few odds and ends.
The closet floor was a bit more cluttered, about a dozen shoes scattered about haphazardly. The clothes hanging up were fashionable but not expensive. The bed was rumpled, the sheet and blanket tossed back over it but not tucked in. Her pillow was crooked; the smiley face on the pillow case appeared to be watching the rose-printed wallpaper. A pair of cute pale green pajamas lay in a ball at the foot of the bed.
Reilly turned to face the bulletin board she’d first noticed. It was less than a foot square and covered with thumbtacked pictures. She paused, noting the positioning of each one. She didn’t need Daniel to remind her that the pictures of most importance were typically placed on the top, overlapping others.
There were three pictures that Reilly figured were the girl’s favorites. One was of a pre-teen Holly with her mother and a blond man who Reilly assumed was her father. The second was of Holly, her mother and Daniel at Holly’s high school graduation, which she found curious. Where was the father on such a big occasion?
The one in the center – and the most important, Reilly guessed – was of Holly with a smiling blond guy who looked to be about the same age. Their arms were around each other’s waists, body language implying they were more than just friends.
As she headed back into the living room, Reilly made a mental list of the items the investigators would want to ask for: the picture of the mystery guy, any new jewelry, and the dress purse that Reilly had seen hanging in the closet.
The CSI team would need to more thoroughly search the room for other evidence of Holly’s boyfriend, birth control, a journal, anything like that. With so little information to go on, they needed to start with the basics. Unfortunately, that meant looking into those closest to Holly first.
Reilly paused at the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. Daniel had returned to his seat on the couch and caught her eye, indicating that she should come back in. As she walked over to the couch, Reilly cast a surreptitious glance in Mrs Young’s direction. The woman’s eyes were red, an occasional tear making its way down her cheek, but she seemed relatively composed. Reilly settled back onto the couch and gave Daniel a nod.
‘ Alice,’ Daniel said, his voice gentler than Reilly had ever heard it. ‘The police are going to be here a little later to ask you some questions to try to figure out who did this. But, if you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a few things now. Reilly took a look around and may have noticed a couple of things.’
‘ She’s a cop too?’ Mrs Young sniffled as she glanced toward Reilly, this time giving a dubious glance at the sundress. She reached for another tissue.
‘Reilly ’s a former student of mine from Quantico. She’s a crime scene investigator now. The best in her field,’ Daniel said. ‘And she’s going to help us.’
Mrs Young nodded. ‘All right then, go ahead and ask.’
‘Thank you.’ Daniel’s tone took on a more professional note. ‘When was the last time you saw Holly?’
‘This morning.’ Mrs Young took a shuddering breath. ‘She was going to an audition and then spending the afternoon at the beach.’
‘An audition? What kind?’
‘For a movie, I think. She wants to be an actress.’ She looked at Daniel. ‘You know how much she loves . . . performing.’ The woman’s voice broke as she realized she’d been speaking about her daughter in the present tense.
‘ Did she mention anyone specific she was going with?’ Daniel shot Reilly a sideways look and she gave a minute nod. ‘Maybe a boyfriend?’
‘Um . . .’ Mrs Young closed her eyes for a moment. ‘She’d been seeing a boy from the community theater. They’d go to auditions together sometimes, I think.’
‘ His name?’ Daniel pressed.
‘ Aaron. Aaron Overton,’ Mrs Young stood abruptly, her eyes brimming with tears. She shook her head and her voice
The closet floor was a bit more cluttered, about a dozen shoes scattered about haphazardly. The clothes hanging up were fashionable but not expensive. The bed was rumpled, the sheet and blanket tossed back over it but not tucked in. Her pillow was crooked; the smiley face on the pillow case appeared to be watching the rose-printed wallpaper. A pair of cute pale green pajamas lay in a ball at the foot of the bed.
Reilly turned to face the bulletin board she’d first noticed. It was less than a foot square and covered with thumbtacked pictures. She paused, noting the positioning of each one. She didn’t need Daniel to remind her that the pictures of most importance were typically placed on the top, overlapping others.
There were three pictures that Reilly figured were the girl’s favorites. One was of a pre-teen Holly with her mother and a blond man who Reilly assumed was her father. The second was of Holly, her mother and Daniel at Holly’s high school graduation, which she found curious. Where was the father on such a big occasion?
The one in the center – and the most important, Reilly guessed – was of Holly with a smiling blond guy who looked to be about the same age. Their arms were around each other’s waists, body language implying they were more than just friends.
As she headed back into the living room, Reilly made a mental list of the items the investigators would want to ask for: the picture of the mystery guy, any new jewelry, and the dress purse that Reilly had seen hanging in the closet.
The CSI team would need to more thoroughly search the room for other evidence of Holly’s boyfriend, birth control, a journal, anything like that. With so little information to go on, they needed to start with the basics. Unfortunately, that meant looking into those closest to Holly first.
Reilly paused at the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. Daniel had returned to his seat on the couch and caught her eye, indicating that she should come back in. As she walked over to the couch, Reilly cast a surreptitious glance in Mrs Young’s direction. The woman’s eyes were red, an occasional tear making its way down her cheek, but she seemed relatively composed. Reilly settled back onto the couch and gave Daniel a nod.
‘ Alice,’ Daniel said, his voice gentler than Reilly had ever heard it. ‘The police are going to be here a little later to ask you some questions to try to figure out who did this. But, if you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a few things now. Reilly took a look around and may have noticed a couple of things.’
‘ She’s a cop too?’ Mrs Young sniffled as she glanced toward Reilly, this time giving a dubious glance at the sundress. She reached for another tissue.
‘Reilly ’s a former student of mine from Quantico. She’s a crime scene investigator now. The best in her field,’ Daniel said. ‘And she’s going to help us.’
Mrs Young nodded. ‘All right then, go ahead and ask.’
‘Thank you.’ Daniel’s tone took on a more professional note. ‘When was the last time you saw Holly?’
‘This morning.’ Mrs Young took a shuddering breath. ‘She was going to an audition and then spending the afternoon at the beach.’
‘An audition? What kind?’
‘For a movie, I think. She wants to be an actress.’ She looked at Daniel. ‘You know how much she loves . . . performing.’ The woman’s voice broke as she realized she’d been speaking about her daughter in the present tense.
‘ Did she mention anyone specific she was going with?’ Daniel shot Reilly a sideways look and she gave a minute nod. ‘Maybe a boyfriend?’
‘Um . . .’ Mrs Young closed her eyes for a moment. ‘She’d been seeing a boy from the community theater. They’d go to auditions together sometimes, I think.’
‘ His name?’ Daniel pressed.
‘ Aaron. Aaron Overton,’ Mrs Young stood abruptly, her eyes brimming with tears. She shook her head and her voice
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