Before She Was Found(79)

Three figures come into the frame and though their features are fuzzy, I recognize Violet’s long dark hair. The other two girls have to be Cora and Jordyn. They are walking shoulder to shoulder and arrange themselves in front of a row of boxcars.

Violet reaches into her pocket and pulls out what appears to be a cell phone, stretches out her arm and raises it above her head to take a picture. Jordyn lifts her arm, too, and in her hand is something—but I can’t tell what it is. Once the photo is snapped, Jordyn reaches into her backpack and pulls out a bottle, twists the lid and takes a drink. The camera is too far away to see her face but by the way she shoves the bottle toward Violet it’s apparent that she doesn’t like the taste.

“Are they drinking alcohol?” I ask. Officer Grady ignores my question, keeping his eyes on the screen. Violet wipes the rim of the bottle with her sleeve, takes a drink and offers it to Cora, who shakes her head. Violet presses the bottle back toward Jordyn, who takes it, dumps out the rest and tosses the bottle to the ground.

The girls freeze in place and then turn their heads toward somewhere out of sight of the camera. The girls spend the next few moments in what looks like deep conversation until Jordyn lifts her book bag to her shoulder and begins to walk away. Cora grabs one of the straps and tries to pull Jordyn back toward her. Jordyn gives one big tug, forcing Cora to let go and tumble to the ground. Then Jordyn tosses whatever item was in her other hand to the ground next to her. Violet reaches down to pick it up.

“Is that...?” I begin to ask but then stop. I know what it is. It’s the knife. “It doesn’t mean that Violet...” I say but Officer Grady holds up a finger to silence me.

Cora gets to her feet and shoves Jordyn, who stumbles back a few steps. Cora turns her head as if something has caught her attention. Jordyn lunges, arms outstretched, striking Cora on the back with both hands. Cora falls hard and doesn’t immediately get up. Violet bends over as if checking on Cora.

Violet’s and Jordyn’s heads snap toward something off camera. Even Cora, from her spot on the ground, looks up. Jordyn and Violet run off in different directions as Cora struggles to her feet, clutching at her arm, and staggers away.

“Just wait,” Officer Grady says as I start to speak. Several minutes pass with nothing but even though I know what’s coming I can’t help squirming in my seat. I don’t dare blink, afraid of missing something, and I keep my eyes on the screen.

A shape rushes past so quickly that I can’t tell who it is. Officer Grady stops the video, backs it up fifteen seconds and replays it. “We’re pretty sure that’s Jordyn Petit. See the backpack in her hand?”

I nod and we continue to watch the video. The train rushes by and then several more minutes pass. Finally, a woman and her dog come into view. The dog sniffs at the weeds, searching for the best spot to relieve himself while the woman, holding the leash, taps her foot impatiently. The dog, nose to the ground, perks up his ears and pulls on the leash, dragging the woman out of the frame.

The seconds on the time stamp tick by until Officer Grady fast-forwards the video. “The witness calls 9-1-1 and we show up about ten minutes later.”

Right on cue a handful of cops run through the train yard and soon after two EMTs rush past carrying their medical gear. The woman and her dog, escorted by an officer, come back into sight. She is frantically waving her arms and talking when she suddenly looks at her hands as if seeing them for the first time. This is where I must have asked, Is that blood?

The EMTs hurry by again, this time carrying Cora on a stretcher. In the upper corner of the video a shadow appears. It’s all I can do to not rip the phone from Officer Grady’s hands to get a closer look.

“What are you looking at?” comes a voice from the doorway. Max has returned.

“Quiet,” I demand and see the hurt on his face. Dammit, I think. I can’t seem to win with Max right now. Max is part of this family. Shouldn’t he hear what’s going on? “I’m sorry, Max,” I tell him. He nods but I can tell his feelings are hurt. He stands behind us and watches as I return my attention to the video. The person on the edge of the video gets closer and I know it’s Violet.

Her movements are odd. Zombielike and she’s carrying something in her hand. My stomach lurches. The knife. Violet drops it to the ground and the next thirty seconds of film are chaos. I watch myself running toward her, my feet kicking up the dusty gravel, a cop at my heels. Me, pulling a bloody Violet into my arms, thinking that she was dying, laying her on the ground.

Violet was holding the knife. Officer Grady pauses the video and I stare at the two of us frozen in time: Violet’s eyes are black holes, my mouth opens in a silent scream. This is it, I think. This is the exact moment that our lives were changed forever.

“I was hoping that you might be able to recognize a fourth person in the video,” Officer Grady says. He hits Play. “Look. There. Do you see it?” At the upper edge of the video I do think I see someone. It’s blurry and shows someone walking quickly, but not running, through the camera’s frame.

I nod. “Yeah, I see it.”

“It’s not one of the girls,” Grady says. “They ran in different directions. It’s like they were running from him.” He taps Pause again.

Relief floods through me. “There was someone else there. I knew it.”

“Can I take a closer look?” Max asks and Officer Grady hands him the phone and he watches the video several times, stopping and starting it over and over.