Officer Grady slides his eyes to me and gives a slight shake of his head. I take this is as my cue to keep my mouth shut. “Why were you going to the train depot?” he asks.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Violet says, tracing one finger through the small mound of salt that she spilled on the table.

“That’s okay, Violet,” Officer Grady says. “We’ve got time.”

“Well, we were going to look for Joseph Wither. We thought that maybe we could find him. We thought we could see what he looks like and maybe stop him.”

“Stop him from what?” he asks.

“From killing another girl or taking one,” Violet says so matter-of-factly that you’d think she was talking about doing her homework or drying the dishes.

“Oh, my God,” I say. “Violet, what were you thinking? Why would you do that?”

“We were curious. We thought it would be fun.” A ripple of regret passes over her face.

“You saw him?” Officer Grady asks. “You saw Joseph Wither attack Cora?”

“It was really dark,” Violet says. “It was hard to see anything. But I heard her scream.”

“And then what did you do?” he asks.

“I hid in the grass. I was afraid.” Violet blushes. “She screamed and screamed and I know I should have gone and helped her but I couldn’t move.”

“You kept yourself safe, Violet. That was a smart thing to do,” Officer Grady tells her. “You heard Cora scream and you hid in the grass. Where was the other girl, Jordyn Petit?”

“I don’t know,” Violet says. “She got mad at us and said she was leaving but I don’t think they did.”

Officer Grady looks up from his notebook. “They? Was there someone else with you at the train yard?”

“I meant Jordyn,” Violet says. “I don’t think she left.”

“Why do you think that?” Officer Grady stares so hard at Violet that she actually squirms. She’s lying about it only being the three of them at the depot.

When it’s clear that Violet isn’t going to answer his question, Officer Grady goes on. “So, you heard Cora scream and you hid in the grass. Then what?”

“All of a sudden she stopped. It got real quiet so I came out and found Cora. She was all bloody. I thought she was dead.”

“What about the blood on your hands and clothes?” Officer Grady asks. “How did it get on you?”

Uncertainty skitters across her face and I jump in. “She was helping her friend. Weren’t you, Violet?” Officer Grady shoots me a warning look.

“Violet?” he repeats.

“I don’t remember,” she says.

“When the lady with the dog found Cora, no one else was around. Where did you go?”

“I ran and hid,” she says. “I was scared.”