First Girl Gone(18)

“When did that change?”

“I’m guessing you heard about Kara’s DUI?”

“I did.”

“The same night Kara got busted, I got an MIP. Minor in possession.”

Charlie nodded.

“It was the same party. Anyway, we met during community service. We had to volunteer at the senior center, serving food and stuff. And, I don’t know, I guess you could say we bonded.”

“And when was the last time you saw or talked to Kara?”

“We talked Wednesday.”

That got Charlie’s attention. “What time?”

Resting the cigarette between her lips again, Maggie drew her phone from the pocket of her hoodie. She swiped at the screen a few times.

“Around four. She sent me a few texts after that, but I was in the shower and didn’t see them until later.”

“Can I see?” Charlie asked, gesturing at the phone.

Maggie passed her the device.

Charlie looked at the last few exchanges between the two girls.

MAGGIE: OMFG NO HE DID NOT!!! That’s hilarious tho.



KARA: ikr? So are you gonna come get me or what?



MAGGIE: Yeah, I just gotta do my stupid chores first, or stepdouche will freak.



KARA: Ew… he treats you like a slave, I swear. Do you have to wash his nasty skidmark underwear again?



MAGGIE: Lol, stop yer gonna make me throw up.



KARA: So what time?



MAGGIE: 4:30. Soup bench.



KARA: K.



KARA: Almost smells like chicken noodle today.



KARA: Where r u?



KARA: Hurry up. I’m freezing my ass off.





Charlie glanced up from the screen.

“You two had plans to meet up?”

“Yeah,” Maggie said, taking one last drag from her cigarette and then tossing it to the sidewalk.

“Where’s the—” she glanced back down at the screen to read it again before handing the phone back “—soup bench?”

“It’s the bench all the way on the other side of the town square.” Maggie pointed at the park up ahead. “Always smells like soup over there. Usually French onion. Sometimes it’s more like beefaroni. Either way, it’s gross.”

“And did you have plans after that?”

Maggie sighed.

“She’ll kill me for telling you this, but whatever.” The girl reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. “We were gonna try to hitch a ride down to Florida.”

“Hitch a ride? Like with someone you knew or hitchhiking with strangers?”

Maggie’s eyes went wide.

“Uh, with someone we knew,” she said. “If I was ever in the mood to get rape-murdered by a psychopath, then maybe I’d hitchhike with a stranger.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Charlie said, laughing a little. “So what happened Wednesday afternoon?”

“I was late. Not by a lot. Fifteen minutes, maybe. And by the time I got there, Kara was gone.” Maggie thrust her hands in her pockets. “I figured she bailed on me.”

“Did you leave right away?”

“No, I waited around a while. I thought maybe Kara ran inside the gas station for smokes or something. When she didn’t show, I went over to Trevor’s house. He was the one driving down to Daytona Beach. But he’d already left. I was so pissed off that they’d left me behind that I sort of forgot about Kara for a while. Until the next day when her mom called me all freaked out, anyway.”

Charlie considered this, and a new idea came to her.

“Is there any chance Kara caught a ride with them anyway?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, because I called to bitch Trevor out for leaving without me. I asked if Kara was with them, but he said no.”

A pang of disappointment hit Charlie then. Kara sneaking off to Florida would have been such a clean and simple explanation for her disappearance. Her parents would have been angry, sure, but they also would have been relieved to know where she was and that she was safe.

Charlie was nearly at the end of her list of questions for Maggie. She’d left the most important for last.

“Kara’s stepsister says she’s been sneaking out at night,” Charlie said. “Do you know where she might have been going?”

“I have no idea,” Maggie said, but there’d been a beat of hesitation before she answered, and her voice had gone up in pitch, like she was nervous.

“Maggie, you heard how panicked Kara’s mom was. I need you to tell me what you know.”

Chewing her lip, Maggie relented.

“Fine, but when you find Kara, promise you won’t tell her it was me that said anything?”

“OK.”

The girl let out a long sigh.

“Well, a while back, I wanted us to get jobs together at Taco Bell. But Kara kept saying no, and I kept bugging her about it because she’s always talking about getting out of here, and I figured what better way than to make some money?” Her shoulders scrunched into a shrug. “Then one night, we smoked a bo— a cigarette together and got to talking about it again, and she told me she already had a job. I asked where, but she wouldn’t say more. Said part of the job was keeping everything confidential.”