Page 106 of Missing White Woman

Again, it felt like a weight lifted.

But Billie was right about one thing. She had brought attention to what happened. If it wasn’t for her, Ty’s body would still be in that water. No one would care what happened to him or the woman I found in the foyer. And it made me realize that she might be the one person I could still trust.

It made sense looping her in. Not even just from an emotional standpoint. Forget Calloway. Billie was still the chief investigator of this case. The one folks listened to. The one folks shared theories and sightings with. There was no way she could read them all. And I knew from my own experience that she didn’t always share them publicly. Anything could be hiding in her DMs—including someone who could confirm Janelle was the person behind this all. Billie just needed to know to look for it.

“You’re a victim—just as much as Janelle was.” Her cell beeped and she instinctively checked it.

“But what if she wasn’t?” The words tumbled out my mouth so fast I could practically see them sprawled out all over each other on the floor.

Billie’s thumbs paused mid–text response. She didn’t say anything or even look up, so I kept going.

“Did anyone DM you with the idea that Lori Stevenson is the body I found? It makes sense. She lived next door. She and Janelle had similar hair. A similar build. Apparently, she had a horrible husband she was about to leave. Taking a ton of his money—their money—with her. And think about it. The police still haven’t confirmed the body was Janelle. And it can’t just be because they’re being careful. It has to be because they’re still not sure, right?”

The entire world froze on its axis as Billie looked at me. And just when I thought I was about to go extinct, she spoke. “You make a lot of sense. And that would mean…” She was quiet. “That would mean it’s not connected to Janelle at all. Just a horrible coincidence. She could still be alive.”

Billie looked excited at the very thought. Since I was in it up to my neck, I figured I might as well wade the rest of the way in. “What if Janelle is involved? She’s the common link in all this. She was friendly with Lori. We all know she used to date Ty. Like I said, Ty had a client that had him unexpectedly working overtime that weekend. It had to be Lori. Janelle could’ve introduced them.”

“Then why would Janelle be hiding?”

“Because she was the person who turned the light off downstairs when I woke up that night.”

Billie grabbed me by the arm, her touch so light it felt like a fly landing. She pulled ever so slightly to lead me to the couch. She didn’t speak until we were both sitting, then she smiled at me, her blue eyes kind. “Like I said, Bree, you’re a victim in this. And I get it—you are trying to make sense of it. Make all the pieces fit. But here’s the thing. You can’t force it into place.”

“You also had doubts about Ty killing someone.”

“Yes, but it’s like I said before too. It’s easy to just say stuff. But even when you look at the facts, Bree, he probably did it. And I’m sorry about that. It’s not easy to imagine someone you’re dating is a monster—even one who buys your favorite snack or makes you laugh all the time. But there’s only one way to know for sure if he did it. You would’ve had to keep going down those stairs that night. And I’m glad you didn’t.”

“But…” I trailed off, suddenly unsure of myself, as she stood.

“I have to go,” she said.

We walked to the door, then hugged in the small foyer. Her phone pinged again. She paused to check it as I went to open the door.

“Let me know when you get home, okay?”

The way Billie had said it made me think that maybe—just maybe—we’d actually become friends, bonded by this bizarre week. I nodded and stepped back to let her pass. If nothing else, she’d definitely gained another follower.

After she left, I just stood there. Replaying the entire conversation, because she was right. This wasn’t AP Calculus. This was life. Often the simplest answer was the right one. And maybe that was the reality—I’d almost interrupted my boyfriend killing Janelle Beckett in a rage. He was a monster who’d tried to cover up his nature with gifts and snacks.

Except there was just one issue. The snack. It felt like a throwaway comment—but it was too much of a coincidence. I’d never mentioned Muddy Buddies to anyone but Ty—not even my mother. The only way someone would’ve known that was because they’d heard me make a joke about them.

And the last time I’d done that was Monday at Little Street when I almost interrupted a murder. And only one person could have heard.

The killer—Janelle.

And anyone she’d told.

Like Billie.

I’d been right when I said Billie knew everything—and now I realized that could include the fact Janelle was both alive and a killer.

And Billie hadn’t said anything. Just let the rest of us believe in her lies.

I needed to confront Billie. Make her tell me where Janelle was. It’d been only a few minutes since she’d left. I could catch her. I threw the door open, running into someone waiting right outside. Except it wasn’t Billie.

“Ms. Wright, we’ve been looking for you,” Calloway said.

THIRTY-TWO

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