Page 69 of The Lake of Lost Girls

3.One adult female’s bra, white lace.

My stomach plummeted.

I would know that car anywhere, despite my dad never driving it. He still cleaned it and waxed it monthly. And I would often find him sitting in the driver’s seat while it was parked in our garage, staring out of the window absently, listening to the same cassette tape over and over. I’d askedhim a million times why he never drove it anymore, but he could never give me a straight answer.

Was this why?

Had my father really been involved with Meghan Lambert?

The idea didn’t align with what I knew of my dad. Of his relationship with my mom. While he may be distant with me, he deferred to her in all things. He wouldn’t cheat on her and definitely not with someone so much younger than him.

It didn’t make sense.

But why were police searching his car? And why was there an eyewitness putting Meghan Lambert in the Mustang on the same day she disappeared?

What about the semen sample taken from the fabric seats?

There was only one reason something like that would be found next to a woman’s bra. I had always thought my dad to be a great guy. Easygoing, if distantly loving. And while he seemed to keep me at arm’s length, I excused it as a heartbroken father grieving the loss of his first child. He wasn’t creepy. He didn’t put people on edge. He was your average American dad who worked too much and was obsessed with cars.

But this … this changed everything.

Just after the picture of the Mustang was a five-page interview transcript.

Description: Interview with Benjamin Fadley

Occurrence From: 02/11/1999, 09:32

Occurrence To: 02/11/1999, 10:15

Reporting Officer: O’Neil, Liam (Sergeant, lead detective of Mt. Randall Police Department)

Case/File Number: A313TR7

Sergeant L. O’Neil:This will only take a few minutes, Mr. Fadley. But I need to talk to you about your whereabouts on February 8.

Benjamin Fadley:I was with my wife and daughter, Lindsey, at home all day.

Sergeant L. O’Neil:I will corroborate that with your wife, of course.

Benjamin Fadley:Actually,I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to Cara about this. It’s … a bit sensitive.

Sergeant L. O’Neil:I’m not in the business of busting up families, Mr. Fadley, but I need to know if you were having a sexual relationship with Meghan Lambert.

Benjamin Fadley:If I can keep this from my wife and family, I’ll tell you what you want to know.

Sergeant L. O’Neil:Mr. Fadley, please answer the question.

Benjamin Fadley:Yes, I was having a sexual relationship with Meghan Lambert.

I couldn’t read anymore, the words blurring on the page. I felt hot and sweaty, and tears pricked my eyes. My father had been sleeping with one of the missing girls. He had seen her the day she went missing.

Was he involved with the other missing girls, too?

It seemed like Mt. Randall had an overabundance of creeps perving on young women, my father being one of them.

Had Jess known this? Is that why she stopped calling my parents as my mom had claimed? Is that why she rejected our dad?

Ryan’s words from earlier echoed back to me.“He’s not who you think he is.”

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