I sip the tea, give myself a moment to digest this sudden flood of information. “What do you think happened?”

“The last time I saw her, we were drinking and she started talking about it. She told me she did things she wasn’t proud of and she started crying. I didn’t know what to say and all of a sudden those parties didn’t sound so great.”

The words creep over me, like the stench of garbage left to rot in the sun. “Was Rachel there against her will?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I mean, not at first. But … the last couple of weeks she was different. Like it wasn’t fun for her anymore. She was stressed about something.”

“Any idea what it was?”

Marie shakes her head.

“Did she have a boyfriend?” I ask.

“She was tight with Jacob Yoder.”

“Anyone else?”

Her eyes flick away from mine and then back. “Maybe.”

“She told you that?”

“Not really. But Rachel wasn’t very good at keeping secrets. She was … honest and real. Didn’t play games. Didn’t lie like everyone else. I think she was involved with someone. I think that’s what she was going to tell me.”

“I thought she was tight with Jacob Yoder.”

She thinks about that for a moment. “It was a different kind of tight. I mean, Rachel and Jacob knew each other since they were kids. They played together and as they grew up they just sort of became girlfriend and boyfriend. Everyone always thought they’d get married. I know she loved him. But this … other guy just came in and swooped her off her feet.”

“What guy?”

“I don’t know.”

I think about that in terms of motive. “Did she tell Jacob?”

“Rachel didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t even officially break up with him. They stayed friends, but I think things changed between them. He wanted more; she wanted less. It happened quick. She stopped spending time with him. I think she was crazy for this other guy.”

“How did Jacob take it?”

“He wasn’t happy.”

“Unhappy enough to do something about it?”

She shakes her head. “Jacob can be an ass. I mean, you saw the way he was acting on Sunday. But he’d never hurt Rachel. He was crazy about her. After she … died, he just changed. Starting with the drinking and acting like a jerk.”

I nod, but Jacob Yoder has just graduated to the top of my suspect list. Right below Schrock.

“Rachel didn’t die out there by herself. She was too smart to get caught out in a snowstorm unaware.” She puffs hard on the cigarette, blows out the smoke between tight lips. “I’m scared.”

I go to the stove, pick up the kettle, and refill her cup. “Did you tell your parents?”

“They wouldn’t understand. They think Schrock is like a one-way ticket to heaven or something.”