Before She Was Found - Heather Gudenkauf Page 0,101

rushes by and then several more minutes pass. Finally, a woman and her dog come into view. The dog sniffs at the weeds, searching for the best spot to relieve himself while the woman, holding the leash, taps her foot impatiently. The dog, nose to the ground, perks up his ears and pulls on the leash, dragging the woman out of the frame.

The seconds on the time stamp tick by until Officer Grady fast-forwards the video. “The witness calls 9-1-1 and we show up about ten minutes later.”

Right on cue a handful of cops run through the train yard and soon after two EMTs rush past carrying their medical gear. The woman and her dog, escorted by an officer, come back into sight. She is frantically waving her arms and talking when she suddenly looks at her hands as if seeing them for the first time. This is where I must have asked, Is that blood?

The EMTs hurry by again, this time carrying Cora on a stretcher. In the upper corner of the video a shadow appears. It’s all I can do to not rip the phone from Officer Grady’s hands to get a closer look.

“What are you looking at?” comes a voice from the doorway. Max has returned.

“Quiet,” I demand and see the hurt on his face. Dammit, I think. I can’t seem to win with Max right now. Max is part of this family. Shouldn’t he hear what’s going on? “I’m sorry, Max,” I tell him. He nods but I can tell his feelings are hurt. He stands behind us and watches as I return my attention to the video. The person on the edge of the video gets closer and I know it’s Violet.

Her movements are odd. Zombielike and she’s carrying something in her hand. My stomach lurches. The knife. Violet drops it to the ground and the next thirty seconds of film are chaos. I watch myself running toward her, my feet kicking up the dusty gravel, a cop at my heels. Me, pulling a bloody Violet into my arms, thinking that she was dying, laying her on the ground.

Violet was holding the knife. Officer Grady pauses the video and I stare at the two of us frozen in time: Violet’s eyes are black holes, my mouth opens in a silent scream. This is it, I think. This is the exact moment that our lives were changed forever.

“I was hoping that you might be able to recognize a fourth person in the video,” Officer Grady says. He hits Play. “Look. There. Do you see it?” At the upper edge of the video I do think I see someone. It’s blurry and shows someone walking quickly, but not running, through the camera’s frame.

I nod. “Yeah, I see it.”

“It’s not one of the girls,” Grady says. “They ran in different directions. It’s like they were running from him.” He taps Pause again.

Relief floods through me. “There was someone else there. I knew it.”

“Can I take a closer look?” Max asks and Officer Grady hands him the phone and he watches the video several times, stopping and starting it over and over.

“Max, what is it?” I ask, getting impatient. This does not look good for Violet and I’m sure that Officer Grady is just minutes away from arresting her.

“I know who that is,” Max says, looking up from the screen. “It’s Gabe Shannon, he’s in Violet’s class. I can tell by his hat.”

Text Message Exchange

Between Jordyn Petit and Gabe Shannon

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Jordyn: Be there at midnight. This is going to be awesome

Gabe: Yeah, I’ll be there. I’ll hide in the grass until you give me the signal

Jordyn: Remember Violet doesn’t know you’re coming, either. I’ll start screaming and give you the knife. Then you go after Cora. She’ll shit her pants

Case #92-10945

Excerpt from the journal of Cora E. Landry

Mar. 20, 2018

I can’t get out of bed. My mom thinks I’ve got the flu or something. I’ve missed a bunch of school and haven’t showered in like four days. I don’t understand why Joseph doesn’t send me a message.

I called Mr. Dover late last night and he tried to make me feel better. He said everyone missed me but I know that’s not true. I could disappear and no one would care.

Dr. Madeline Gideon

September 14, 2018

My mind kept returning to the sound of utter disbelief in Cora’s voice when she told me that Joseph Wither didn’t stay. I had wanted to talk with Cora more about