Page 47 of The Girl and the Lies

I’m particularly frustrated by the aggressiveness of the reporters when I see the trembling, pale face of Annette show up on screen. She’s standing behind her screen door, obviously not thrilled with being seen on camera but likely not willing to just shut her door in the reporter’s face. They ask her about Sabrina, and tears immediately start to stream down her face.

“She was always a good friend and such a sweet person. It’s devastating to think that someone right at the beginning of their life, happily married, expecting their first child, living their dream, could be wiped away in an instant,” she says.

My chest tightens at the words. I purposely had not mentioned the possibility of a pregnancy to Ander. Annette had specifically said Sabrina had been looking for a cute and creative way to reveal the news to her husband, which means he might not have ever gotten to hear about it. I didn’t want to reveal that kind of blow to him, and now it’s likely he heard about it on the news. The thought is deeply sobering.

The footage is still playing when my phone rings. It’s Jesse Kristoff. I’m surprised to see his name on the screen and answer.

“Hello?”

“Are you watching the news?” he asks.

“What?” I ask.

“Are you watching the news?” he repeats, sounding worked up.

“I am,” I tell him. “Why?”

“They haven’t mentioned Gideon even once,” he says. “All of the coverage is about Sabrina. They even talked about Tracy Ellis and Terrence Brooks, but the only mention Gideon got was them saying it was the second murder after the ‘death of a man.’ ‘Death of a man,’ Agent Griffin. They didn’t say his name or talk about what happened to him. And they didn’t mention me getting attacked at all. He’s being completely overlooked. Both of us are being forgotten in this investigation.”

“Jesse, I know it’s frustrating that it doesn’t seem like Gideon’s death and your attack got as much attention as Sabrina Ward’s death. Sometimes the media decides to latch on to certain stories more than others, and as much as no one wants to admit it, the story of a young wife and mother-to-be is more… compelling for the media,” I tell him.

“So you’re saying that we don’t matter as much,” he says. “Gideon doesn’t matter as much.”

“That’s not at all what I’m saying. Of course he matters. His murder is equally as important as Sabrina’s and is just as much a focus of the investigation as hers,” I say calmly. “I am just as determined to bring justice to Gideon and am applying all of the information that I find out about Sabrina’s death to his investigation as well. I promise you that I have not forgotten either one of you or what happened. I am just building this investigation with the information as it comes.”

“All right,” he says, taking a breath and letting it out slowly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“It’s fine,” I tell him. “I know you’re going through a lot right now, and you feel like you have to be the voice for Gideon as well.”

“He doesn’t have anyone else. I’m the only one who can speak up for him and make sure that he isn’t forgotten,” Jesse says.

“You aren’t the only one,” I say. “I will make sure that his name is said and that he is not overlooked. This investigation started for him, and I will continue to fight for him until I find out what happened.”

“Thank you, Agent Griffin,” he says. “That means a lot to me.”

I end the call and set my phone on the coffee table before going into the kitchen to make a snack.

As I’m chopping vegetables as quietly as I can so the sound doesn’t reach upstairs to the bedrooms, I hear my phone ringing again in the living room. I hurry back in and grab it, hitting the Answer button and pressing it to my ear without looking to see who is calling.

“Hello?”

“Agent Griffin! Agent Griffin!” The voice coming through the line is so high-pitched and frantic-sounding that I don’t immediately recognize it. “I need you!”

It clicks. “Carla? Carla, I need you to calm down. Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s Marshall,” she says. “He was attacked.”

“Where are you?” I ask.

“At home. He was here alone, and someone attacked him,” she says. “Please come.”

“I need you to hang up and call 911,” I tell her.

“They’re already here,” she says. “He was able to call during the attack.”

“All right. I’ll be there as fast as I can get there, but I’m about half an hour away.”

“Meet me at the hospital,” she says. “The ambulance is about to leave with Marshall.”

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