The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt #1) - Stacy Green Page 0,76
their phones and social media lives, she’d expected a quiet afternoon. The computer lab was nearly full, a handful of people were in the process of checking out books, and a group of teens hung out in the activity area playing cards.
She found Brianna organizing shelves in the mystery section, wireless headphones cutting her off from the world.
Brianna removed her headphones, looking warily at Nikki. “What are you doing here?”
“Would you believe I was just browsing for a book?”
Brianna shook her head.
“I didn’t think so.” Nikki smiled, trying to set the girl at ease. But she stood at attention, ready to bolt.
“Are you allowed to question me without my parents or an adult?”
“Not as a suspect, no,” Nikki said. “But I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about Madison.”
“I already talked to you. My mom told the police to leave me alone.”
“But you didn’t tell me everything.”
“Yes, I did.” Brianna turned back to the bookshelves.
“Do you know what kinesics are?”
“No.” Brianna crammed a book into the already tight row.
“It’s a broad term for nonverbal communication. Body language. Like you just shook your head when you said ‘yes, I did,’ instead of nodding. And young people—especially those who aren’t normally deceitful—get really jittery. Kind of like the way you’re rocking back and forth on your heels.”
Brianna stilled. “I don’t know anything else that will help you.”
“Maybe you don’t,” Nikki said. “But you’d be surprised at how many times supposedly inconsequential details blow a case wide open. Don’t you want to find out who killed your friends?”
Brianna’s lips trembled. “Of course.”
“Listen, I know how tough high school can be. Saying the wrong thing can get you kicked out of your social circle, and then suddenly you’re a pariah. But that’s only temporary, Brianna. Not doing the right thing leaves you with a lifetime of regret. Don’t abandon Maddie now.”
Brianna’s eyes filled with tears. “Her parents were fighting a lot.”
“Did Madison say why?”
“Her mom hated Kaylee. Mrs. Banks said something about Kaylee doing sneaky things no one knew about. She needed to be put in her place.”
Nikki already knew this from speaking to Amy. “Did you talk to Kaylee about this?”
Brianna nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek.
Nikki stepped forward and touched her shoulder, gently turning Brianna to face her. “Why did Amy feel that way?”
“When Kaylee first started hanging out with Madison, she told her about some night last summer when she’d gone to Hudson with some older friends and used a fake ID to get into a bar. Some drunk older guy kept hitting on her, grinding up on her. He asked if she would let him take some pictures of her, in private. She told him to fuck off.”
Nikki’s stomach soured. She didn’t like where this was headed.
“Then one night, a few days before they disappeared, Madison overheard her parents fighting. Her mother, mostly. Her little brother came into Madison’s room crying and saying it was his fault,” Brianna said. “He’d been snooping through Mr. Banks’ office and found a box of pictures. Mr. Banks was in most of them, and there were different women, and they were naked. Some weren’t even awake. Mrs. Banks got really upset, so Bailey felt like it was his fault. Madison told him it wasn’t, and that whatever happened was between their mom and dad. Madison intended to confront her parents about it. She was certain Mr. Banks was the one who approached Kaylee. She was going to ask her about it.”
“Did she talk to any of them?”
“I don’t know. They disappeared the next weekend. I think her mom made her promise she’d let her handle things.” Brianna crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers leaving pressure marks on her skin.
“Did Madison see the pictures?”
“I don’t think so,” Brianna said. “But Maddie knew they must have been as bad as Bailey said because her mom was a wreck.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“Parents fight, don’t they? Madison loved her stepdad, and they were close. Just because he cheated on Maddie’s mom doesn’t mean he’d hurt Maddie, right?” Brianna hugged her chest, her gaze pleading with Nikki to agree.
“I can’t answer that right now, but I promise to keep digging until we know what happened to them.” Nikki thanked Brianna for her honesty and walked outside in a daze.
Nikki could see that at least six more protestors had joined the group outside the government center when she arrived. Doug folded his arms over his chest and stared at Nikki. She ignored