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“Thanks.”
“It was nice seeing you,” Poppy says, waiting one last beat, just in case.
“You asked if Ali had any secrets?” Ruby says.
Bingo. Poppy nods for her to continue.
Ruby opens the car door, gets inside, and looks up at Poppy from the driver’s seat.
“Ask your brother.”
Poppy feels a quake in her chest at that.
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I already gave my statement to your office. It’s all I know. I need to get home.”
Before Poppy can reply, Ruby has slammed the car door and peeled out of the parking lot.
15
It’s close to seven o’clock on Day Two, and it’s been a weird second day on the job. Poppy has continued to go through the tip-line emails and is coming up with nothing but cranks and pranksters. She opens her desk drawer where she’d tucked away Agent Fincher’s card. She picks it up, examines it. Fincher has crossed out her office number with an ink pen and written down her mobile. Poppy considers calling the agent. She shouldn’t. The sheriff explicitly asked—no, ordered—Poppy to have no contact with Fincher. Poppy retrieves her cell and eyes the card. She nearly jumps out of her chair when the device rings. The universe intervening before she makes a stupid mistake. The screen displays her big brother’s goofy mug.
“About time,” she answers. She’s already sent him several texts, which he ignored. She even tried calling, but it went to voicemail.
“Sorry, Shorty, I’ve had a crazy day. We’ve got a big sale going on at the dealership. Where’s the fire?”
“It’s not a fire. But I met with Ruby, Juliette, and Chrissy today.”
“And?”
“And Ruby said something weird. I asked them about Alison Lane. If she had any secrets or reason to be afraid of anyone, and she said I should talk to you.”
“Me?” His tone is incredulous. But when they were kids Poppy often heard him use the same intonation when he was lying through his teeth to their parents, so she’s not so sure it’s genuine.
“Why would she say that?” he adds.
“Well, that’s the question I’ve been trying to ask you, but you’ve been ghosting my ass.”
“I’ve got no damn idea. Ruby never liked me. Other than that, I’ve got no clue.”
If he’s lying, it’s a better performance than when they were kids.
“You’re a cop, make her tell you what she’s talking about.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Poppy says. “Is there something you’re not telling me about Alison? You hung out with that crowd. And you were on the team with Ryan Richardson.”
“What would I know? I don’t have a clue.”
Poppy thinks about this. “Did you ever talk to the police back when it happened?”
There’s a millisecond of silence. If she wasn’t listening for it, she might have missed it. “Um, yeah, I talked to a cop. Don’t remember his name.”
“Buckman?” Poppy says.
“Maybe, I don’t remember.”
“What did he look like?”