Strong, Sleek and Sinful - By Lorie O'Clare Page 0,150
back-down noise, or anything like that.” Kylie rubbed her left temple, where a dull throbbing headache had been nagging her since she woke up this morning. It hadn’t surprised her that Peter was a no-show the night before. She hadn’t talked to him or seen him on-line since he’d suggested they meet Thursday night. The media had spooked him, putting her back to square one. At least she had Dani’s testimony to offer.
“Let’s hear what it says,” John said, sitting across from her. “As long as it picked up what the two of you said to each other, we’re fine.”
He scowled at the handheld recorder Kylie had owned for a couple years now. She used it any time she wanted to record an interview and never had problems with it. But with her headache, not enough sleep, and feeling grouchier no matter how much coffee she downed, she didn’t feel like arguing with them.
Reaching for the recorder, she pushed “play,” turned up the volume, and reclined in her chair. Static popped for a moment but then stopped. Kylie relaxed her elbows against the armrests and held her cup with both hands, watching the steam twist and evaporate above her fresh cup.
The recording began, Kylie’s voice sounding tinny but audible.
“This is a recorded interview conducted by Kylie Dover,” she said through the small speaker, using her undercover name and the front that she was recording this in an effort to show the reaction of a teenager to a traumatic, terrifying, event.
Dani stated her full name and age; then Kylie announced the date and time. After the usual formality of asking Dani if she would willingly participate in the interview and consent to it being recorded, the questions began.
Kylie had listened to the tape several times already but knew her presence was advantageous while playing it back for John. Paul was present for two reasons. One, he was very good at deductive reasoning and two, because Kylie knew if she was left alone for too long with John, she’d kick his ass. The man just rubbed her wrong every time she was around him.
And this morning wasn’t a good time to be around anyone. After showing up at the crime scene last night, keeping her distance, and observing, she immediately wished she’d stayed home and in bed. More than once she had stopped herself from marching across the parking lot and throwing that little runt of a cop as far away from Perry as she could.
It had been impossible to fall asleep after that. She’d even gotten dressed and gone over to his house, hell-bent and determined to give him more than a piece of her mind. Driving across town to his house didn’t calm her down, but she did manage to stop herself from barging into his home when it was mere hours before dawn. It would be better to take him on after a good night’s sleep. Except she didn’t get one.
It was bad enough that she tossed and turned once she finally crawled back into her bed, but she woke up with a headache. And it appeared to have no intention of going away.
“After walking out of your house, you text-messaged Petrie, your online boyfriend whom you hadn’t met yet, and told him you’d fought with your mother and left home?”
“You make it sound really bad,” Dani said, but then cleared her voice. She mumbled something inaudible. Kylie ignored John’s and Paul’s inquiring looks. Dani had mumbled under her breath, begging Kylie not to make her out to look like a fool. Kylie remembered Dani later admitting she felt like an ass for committing the most stupid stunt of her life, and hugging Kylie and thanking her for saving her life. That wasn’t information John, or Paul, needed to know, though. Dani continued, “But yes, I texted Petrie. He told me it wasn’t safe walking around alone at night and that he would pick me up. He offered to take me to get a pizza.”
“Where did he tell you he would meet you?”
“At the bowling alley.”
“Do you know why he suggested the bowling alley?”
There was silence for a moment. “Probably because he knows I hang out there with my friends a lot. He wanted a place where I would be comfortable.” Dani’s voice cracked and she coughed, trying to cover up emotions over a boy who had turned out to not be who she thought he was. “Or at least that is what I thought.”