If She Heard (Kate Wise Mystery #7) - Blake Pierce Page 0,32

her name, I don’t want to snitch.”

“I understand that. Tell me this, though: is it someone you trust? Someone you’re familiar with?”

“I don’t know her well enough to say I’d trust her, but I know her. And if you’re asking if I think she’d be the type to kill someone, I’d say no. She’s one of those ditzy blonde plastic types. The idea of her even thinking of killing someone—or of even throwing a punch—is laughable.”

Kate and DeMarco shared a look, a sort of telepathic message to one another through their expressions. It said: Probably not worth looking into, but let’s put a pin in it.

“Did you run into anyone last night that seemed to have an attitude?” DeMarco asked. “Anyone who seemed to be angry at you?”

“No. There was this one guy that hit on us after the movie, right there in front of the concessions in the lobby. We rejected him, obviously. He seemed a little hurt by it, but he went right back to his group of friends. We never even thought twice about it.”

“And how did the night end, exactly?” Kate asked.

“Well, we took her car to the movie after dinner at her house, and she drove to the movies, then to Esther’s. She dropped me off right around midnight…maybe a little later. And that was it. That was the last time I saw her.”

A thought occurred to Kate, one they had mentioned almost in passing once before. But now that there were three victims so close in age, it seemed very important.

“Vanessa was nineteen, right?”

Jenna nodded. “Turned nineteen about a month ago, actually.”

“So she graduated high school when? Last year?”

“Yeah, we both graduated last year.”

“Jenna…do you know the names Mariah Ogden or Kayla Peterson?”

“I know both of them. Not all that well. But I do know about what happened to Mariah. It was awful, huh?” Her eyes bounced back and forth between the agents and started to widen. “Wait…was Kayla killed, too?”

“She was,” DeMarco said. “And the fact that you didn’t know yet tells me the gossip circles haven’t covered the entire town yet. So let’s keep that quiet for now, okay?”

Jenna nodded, furrowing her brow like someone who was trying to figure out an incredibly hard problem. She was trying to digest it all, trying to understand.

“Mariah was nineteen, too,” Kate said. “Was she in your graduating class? Same high school?”

“Yeah, there’s only one high school around here. Everyone in Harper Hills and anywhere about twenty miles or so away goes to it. “

“And what about Kayla?”

“No. She was a grade above me. She graduated the year before Vanessa and I.”

“Do you recall Vanessa ever having any sort of connections with either Kayla or Mariah?”

“She had some classes with Mariah. But they were never really friends. Cordial and polite, you know? As for Kayla, I don’t know that Vanessa ever spoke a word to her. Different grade, different circles, you know?”

It shut a lot of doors as far as theories went, but it also planted the seeds for a few more. Kate digested it all and sat back in her chair, giving DeMarco the indication that she was done and it was all hers again. After some thought and thick tension brewing in the air between Jenna and her parents, DeMarco decided to get up. When she headed for the front door, she handed Mrs. Marshall one of her business cards.

“If she thinks of anything else, please allow her to call. She’s been a big help.”

Mrs. Marshall gave a distant-sounding “of course” but it was clear that her mind was elsewhere…likely on feeling duped by her daughter in terms of where she had spent the last part of the previous night.

Mr. Marshall escorted them to the door, but he said nothing either. He gave them a lifeless nod as they made their exit and then closed the door behind them.

“Man, I’d hate to be Jenna right now,” DeMarco said.

“All things considered, I’d rather be her than Vanessa Fenton.”

“Good point.” She remained quiet until they reached their car, and then asked, “I’m wondering who we can talk to at the school. Maybe someone who can dig up some sort of link between the three victims. Maybe the superintendent.”

“It’s a great idea,” Kate said. “But if you don’t mind a helpful tip…”

DeMarco grinned. “It might be my case, but I’m still willing to learn.”

Kate could essentially feel the resentment coming off of the comment. Maybe things weren’t as smoothed over between the two of them as