Before She Was Found(37)

Direct message dated November 21, 2017,
via DarkestDoor.com


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 anytime soon.
JW44:
YOUR FIRST KISS SHOULD BE SPECIAL. WITH SOMEONE WHO IS AS SPECIAL AS YOU ARE.
Corareef12:
Now you sound like a dad or something.
JW44:
BELIEVE ME, I’M NO ONE’S DAD.


Beth Crow


Tuesday, April 17, 2018


Max took off right after Officer Grady dropped us at the house yesterday and didn’t come home for about three hours. I’d hoped he didn’t go after Clint but thought it was more likely that he went to go see Nikki. I wanted to ask where he had been and what he knew about Joseph Wither but he didn’t say a word all afternoon, just went into his bedroom and closed the door.

Last night I tucked Violet into her bed and lay down beside her until she fell asleep. I dozed a bit but kept waking up, worried about Violet, worried about Max and worried about the attacker. What if he knew where we lived? What if he was outside our house watching, waiting?

Below me I hear a voice. Then nothing. As I move down the steps, careful not to make a sound, I hear another voice coming from Max’s room. A girl’s voice. Nikki. How could Max sneak his girlfriend into the house at a time like this? So selfish, I think angrily. I want to bang on the door, order her out of my home, forbid Max from seeing her anymore, but instead I lower myself to sitting position on the stairs and try to force myself to take a breath before I say something I regret.

The bedroom door opens and Nikki and Max come out holding hands, Boomer following on his stubby legs, and my anger immediately disappears. They don’t look like two teenagers trying to get away with something; they both just look sad, worried and very tired—exactly how I feel. They look at me at the same time and drop hands as if burned. “Mom,” Max begins. “We were just talking, I promise.”

I believe him and suddenly I’m grateful to this girl with smudged eye makeup and badly dyed hair who was willing to face the wrath of two mothers to come and see my son in the middle of the night. The weight of what’s happening with Violet has to be hard for Max. He’s already lost his best friend in the whole mess, though I know I’m not going to shed any tears over having Clint out of our lives. I nod wearily. “You guys want something to eat?” I ask. “I can throw a pizza in the oven.”

Max’s face relaxes and Nikki lets out a long stream of breath in relief. “No thanks,” she says. “I should get home.”

“You’re driving her, right?” I ask Max.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind me taking the car,” he says.

“The keys are on the kitchen counter,” I say and he hurries to the kitchen to grab them. To Nikki I ask, “Will you get in a lot of trouble for being out so late?”