Stepping into the shadow of his living room, Austin led me inside where a video game on pause glowed from one end of the house, light clawing its way into the adjacent dining room and kitchen, lit by a cracked light fixture that hung over the sink. The crunch of what looked like cereal under my shoes left footprints of powdery cockroach bait across the carpet. Somewhere in the pit of the house I heard a closed-door fight between a man and woman. Cody tugged on my hand, trying to draw me back outside to safety, until I pulled my hand free.

“Is everything okay at home, Austin?” I asked. My gaze shifted toward the intensifying screaming match.

“Oh, that. Yeah, just my mom and stepdad. Nothing new. I’m just trying to stay out of his way. I’m good, though.”

Was he good, really? I couldn’t tell if he was being truthful or not. I had never learned how to read kids.

“Marin,” Cody’s wary voice broke in, “you wanted to ask him about Vera?” I could tell he was growing impatient to leave.

“Thanks, Cody,” I said, silencing him with a glare. My voice softened as I returned to Austin. “The night Vera disappeared, I dropped her off here at your house. What exactly happened after I left?”

Austin’s face scrunched. “What do you mean? She never came here.”

Liar. Clearly he didn’t trust me.

“You can tell me the truth, Austin. I promise I will protect you, and I’m not going to tell the cops anything. I just need to know what happened after I dropped her off.”

“I’m telling you the truth, Miss Marin. I never saw her that night. I wasn’t even home.”

More with the lies. I knew what I had seen that night. But I couldn’t blame him for taking the silent defense.

“Then why did she ask me to bring her to your house?”

His bony shoulders lifted, then dropped. “I don’t know. After she broke up with me we stopped talking. I wasn’t allowed to contact her, and she’d been ignoring me at school.”

“Did she text you that night?”

“Hell no. We never texted, only used messaging. She was terrified her parents would find out about me if they saw her phone. It figures. I wouldn’t want my daughter with someone like me either. I should have known she’d break up with me eventually.”

His cheeks reddened, eyes watered. I wondered how long he’d been wearing his self-shame. I knew from experience that it was a hard beast to tame.

“Oh, honey. It wasn’t about you. Never think you’re not good enough, okay?”

He nodded wordlessly.