Lovely Girls(57)

“Sort of,” I said. “I met her a few times, but I don’t think we ever spoke.” I wondered whether my talking to Callie and her two friends while they floated around in the Thackers’ pool, staring blankly at me, counted as having spoken. None of the girls had said a word to me. “Callie played on the Shoreham High tennis team with my daughter, Alex. Mostly, I know Callie’s mother, Ingrid.”

“Ingrid Nord said that you showed up at her office the day Callie died,” Detective Reddick said. He stared at me intently. “She said that you became quite aggressive. That you made accusations that her daughter was bullying your daughter. That you claimed Callie hung a doll in your daughter’s locker.”

I stared at him, momentarily stunned into silence. Somehow, between my fear when Alex disappeared that night and my horror at the news of Callie’s death, I had completely forgotten about my conversation with Ingrid. I knew the police would hear about the bullying, but for some reason, I’d assumed that information would come from Principal Hopkins. The fact that the source had been Ingrid made it sound worse.

“Ingrid and I did speak,” I finally said. “Although I take issue with the characterization that I was aggressive. But, yes, I had learned that Callie and her two best friends, Daphne Hudson and Shae Thacker, had been bullying my daughter. I wanted to talk to Ingrid about the situation.”

“What were you hoping to accomplish by confronting her?” Detective Reddick asked.

“I didn’t confront her. I was hoping she could give me some information on the dynamic between the girls. Both as Callie’s mother and in her professional capacity,” I explained. “I’d been told that she wrote a doctoral thesis advocating parents raise their daughters to be bullies.”

“Come again?” Detective Monroe said. His thick dark eyebrows rose in disbelief.

“Another mother whose daughter had been bullied by the same group of girls told me about it. That the mothers—Ingrid Nord and her two friends, Genevieve Hudson and Emma Thacker—trained their daughters to be bullies. They rewarded their daughters when they were unkind to other kids. I know it sounds ridiculous. I didn’t believe it at first either. But the bullying my daughter endured was extreme, so I wanted to discuss it with Ingrid.”

“And what did she tell you?”

“She admitted she wrote her doctoral thesis on the subject.” I shook my head, still not quite able to believe it was true. “I never heard of anything like it before. Most parents would hate for their kids to become bullies. And Ingrid phrased it differently. She said that she advocated for girls to be raised to be more assertive. But she also admitted that Daphne’s mother, Genevieve Hudson, took the theory too far. That when Daphne was growing up, Genevieve rewarded her when she was aggressive toward other kids.”

“I’m a parent,” Detective Monroe commented. “My kids are grown now, but I remember what it was like when they were younger. If they got picked on, it would make my blood boil.”

I felt another surge of shock. I’d been so focused on keeping Alex safe, it hadn’t occurred to me that the police might also consider me as a possible suspect.

“I am angry at how my daughter has been treated.” I fought to keep my voice level. “But I would never hurt anyone. And I certainly didn’t hurt Callie.”

“Where were you on Thursday evening?” Detective Reddick asked.

“I was here. At home,” I said. And then I remembered that I hadn’t been home the whole night. Joe and I had driven around the neighborhood, looking for Alex. Would anyone have seen us? I had to assume it was possible.

“All night?” he pushed.

“Well,” I hedged. “I might have left to run an errand.”

“Is there anyone that can verify where you were that night?” Detective Monroe chipped in.

“Actually, yes. I had a friend over. Joe Miller. He owns the Surfside Grill, and he’s the chef there. He stopped by after work.”

Detective Reddick made a note of this. “And your daughter?”

“What about her?” I hesitated. This was the moment I’d been dreading. If I lied, would I be protecting Alex or putting her in greater danger? If they found out I hadn’t told the truth, it might heighten the police focus on her.

“Was she home all evening?” he asked.

“No,” Alex said from the doorway. We all looked up in surprise. I hadn’t heard her come down the stairs. “I wasn’t here that night. I went out.”

“Alex, these two men are police detectives,” I said, trying to warn her before she said anything more.

Detective Monroe stood and held out his hand. “I’m Detective Monroe, and this is my partner, Detective Reddick. It’s nice to meet you.”

Alex shook each of the men’s hands in turn, and then sat down next to me on the couch. My heart was racing. I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I stop Alex from talking to the two detectives? Or, at the very least, have an attorney present while they interviewed her? But if I did, that might raise their suspicions. Then I realized that was probably inevitable, now that Alex was telling them she wasn’t home the night Callie died.

“You said you weren’t at home on Thursday night?” Detective Monroe asked.

“I went out for a bike ride after I finished my homework,” Alex said.