topic and people from all over will chime in with their ideas. It’s pretty cool. I haven’t had the nerve to post anything yet. I’m afraid to because my mom is ALWAYS looking over my shoulder watching what I’m doing online.
She is so paranoid. If she knew I was in chat rooms she would freak out. But she has an after-school meeting this week and won’t be home until five. That will give me some time. Plus, Violet showed me how to use incognito mode so no one can figure out what websites I’ve been on.
I caught Gabe looking at me during class today and obviously Mr. Dover did, too. Mr. Dover said, “Gabe, maybe you should just talk to Cora after class instead of staring at her.” Even Gabe laughed. Everyone did, except for Jordyn.
After school, Violet and I were walking outside when she got a Snapchat. It was a really bad picture of me with my eyes half-closed and this weird look on my face. Written across the screen was the word Bitch. I don’t even know what that means. Violet tried to make me feel better by saying that Jordyn was just joking around, that she takes pictures of everyone and writes stupid stuff.
Just then Jordyn came running up to us and started talking like everything was perfectly fine. She even invited me over to her house this weekend. I don’t know. It’s all very confusing.
Beth Crow
Monday, April 16, 2018
When I return to Violet’s room, Officer Grady is in the doorway, waiting for me. I peek around his large frame, which fills the space. The nurse has finished collecting the blood samples, the wayward strands of hair, the bits of evidence that may have been left behind.
Beneath the warming blanket, lies Violet. She is on her side, facing the wall, curled up like a wooly caterpillar. The IV tube snakes out from beneath the blanket and up to the IV bag, where a clear liquid drips slowly into my daughter’s bloodstream. She looks so small, so fragile.
“I just don’t understand,” I say, coming up to Officer Grady. “Joseph Wither is the name of a person that the girls did a school project about. Why would Violet say that a make-believe man attacked them?”
“Boy,” Grady says. “Joseph Wither is a boy. Was a boy,” he adds, seeing the question on my face. “He hasn’t been seen by anyone in decades.”
“I don’t have time for this. I need to get back to my daughter.”
“Ms. Crow, please,” he says. “I have to talk to her. We need to find out what happened. Cora Landry isn’t in good shape.”
I think of Cora and how bad her face looked. Someone tried to kill her; there’s no other way to look at it. “Okay,” I finally say. “You can talk to her, but I want to be there.”
Officer Grady looks like he wants to argue with me on this point but quickly understands that there is no chance of changing my mind and nods in agreement.
“You can stay while I talk to her but I’m going to ask that you don’t interrupt. Some of the questions I ask may be upsetting but I have to ask them. Like I said, time is ticking. The longer that monster is out there, the more difficult it will be for us to catch him. As far as I know, Violet is the only witness who can tell us what happened.”
We step into Violet’s room together and I look to the nurse. “She seems more alert,” she says. “She had a drink of water and asked for you.” I feel a pang of regret for running out of the room when Violet needed me.
“Violet, honey,” I say and Violet shifts in the bed to look at me. Her eyes droop with exhaustion but the nurse is right: she seems more with it. “Can you talk to Officer Grady for a few minutes? He has some questions for you.”
Violet nods and makes room for me to sit next to her. “Are you feeling okay?” I ask. “Are you hurt at all?”
“No, I’m okay,” she says but her eyes dart from side to side as if looking for someone.
Officer Grady clears his throat and pulls a chair up right next to the bed and retrieves a notepad and pen from his pocket. “I need to ask you some questions about this morning, Violet. You and Cora Landry went to the old train depot together?” Violet nods her head.