Before She Was Found - Heather Gudenkauf Page 0,47
Thomas asks.
Jordyn nods. “The knife thingy from the kitchen drawer.”
Thomas thinks of Cora—the stab wounds, her damaged face. “Jordyn, where’s the knife?”
“I don’t know. I think Violet was carrying it last. But she would never hurt Cora,” Jordyn adds in a rush.
A wave of nausea sweeps over him. This can’t be happening. “Jordyn,” he says, cupping her chin so she is forced to look at him. “Is there anything else? Anything at all that I need to know?” Thomas asks, praying that there isn’t.
Jordyn shakes her head. “No, I promise.” Thomas releases her chin and again Jordyn collapses into him. “What should I do?” she asks, her voice muffled against the nubby fabric of Thomas’s sweater.
“Nothing for now,” Thomas whispers into her ear. “Don’t worry, we’ll clear it all up.” Jordyn lifts her head and looks up at Thomas for further reassurance. “You look tired,” Thomas observes but he really just needs to be alone for a minute and think about what Jordyn has just told him. “Go and lie down, close your eyes for a bit.”
Jordyn is hesitant but allows Thomas to guide her back into the bedroom and into her bed. Thomas pulls the quilt up around Jordyn’s shoulders and reaches over to the bedside lamp to turn off the light and the room dims to a hushed gray.
Thomas sits on the edge of the bed and listens as Jordyn’s sniffling slowly subsides. He watches as Jordyn’s eyes grow heavier and heavier until they remain shut. He waits until he is sure that Jordyn is fast asleep and then carefully rises from the bed, reaches down and retrieves Jordyn’s book bag from the floor.
He rifles through the laundry basket of clean clothes until he finds the fleece jacket and the other clothes that Jordyn was wearing yesterday and shoves them into the backpack. Beneath a small wooden desk where Jordyn sits to do her homework are her tennis shoes. Thomas bends down and picks them up and examines the soles. The microscopic dark specks could be blood or could just be mud. He thinks of the picture on Jordyn’s phone and her bloodstained jacket.
Knowing that Jordyn will most likely sleep only for a few hours or so, he needs to get going. He has work to do.
Case #92-10945
Direct message dated November 21, 2017,
via DarkestDoor
JW44:
HI, CORAREEF12, I’M SORRY I DIDN’T RESPOND TO YOU THE OTHER DAY. I DON’T THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA THAT WE TALK IN THE PUBLIC CHAT ROOM—4LEAFCLOVER IS SO ANNOYING.
Corareef12:
That’s okay. She was pretty nosy.
JW44:
HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW SHE’S A GIRL? YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL ONLINE. I MEAN, 4LEAFCLOVER IS PROBABLY A DIRTY OLD MAN LOOKING FOR A SWEET KID LIKE YOU.
Corareef12:
Ha! I don’t think so.
JW44:
JUST BE CAREFUL. DO YOU STILL WANT THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS YOU ASKED?
Corareef12:
Yes! If you are really Joseph Wither, how old are you? Wouldn’t you be like 90?
JW44:
I WOULD BE IF I WAS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. BUT I’M NOT. I’M SEVENTEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
Corareef12:
Yeah, right. Then where did you go after you left Pitch? Where do you live now?
JW44:
I NEVER STAY IN ONE PLACE TOO LONG BUT I ALWAYS END UP COMING BACK TO PITCH.
Corareef12:
I wouldn’t come back here. It’s so boring.
JW44:
I’VE BEEN ALL OVER THE WORLD. PITCH ISN’T SO BAD.
Corareef12:
Have you been to New York?
JW44:
YES, AND I’VE BEEN TO LONDON AND PARIS, TOO.
Corareef12:
I’ve always wanted to go to Paris.
JW44:
YOU SHOULD GO SOME DAY. IT’S AMAZING.
Corareef12:
What does the 44 stand for?
JW44:
THAT’S THE NUMBER OF GIRLS I TOOK OVER THE YEARS.
JW44:
HA HA. JUST KIDDING—1944 WAS THE YEAR I TURNED 17. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
Corareef12:
I can’t think of anything right now.
JW44:
YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT I’M WITHER, DO YOU?
Corareef12:
No. I think you’re just messing with me.
JW44:
I’M OFFENDED, CORAREEF12. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND, JUST LET ME KNOW.
Corareef12:
Okay.
JW44:
HEY, I HAVEN’T BEEN TO PITCH IN A WHILE. IS THE SUSIE Q STILL THERE? I USED TO GET GREEN RIVERS.
Corareef12:
It’s still here. What’s a green river?
JW44:
7UP WITH LIME IN IT. DON’T TELL ME YOU’VE NEVER HAD ONE!
Corareef12:
Sounds gross.
JW44:
YOU SHOULD TRY IT. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
Corareef12:
Maybe.
JW44:
I KISSED MY FIRST GIRL AFTER WE SHARED A GREEN RIVER. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KISSED?
Corareef12:
I don’t think I want to say.
JW44:
WHY?
JW44:
COME ON, YOU CAN TELL ME. WHO AM I GOING TO TELL?
Corareef12:
It’s embarrassing. My friend Jordyn says she’s kissed a bunch of guys. Even Violet said she had a boyfriend back in New Mexico.
JW44:
DON’T BE EMBARRASSED.
Corareef12:
There is one boy who I think likes me, but I don’t think he’s going to kiss me