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Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

We didn't get any homework at school today because Alison's disappearance was such a distraction, so I've spent the majority of the afternoon and evening watching the local news. I tried watching a few sitcoms, but I couldn't focus and eventually went back to the news.

It's mostly the same story again and again. Seventeen-year-old Alison Danzinger was discovered to be missing from her home this morning. The police are searching for her and following up several promising leads. No persons of interest have yet been identified in her disappearance.

At some point, I force myself to eat dinner—a bag of Doritos washed down with a bottle of Sprite. Somewhere between opening the bag and scraping the bottom, I drift off on the sofa. I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but I spent most of the last thirty-six hours awake.

I am jarred back into consciousness by the sound of my cell phone ringing. I locate it in the folds of the sofa and my heart leaps at Daisy's name on the screen. I haven't spoken to Daisy since she sobbed in my arms this morning.

"Tom…" She's crying when I answer the phone, as if she never stopped after this morning. "Oh, Tom…"

"What? What's going on?" I'm half scared she's going to tell me that her father is on his way here to arrest me.

"They found Alison."

For a split second this strikes me as a good thing. Alison just ran away, and now she's been found. And maybe my dad really is at the bar right now.

Except, if it's a good thing, how come Daisy is crying so hard?

"They just pulled her body out of the river." Her sobs become almost hysterical. "Tom…"

The river. That's where Slug wanted to throw my father's body initially. It's his favorite spot.

Daisy is crying too hard to give me any more details. I haven't seen anything on the news, so I assume Daisy must've heard from her father.

I wonder what else he said to her.

"She was mutilated," Daisy manages. "I heard my father talking about it on the phone. He said she… It looks like she was tortured ."

Like Brandi.

I get a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach as I remember how Slug's name got called when they were interviewing students for a second time about what happened to Brandi. I had thought he barely knew her, but obviously, I was wrong.

What did I unleash?

I hear loud voices in the background on the other end of the line, and Daisy's voice becomes hushed. "I better go. My father doesn't want me talking to you."

Even though I suspected it, that one is a jab in the chest. "He doesn't?"

"I'm sorry. It's not you—he just doesn't trust any kids at the high school right now."

It's a relief to hear that I'm not a primary suspect. Although why would I be? All he knows is that Alison and I didn't get along. Yes, I am the mystery "boyfriend" who was meeting Brandi the night she was killed, but as far as I know, the chief isn't aware of that. The only other person who knew is Alison, and she's gone.

Before I can say anything else, there's another loud voice in the background. "I have to go, Tom. I'll talk to you later."

"I love you, Daisy," I say into the phone, but she's already hung up.

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