He waved away her comment. “I don’t like this kid’s amateur tactics, and I’m pretty sure the police know a lot more than they’re saying. One thing about investigations, they are dependent on the questions you ask and who you ask. People lie to cops—sometimes intentionally, sometimes by omission. No doubt they looked seriously at the two boyfriends. If she had two, could she have had a third that she didn’t tell anyone about? And I’m not buying into the swimming-pool theory, not yet. The police have the same forensic reports, and they would have tested the water at the time.”

“What if they didn’t?” she asked.

“Most do the work and put in the time.”

“Sometimes we make assumptions and don’t realize it. Reports can be lost or misread.”

John grunted. “Not going there. Not without evidence that there’s a problem. Maybe you should talk to Young, see what he has to say.”

“Maybe I will. So you don’t think I should do the interview with Lucas?” Regan said.

“I didn’t say that. Like I said, I’m intrigued. He asks some good questions. Maybe he’ll find the answers. And maybe you can help.” Her dad looked at her pointedly. “I know you don’t like unsolved murders any more than I do.”

Her heart twisted into a knot so tight she didn’t know if she could breathe. She didn’t want to respond to him by lashing out, saying something she’d later regret.

Her dad didn’t apologize or backtrack; she knew he meant it. She knew he wanted her to face Chase’s death head-on. It didn’t matter that she knew who killed him: there were still a lot of questions—questions she hadn’t been able to ask because the shooter was dead.

Instead, she picked up her phone from the coffee table, grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch, the flashlight from the shelf by the door, and left the house for a walk.

From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain

From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain

“Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made. If you want a different result, make a different choice.”