Before She Was Found(76)

Case #92-10945


Direct message dated February 27, 2018,
via DarkestDoor.com


JW44:
THANK YOU FOR LEAVING THE NOTE AND THE HEART-SHAPED ROCK.
Corareef12:
You’re welcome. I’ve been looking for you at the train yard—but you’re never there. It’s not easy to get away. My mom would kill me if she knew.
JW44:
I KNOW YOU ARE ANXIOUS TO MEET IN PERSON BUT I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET IN TROUBLE. PEOPLE WON’T UNDERSTAND. ESPECIALLY YOUR PARENTS.
Corareef12:
I know.
JW44:
I SAW YOU TALKING WITH THAT BOY THE OTHER DAY. WHY? DO YOU LIKE HIM MORE THAN YOU LIKE ME? I HOPE NOT.
Corareef12:
I don’t. I told you, he’s just a friend at school.
JW44:
PROMISE?
Corareef12:
I promise.
JW44:
OKAY. I BELIEVE YOU.
Corareef12:
What’s it like where you live? Is it like Pitch? I hope not.
JW44:
IT’S AMAZING. IT’S HARD TO EXPLAIN BUT THINK ABOUT THE MOST PERFECT PLACE IN THE WORLD. WE CAN HAVE GREEN RIVERS WHENEVER WE WANT. AND YES, YOU CAN EVEN BRING YOUR CAT. I HOPE YOU HAVEN’T TOLD ANYONE ABOUT ME. REMEMBER, THEY WON’T UNDERSTAND AND IF THEY FIND OUT I’LL HAVE TO LEAVE AND WE’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO TALK AGAIN OR SEE EACH OTHER.
Corareef12:
I told you I wouldn’t say anything. You treat me like I’m a baby—you never believe me.
JW44:
THEN STOP ACTING LIKE A BABY.
Corareef12:
I’m not!
JW44:
THEN PROVE IT. STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR WINDOW.
Corareef12:
Why?
JW44:
STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR WINDOW AND LIFT UP YOUR SHIRT.
Corareef12:
No way!
JW44:
SO YOU ARE A BABY.
Corareef12:
I am not. Why are you being like this?
JW44:
DO IT.
JW44:
DO IT NOW.
Corareef12:
Okay. I’ll be right back.
Corareef12:
Are you happy now? I did it.
JW44:
LIAR.


Thomas Petit


Wednesday, April 18, 2018


Every time Thomas walks past the fireplace it’s all he can do to not stare. Last night, after Officer Wilson took Jordyn away and the deputy left with evidence bags filled with Jordyn’s clothes, Thomas looked up the chimney with a flashlight to make sure that the book bag was where he left it. It was. Thomas debated whether to yank the pack down, look through it to see if Jordyn’s house key was inside and find a new hiding place but decided to leave it alone, at least for the time being.

He came home from the police station beside himself and he knew that he couldn’t keep this news from Tess any longer. He wanted to drive to the skilled care facility and tell her in person, but he told himself that he didn’t want to be too far away from Jordyn in case she needed anything. If Thomas was being completely honest, he would admit that he just couldn’t bear facing Tess. So he called her instead.

He tried to downplay it by saying the police were just questioning her, that it was all one big misunderstanding, but in his mind all he could think was, They put her in a cell! A twelve-year-old girl in a jail cell where thieves and drug addicts and murderers and all other sorts of criminals belonged.

Thomas promised to call Tess later in the day to give her an update, but in the meantime he goes to the kitchen to put on a fresh pot of coffee and though he doubts he’ll be able to eat anything, he drops some bread into the toaster just in case.

Thomas’s knees protest with each step and he knows he’ll have to go to the doctor to get a cortisone shot soon, but not today and not tomorrow but as soon as Jordyn comes home. Thomas pulls the butter dish from the cupboard and sets it on the kitchen table along with a jar of peach jam Tess canned last summer when the phone rings.

His first thought turns to Jordyn. Maybe it’s the lawyer calling to tell him it’s all been a terrible mistake, that they are releasing Jordyn right away. Or, he thinks, maybe it’s the jail calling to say that Jordyn was hurt by some criminal during the night. You hear about that on TV all the time.

Thomas sets down the jar of jam, half hoping that the phone will stop ringing before he gets there. No such luck. “Hello,” he says.

“Murderer,” comes a muffled voice. “Tell the murdering bitch we’re coming for her.” Thomas’s heart seizes. Had the Landry girl died? They just saw her yesterday and though she looked rough she was far from the edge of death. There’s no way she could have died. Someone would have called and told them, but not like this.

“Who is this?” Thomas manages to ask.

“Eye for an eye,” the voice hisses and Thomas slams down the phone. Just kids, he tells himself. Just a prank call.

Thomas sits, elbows on the table, forehead resting in the palm of one hand. Sure, Jordyn has had her issues. Thomas remembers the school calling over a half a dozen times this year. Once for copying a classmate on a math test, twice for making fun of a girl in her class. Jordyn called her lardo and a fat ass, the teacher explained, spelling out the offensive word: a-s-s. Once for snapping a girl’s bra in the locker room and a time or two for being disruptive while the teacher was talking.

Except for a few minor incidents, there really hadn’t been anything about Jordyn actually hurting anyone. Of course the girl is going to have some issues. Her parents abandoned her, for God’s sake.

Thomas wants so badly to talk to Tess about all of this. He needs to talk to her. She’ll be furious with him for hiding Jordyn’s arrest from her. Today, he promises himself. This afternoon, after the arraignment, he’ll call his wife and try to explain what’s going on.