The narrow-eyed glare Leigh Ann shot her way was the only indication she’d heard any of it. Alyssa closed the folder and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, letting the silence grow heavier as the girl she’d believed to be Holly’s friend absorbed the things her own mother had shared about her.

Finally, Alyssa spoke. ‘Aren’t you curious as to how I figured it out?’ The air inside the room dropped ten degrees from the icy gaze Leigh Ann drilled into her. How had she ever missed the cold emptiness in those eyes?

‘See, I remember when you moved here from Artesia a few years ago, and Holly brought you over to our house. I was passing by her room, and I overheard you refer to yourself as Anna when you told Sophie and Holly about your mother yelling at you. But that didn’t click right away. It was only when I started shifting pieces of the puzzle around that the picture started to become clearer.

‘Faye Harrison moved to Albuquerque for a career change just over a year ago. When I saw that she was also from Artesia, things started to open up for me. The two of you attended the same middle school, but you weren’t friends since she was two years ahead of you.’ Alyssa didn’t expect a response and didn’t receive one. ‘Becca Marshall is from Hobbs, which is pretty close to Artesia, but it’s not so close you would automatically run in the same circles. So, we dug a little deeper, and you know what we discovered?’ Leigh Ann’s face remained a cold, emotionless mask. ‘Becca used to visit her sister in a treatment facility – you might be familiar with it since you were there at the same time.’

Leigh Ann maintained her stony silence, but each word tightened the skin across her face. If there was going to be a reaction, Alyssa wanted it to be to the next bit of news, so she straightened in her seat and leaned in until she was mere inches from Leigh Ann’s face. ‘Meghan Jessup used to visit her grandfather every spring break. Oddly enough, Jersey’s house is located near Meghan’s grandfather.’

Face and neck flushing red, nostrils flaring, Leigh Ann opened her mouth just enough to bare her teeth, giving her the appearance of a rabid animal. Alyssa pressed on. ‘Beau Cambridge saw Meghan one day and decided he liked her, despite already having a girlfriend. And that made you jealous and sent you into a rage.’ Of course, she didn’t know any of that to be true, but it made sense as to why Leigh Ann would’ve targeted Meghan and even Jersey. ‘How could he notice a fourteen-year-old child when you were right there in front of him? It was nothing personal against Meghan; she was just someone who was in the way of you getting what you wanted. And you wanted Beau. Is that why you ended up targeting Rachel, too? You saw him hitting on her at the frat party?’