Putting aside the mysterious side-girl for a moment, Clark thought even less of the idea that Jamal might have killed his close friend for the chance to steal some glory for himself. Even in a town that worshipped its quarterbacks, this felt like a stretch. For one thing, the other boys on the team had all stated that Jamal and Dylan were fast friends, hanging out often and studying together on school nights. Paulette Whitley had attested to this. Jamal’s parents had attested to this. And Jamal was a senior—he had only a handful of football games in his future. Would he really kill a close friend—not mention risk the death penalty—for a few hours of field time?

Clark didn’t buy either theory. From the moment they’d told Jamal that Dylan was dead he’d been shocked, disgusted, bereft—but he hadn’t betrayed a moment’s concern for his own safety until Mayfield started putting the screws to him. Clark didn’t buy this boy as a killer.

Dylan’s other friend, however, she had trouble with.

“You do realize that both of the possible motives we’ve given to Jamal come from statements made by KT Staler, a boy who’s now conveniently vanished to leave his friend in the soup.”

Mayfield shrugged. “Sometimes these things are easy.”

“Would it be so easy if the roles were reversed?” she said. “If KT were stuck here and Jamal had disappeared?”

“I’m not sure what you’re implying, Deputy.”

“What if Jamal’s skin was a little lighter? KT’s a little darker?”

“You’re going to stop that kind of talk right now.” Mayfield twisted slowly in his seat to fix her eye. “The fact stands that every other boy on the team but Reynolds and Staler has himself an alibi for Friday night. Furthermore, Joel Whitley was spotted by a half-dozen people in town right after the game. He’s got a nosy old crow of a neighbor who swears Joel woke her up when he pulled in just after eleven. The mother’s boyfriend, Darren, he woke the lady up again at two fifteen, and we’ve got him on a video at a gas station in College Station an hour before, driving back from working on an oil rig in Corpus Christi. Maybe there’s a hole in that man’s story somewhere but I don’t see it. So the family’s out. The team is out. We’ve got an APB in every station looking for KT Staler’s teal-green Tacoma but that’s about all the resources we can give that boy. You can’t follow every lead in a case like this, Deputy. He’ll turn up if he turns up.”

“But he’s our prime suspect.”

“Correction—that would be Reynolds, the only boy—white or black—left in town without an alibi,” Mayfield said. “For what it’s worth, Mr. Boone says the county attorney’s office is going to file subpoenas for KT Staler’s phone records to help us track him down.”

“If he’s alive,” Clark said. “I still don’t like the fact that Jason Ovelle was rooting around in Staler’s truck. He said something about KT owing him money.”