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Back The House Party
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. April 2008
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. Author’s Note
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. About the Author
  57. About the Publisher

It was true, June thought. She’d told him that she’d stopped by the party, hoping to leave it at that, and he’d taken her word on it. But she had a feeling that the investigation was getting more serious than she’d realized, and she hated feeling out of control. Her father had always listened to her, and he’d always been on her side. But what she was about to tell him was going to test that. She took a deep breath. “Dad?” she said. “I have something to tell you.”

25

The young woman who sat between her parents in Chief Whitman’s office had shiny black hair pulled into a bun. She was dressed in a pale-blue button-down shirt, a delicate silver chain with a cross around her neck. She looked like she was going to church. She didn’t look at all like the June Jeffries who had tossed her hair over her shoulder and sneered at Detective Murray when he’d interviewed her at school. And yet that’s exactly who she was.

Detective Murray had gotten the call twenty minutes earlier, telling him to report to Whitman’s office. “I want to thank you again for your cooperation,” the chief was saying to Mr. Jeffries when he got there. The chief looked at Detective Murray. “I think you know what to do here,” he said, and Murray nodded. The chief shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries, and then left the office.

Mr. Jeffries began to speak right away. “On my advice, my daughter has agreed to provide information about the house party that took place on River Road, three weeks ago. In exchange, we request that any charges against her be limited to simple trespassing.”

It sounded to Murray like Mr. Jeffries had already come to a private agreement with the chief, which he wasn’t happy about. But he also knew that at the moment they had very few names and even fewer good cases, with the possible exception of the O’Connor boys. If they were going to hold someone responsible for the damage at that party, they needed a witness.

“We will certainly take her cooperation into account,” Murray said. He turned to June: “Why are you just coming forward now? It’s been several weeks since the party took place.”

“I decided that it’s the right thing to do,” June said. “There are a lot of rumors flying around, and I want to set the story straight.”

So, Murray thought, her father had warned her that it was better to come forward, take a deal, and control her own story. It was a smart move. “What can you tell us about this party?” Murray asked her.

“I was only there for a brief amount of time,” June said, her voice sounding practiced. “I was hanging out with friends in the woods, and I stopped by to meet up with my boyfriend, who was there.”