“So you think that Chris and your sister ran away together?” Decker asked.

“I didn’t say that. I just said I thought it was possible.”

“Ever see Chris get violent?”

“No.”

“Did Lindsey ever tell you that Chris was violent or mean or had a bad temper?”

“No. Nothing like that. The two of them were madly in love—Hero and Leander, or something out of Bullfinch’s Mythology. He wouldn’t have hurt her.”

She sounded sincere.

“Did Lindsey ever mention Chris taking nude photographs of her?”

“Yep. I’ve seen them. Man, she had it all.” She lowered her head. “I was real jealous of her looks and her body. God just wasn’t fair when He doled out the physical attributes. I used to say mean things to her to get even. It hurt her. She never said anything, but I know it hurt her.”

“All sisters find something to fight about, Erin. That’s normal.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Hell, I spent plenty of nights doctoring up her essays.”

“I’m sure you did,” Decker said. “Erin, do you think Lindsey would ever do more than just pose in the nude?”

“Like do porno?”

“Yeah, like do porno.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t think she’d do it.”

“Do you think Chris could have talked her into it?”

“No. He wouldn’t do something like that. Nudes are one thing. Being fucked like a baboon in heat is quite another.”

She gave him a suggestive smile. Decker ignored it.

“Did you know that Lindsey kept a diary?” he asked.

The girl didn’t respond.

“Erin?”

“What?”

“Did you know that Lindsey kept a diary?”

“Oh?”

“Do you have it, Erin?”

Again, she didn’t answer.

“Why don’t you level with me?” Decker said gently.

“Yeah, I have it,” she said. “I took it when it was clear Lindsey wasn’t coming back. I didn’t want my mother to find it. Are you gonna tell her?”

“I’m afraid I have to,” Decker said.

The girl angrily squashed her cigarette into an ashtray and clenched her jaw.

“Oh shit! Grounded for weeks. I mean, Mom asked me if I knew where it was and I out and lied to her. But my motivation was altruistic, you know?”

“How so?”