Before She Was Found - Heather Gudenkauf Page 0,85

HERE FOR YOU.

Case #92-10945

Excerpt from the journal of Cora E. Landry

Jan. 7, 2018

I went to school today ready to tell everyone that I was just joking about the whole Joseph Wither thing. That I was trying to be funny and it obviously wasn’t. I was going to say that I was sorry for slapping Jordyn, that I was just having a really bad day.

At lunch I sat with Violet knowing that she, at least, wouldn’t make me move. I sat down next to her and she gave me half a smile. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. I unwrapped my sandwich but couldn’t eat it. I kept saying to myself, Tell them you were joking about Wither, tell them you were joking about Wither. But before I got the chance, Jordyn started talking.

“Did you hear about Cora Landry?” Jordyn asked.

“No, what happened?” Gemma asked in this fakey voice.

“She moved away. Poof! Just up and disappeared.” Jordyn made her eyes wide and frowned, like she was sad. I felt like throwing up.

“I wondered why I hadn’t seen her around in a while,” Kaley said like some big mystery had been solved. “Where’d she move to?” I tried not to cry.

“Probably somewhere with Joseph Wither, you know, because he’s real,” Jordyn said. No one was looking at me. “What about you, Violet?” Jordyn asked. Tears were plopping onto my sandwich, making the bread soggy. “Have you seen Cora lately?”

I held my breath.

Violet looked down at her tray. “No, I haven’t seen her.”

No one talks to me. No one looks at me. Even Violet. It’s like I’m a ghost.

Thomas Petit

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

“I swear, I didn’t do anything to Cora,” Jordyn tells Thomas again after they visit Tess in the skilled care facility. It was a quick visit. Thomas had planned on telling Tess about what happened to Cora at the train yard, but after the upsetting meeting with Cora and her family, Thomas couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Tess didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss. She chatted enough for all of them.

Jordyn buckles herself into her seat. “We were both mad at each other for a while, but we made up. I don’t know why her sister said all those mean things.”

Thomas thinks about this. It’s true that kids argue all the time. Get in little spats here and there. Maybe Cora’s sister was just being emotional, and rightly so. Their family had been through a lot. And wouldn’t Cora’s mom have refused to allow them to visit if Jordyn had treated Cora badly? But then there was the prank that Jordyn admitted to wanting to play on Cora. He doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Besides, Cora seemed genuinely happy to see Jordyn. If Jordyn had been as awful as Kendall said, would she have acted that way?

“I think Cora was really glad you came,” Thomas says as he pulls out of the parking lot.

“Yeah,” Jordyn says but there is no conviction in her voice, only sadness.

“What is it?” Thomas pulls his eyes away from the road to look at Jordyn. “I think Cora really likes the gift you gave her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jordyn moves to turn on the radio and Thomas puts his hand over hers just before it reaches the controls.

“Tell me,” he insists.

“It’s just that...her face...” Jordyn’s eyes brim with tears and Thomas feels a sense of relief. Finally, Jordyn is expressing some real empathy for her friend.

“It looks bad now, but once it heals I’m sure she’ll look like herself again,” Thomas says. “Try not to worry about that. The hospital has really good doctors.”

“I wish...” Jordyn begins. “I wish we never went out the other night. I wish we hadn’t brought that stupid knife. I wish we had just stayed at Cora’s.”

“I know, honey,” Thomas says and pats Jordyn’s leg. “You learned a hard lesson. Just remember that for the next time you go on an overnight.”

“Grandma is probably never going to let me spend the night at anyone’s house ever again.” Jordyn groans.

“You’re probably right,” Thomas says, but it’s halfhearted and filled with more affection than anger.

The remainder of their drive back to Pitch is silent and as they arrive home it’s to find a police car parked outside the house. It’s not an unusual sight. The police often park on Main, the busiest street in town. Thomas pulls the truck into the driveway and as they get out the officer that first interviewed Jordyn