A Necessary Evil(18)

“She did it all by herself,” Kitty commented proudly. “Well, she and Daddy, of course.”

Of course, Kurt thought.

“He put in a bathroom, a mini fridge, and even a little stovetop for her.” Kitty pointed at the amenities in the attic. “But Mollie did all the decorating herself.”

Kurt stepped past Kitty and glanced around the room, his hands on his hips and his brow furrowed. The walls were painted light gray, and the comforter, furniture, and curtains were all pure white. Tiny white Christmas lights were strewn up along the perimeter of the ceiling, which added a warm glow to the room. Kurt walked over to an antique vanity situated in the corner and bent over, the better to see the Polaroid photographs tacked to the frame of the mirror.

“Who are these people?” He pointed at the first picture, which showed two teenage couples, dressed, apparently, for prom. Kurt could pick out Mollie in the long, flowy, baby blue dress with sequins on the bodice, but he didn’t recognize the other three kids.

“Oh,” Kitty said with a wistful smile. “That’s from her senior prom. The boy next to her is Dalton Cooper. That was her high school sweetheart. They dated until midway through her freshman year, but…” Kitty trailed off. “Anyway, the other girl is Shiloh Duncan, a good friend of Mollie’s, and the boy is her boyfriend, Zach Byers. They had such a good time that night. I don’t think she got home until three in the morning.”

Kitty sat on the edge of Mollie’s bed and picked up one of her pillows. She held it to her face and drew in a deep breath. “My God. It still smells like her.”

As Kitty cried into Mollie’s pillow, Kurt was unsure what to do next. He wanted to comfort her, but wasn’t sure if she wanted him to. Instead, he continued looking around the room and gave her the time and space she needed to gather herself.

The other pictures on the vanity were mostly of Mollie and her best friend, Laurel. Arm in arm at the beach standing by the ocean, at a football game huddled under a blanket, and smiling cheek to cheek in front of their lockers. There were other knickknacks on the dresser, including a bottle of Katy Perry perfume, some makeup, a mirror, and a hairbrush.

“Ms. Cartwright, can you—”

“Kitty,” she said, looking up from the pillow. “You can call me Kitty.”

“All right, Kitty. Can you think of anyone at all who would want to hurt Mollie? Did she have any enemies at school? At work? Anyone at all you can think of? Think hard. This is very important.”

Kitty shook her head vehemently. “No. I’m telling you, Detective Jamison, there’s no one. Everyone loved Mollie. She never made an enemy in her life.” She paused briefly then looked back up at him. “Well, there was this one kid…someone at work. She made a few comments about a boy who was driving her crazy, leaving little love notes and things in her locker, but I—”

“We’ve checked with Macy’s, and no one there seems to know anything about this boy. Are you sure he worked there?”

“No,” Kitty admitted. “I’m not sure. She only mentioned it a couple times, and she didn’t seem worried, just annoyed. Maybe he didn’t work there. Maybe he was a customer. I really don’t know.” She sobbed again into the pillow, and this time Kurt moved toward her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“I know,” he said in the same soothing tone he used with all victims’ parents. “I know it’s hard. But we’re doing everything we can to find her. Using all our resources. We’ll find her.”

She looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was wet with tears. “Do you promise me you’ll find her?”

Kurt didn’t answer at first. This was a tough one. He tried to never make promises he couldn’t keep. It always made things harder, especially for the parents of the other six girls who were still missing. But there was something in Kitty’s eyes. Something warm and familiar and desperate that made him nod.

“Yes,” he said. “I promise. I’ll find her.”

Kurt’s cell phone rang in his pocket, and he assumed at first it was Lonnie calling him from the cruiser, telling him to hurry his old ass up. He’d convinced his partner to stay in the car and let him talk to Kitty alone, so as not to overwhelm her, but Kurt knew how impatient his young partner could be. He almost ignored it, but thought better of it and slid it out of his pocket and held it to his ear.

“Detective Jamison,” he said.

“Kurt, it’s Frankie. We need to talk. Now.”

“Why? Did you find something?”

Kitty looked up at him. “Did they find her? Where is she? Is she alive? Is she safe? Oh, my God. Let me talk to her!”

Kurt covered the receiver. “No, it’s your father. I’m sorry. Nothing yet.”

“My father? But why—”

“What’s so important, Frankie? I’m here at Kitty’s house, looking at Mollie’s room. I need to make sure we—”

“Get your ass over here to the Tribeca, Kurt. I know who took Mollie.”

Kurt heard his heart pounding in his ears. He nearly dropped the phone but managed to catch it in an amazing display of acrobatics.

“Kurt? Did you hear me? I said I know who—”

“Roger,” Kurt said out of habit. “I mean, yes. I heard you. I’ll be there in ten.”