant what I told Anna earlier. There’s nothin’ you could’ve done, Aaron.”
His mouth tightens and he stares into my eyes. I don’t know if he’s trying to find Molly or trying to find absolution. Maybe both.
“Sure,” he says, focusing back on the computer and not sounding sure at all.
Molly keeps her focus on Aaron, instead of the screen. I already suspected she had a crush on him, and maybe vice versa, but the wave of emotion that surges through me surprises me with its intensity.
“I mean it. And if you’re thinking this really isn’t me, Airhead . . . think again.”
Molly smiles, because Aaron jumps slightly at the word.
“Mullet, Tater, and Airhead,” Daniel says. “I’d almost forgotten about those nicknames. Glad I was old enough that I didn’t get stuck with one.”
Molly exchanges a look with Aaron, and I can feel my lips twitching like she’s holding in a laugh.
But it’s Taylor who speaks. “No, you had one. What was his name, Molly? You got that in your little file?” There’s a definite challenge in Taylor’s question, and the smile fades from my face.
Sam says, “Come on, Taylor. No need to be like that.”
“It’s okay, Sam.” Molly jerks my chin up and holds Taylor’s stare as she answers. “It was Damn-iel. And I picked it ’cause he was always yelling at us to keep out of his damn room. We just had to whisper it to keep from getting our butts kicked by the grown-ups. You satisfied now? I don’t think anybody knew that aside from you, me, and Aaron. I could start listing the boys you used to crush on, or tell everyone about the spot where you stash stuff you don’t want found, but Anna has me on a timer and I’d really like to use the next few minutes constructively.”
She doesn’t wait for Taylor’s answer, just gives her a defiant look and turns back to Aaron’s monitor, where a picture of a man in business attire is now center screen. His slight paunch and receding hairline suggest that he’s in his midforties, as does the touch of gray near the sideburns of his closely cropped dark hair. Several other men are in the picture with him, but it’s clear that he’s the photographer’s focal point. The caption reads R. Graham Cregg Named to DSG Board.
“Is this him, Molly?”
As Molly steps back away from the desk, it’s like a massive weight has landed on my chest. The man’s face flashes through my memory along with a strange buzzing noise in my ears.
No. It’s not actually in my head. Molly’s just remembering it, and the memory is so vivid that I can almost hear it. It’s similar to what I detected at the police station and earlier at the townhouse, but not quite identical. Less of a tactile sensation and more audible.
For several seconds my eyes are glued to the computer, but gradually she pulls my gaze away. “Yeah. He’s gained a little weight since I saw him, but that’s definitely him.”
My pulse is pounding so loudly as she walks us back over to the couch that I don’t catch what Sam asks her. Molly does, however.
“I’m okay. But yeah, that would be nice.”
Aaron gets up and heads to the kitchen.
“Eight minutes,” Deo says, and Molly shoots him an annoyed look.