Page 38 of The Lake of Lost Girls

Rachel:Whoever you are, we’re still going to tell this story. We’re going to do all we can to get our girls some justice.

Stella:Well, now that we have that out of the way, let’s have a little chat about sweet, studious, quiet-as-a-mouse Phoebe Baker.

Rachel:It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for, Stel.

Stella:You’re absolutely right. Because our sweet, studious Phoebe, like responsible, reliable Tammy, was shagging the same too-friendly neighborhood pervy teacher.

Rachel:Ugh, can we say his name already?

Stella:No, but I really wish we could.

CHAPTER8

LINDSEY

Present Day

“I UNDERSTANDTHAT YOU’REangry Mr. Fadley—”

“Don’t patronize me, damn it,” Dad bellowed. “We’ve been dealing with the police and their condescending bullshit for twenty-four years. And I’m not someone who needs to be handled. We still have no idea who you found at the lake. The papers have been plastering my daughter’s name everywhere.”

“As I said when I spoke to you several weeks ago, the press somehow got wind of things—”

“And how the hell did that happen?” Dad demanded. “How is it that a bunch of reporters figured out something like this before we had been told anything?”

Lead detective, Lieutenant Jane Higgins looked contrite. “That’s one of the things we’re looking into. We take leaks in our department very seriously.” She sounded pissed off.

“Leaks?” Dad scoffed. “It’s more like a fire hydrant. Though, I shouldn’t be surprised. Mt. Randall’s police department’s ineptitude is as well known as the town’s goddamned Apple Festival.”

“Your daughter’s case has always been taken with absolute seriousness, Mr. Fadley. I can assure you that my predecessor, Sergeant O’Neil, worked tirelessly to find Jessica. AndI will do the same. Iwillfind answers.” Lieutenant Higgins looked at my mother and me, her somber expression kind. I liked her, even if my dad didn’t seem to. She turned back to Dad. “I told you that as soon as the DNA test and autopsy came back I would contact you and your wife, and thatiswhat I did.”

Lieutenant Higgins was relatively calm, despite her obvious frustration. It was her frustration that I found encouraging.

She was on the smaller side—barely five foot five and probably weighed less than 120 pounds. But she had a demeanor that commanded discipline. She reminded me of my high school gym teacher, Ms. Phelps—short and feisty. She came across like a woman who got stuff done. She had the air of someone who was tenacious and methodical. I had done some Googling after hearing she had taken over my sister’s case and she had a decorated career. She had come to Mt. Randall after a decade of work in the aggravated assault unit in Raleigh. She had been awarded the Criminal Investigation Award and the Honor Award for Public Service. She had been promoted to lieutenant and for some reason, thought tiny Mt. Randall was a good place to transfer to, though I couldn’t figure out why.

Things had been in chaos since Mom called me. I had gone home instead of going back to work. I had called Marnie in a daze, telling her I was sick. I felt numb and hadn’t been thinking straight.

The remains weren’t Jess’s.

They hadn’t found her.

Even though it was late, I had found Lieutenant Higgins and another officer who introduced himself as Stanley James, the Family Liaison Officer, already at the house talking to my parents.

Mom was a mixture of devastated and relieved. Dad, on the other hand, was furious. I had never seen him act like this. Dad didn’t express extreme emotions. He was calm, agreeable, usually a little distant. But Jess seemed to bring out the lion in him. This was a side to my father Ihad never experienced before. He was normally smooth-talking and relaxed, while Mom was high-strung and overprotective.

“Mr. Fadley, I acknowledge that a lot of mistakes were made in the early days of your daughter’s disappearance—”

“Hmph, that’s an understatement,” Dad muttered and I was a little embarrassed at how blatantly rude he was being.

Lieutenant Higgins was calm. “Precious time was lost due to delays in reporting. There was a communication breakdown between departments. The FBI should have been called in. But I can assure you, things are different now.”

Dad crossed his arms, his expression unyielding. When he didn’t respond, Lieutenant Higgins continued.

“We’re going back to square one in terms of the search. Now that remains have been found, we need to be incredibly thorough, particularly at Baneberry Lake. The usual things like dogs and sonar equipment weren’t used back then because the police were looking for a missing woman, not a murdered one,” Lieutenant Higgins said gently. She appeared regretful as soon as the words left her mouth, and my mom let out an anguished wail.

I wanted to intervene. Not only because Dad seemed ready to lunge at the well-meaning lieutenant, but also because Mom was getting more and more upset. I had never been put into this position before—where I was the one who would have to keep things together. I often left it to my parents, particularly my mom, but now, they were barely functioning. I wondered if this was what it had been like twenty-four years ago. I had been kept away from this part, but I felt a twinge of déjà vu all the same.

“You police don’t know your asses from your—”

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