Before She Was Found(74)

Case #92-10945


DEAR CORA,

I KNEW YOU WOULD COME! I HOPE YOU LIKE THE CANDY. DON’T TELL ANYONE!!! THIS HAS TO BE A SECRET OR WE WILL BOTH GET IN TROUBLE. IT WON’T BE LONG NOW AND WE CAN SEE EACH OTHER IN PERSON.

LOVE,

JOSEPH



Beth Crow


Wednesday, April 18, 2018


Somehow I’m able to doze here and there but the chair in the family waiting room doesn’t make sleep easy. Across the room from me Max is curled up in an awkward ball on the room’s one couch. He looks cold but I’ve got nothing to cover him with.

What am I going to do about work? I’ve already missed two days and I haven’t worked there long enough to get any vacation time. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.

I watch Max sleep, his hands tucked beneath his chin, which sprouted a shadow of a beard overnight. I blinked and he grew up on me. I blinked and my daughter went from a nice, quiet twelve-year-old girl to being in a locked ward of the hospital, accused of being crazy, of trying to kill her best friend.

My stomach growls loudly and I can’t believe my body is betraying me at a time like this. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning and the thought of food makes me want to be sick but I know I have to at least attempt to take care of myself for the sake of Violet and Max.

I stand and stretch, my muscles aching from sitting for so long, and I go over to where Max is sleeping and give him a gentle shake. “Max,” I whisper and his eyes open. “I’m going to find something to eat. You stay here and I’ll bring you something.” He nods and his eyes close again.

I take the elevator down to the main floor and follow the signs to the cafeteria. The smell of scrambled eggs and bacon fills my nose and my stomach rumbles again. The cafeteria is nearly deserted and I grab a few bagels and donuts and two bottles of orange juice and carry them to the cash register. As I pull my cash from my pocket I see Cora’s dad at a table, sitting by himself, a cup of coffee in front of him.

I think about what Violet told me about Jordyn pushing Cora down at the train yard. I wonder if the police have told him anything more about the investigation.

“Ma’am? Ma’am?” The cashier looks at me with eyebrows raised. “That’ll be eight dollars and forty-two cents.”

“Sorry,” I say and hand him the money and don’t wait for the change. I decide to take the cowardly way out and, with head down, try to leave the cafeteria without Jim Landry seeing me. No such luck.

“Hey,” Jim calls. I stop and turn to face him. He’s not a tall man, but burly and strong, and from the way he’s glaring at me it’s obvious the police have told him their theory. The cashier’s eyes flick back and forth between us.

“I’m sorry about what happened to Cora, but they’re wrong.” I keep my voice low and steady. “Violet didn’t do this.”

He takes a step toward me and it’s all I can do not to run away. “Why isn’t your daughter helping the police?” he asks through clenched teeth. “She knows something—I know she does. Cora could have died. She could lose her eye.”

Part of me wants to tell him what Violet said about Jordyn pushing Cora to the ground but I know it’s not a good idea. That will only seal his belief that Violet was part of the attack. I know my daughter and I’m not going to let anyone change what I believe about her.

I straighten my spine and lift my chin. “You’re wrong. I don’t know what happened at the train yard, but I know that Violet had nothing to do with it. She is trying to help the police. She’s just scared.”

“And Cora isn’t? She’s terrified! Why was Cora the only one who got attacked? Strange coincidence, don’t you think? There were three girls in the train yard and only one got hurt?” Jim shakes his head. “I know they had been arguing, that Violet and Jordyn were freezing Cora out for months. I know more than they’re letting on.”

“What about the teacher?” I ask, desperately wanting to get the focus off Violet. “Mr. Dover? The police questioned him, right? What are they saying about him?”

Jim glares at me as the cashier comes out from behind the register. “Everything okay?” he asks nervously and he pulls his phone from his pocket.

“We’re fine,” I tell him. And without a backward glance I leave the cafeteria.

Instead of taking the elevator I decide to take the steps and by the time I get back to Max I’ve stopped shaking. “Here,” I say, holding the bag out to Max, who is now sitting up on the sofa and watching TV with the volume on low.

“Thanks,” Max says and reaches his hand into the bag and pulls out a donut and a bagel and starts eating. When he comes up for air he takes a long look at me. “What’s the matter? Did something happen with Violet?”

“No, it’s not Violet.” I hesitate to tell Max more. He’s only sixteen and has had to grow up faster than most kids his age but it’s been just the three of us for so long. He should hear about what’s happening with Violet from me. “I saw Cora’s dad in the cafeteria. He thinks that Violet and Jordyn are hiding something about the attack. He’s very angry.”

Max sits up straight. “Do you want me to talk to him?” I know he means it. When he was nine he clobbered a boyfriend of mine who grabbed my arm during an argument and when he was thirteen he told off our landlord for turning off our electricity when our rent check was a few days late.