Page 52 of Little Buried Secrets

“Why?”

“He seems genuine in the affection he felt for your daughter, but he keeps popping up here and there in my investigation. He said he was at a restaurant, waiting for Margot the night she disappeared. This morning I learned the police have acquired the surveillance footage from the restaurant. It will either give him an alibi or poke holes in his story.”

Rae leaned back and crossed her arms. “Sebastian’s been in my home many times. He’s a good kid, and he comes from a good family. I believe he’s telling the truth.”

She’d shot down half of my suspect list, but there was one man she hadn’t stood up for yet.

“Bronte is so sure Coach Warren isn’t involved,” I said. “Based on what you know about him, would you agree?”

“I would like to believe he’s a good man. But after hearing your version, I started thinking about Margot’s behavior around the time she’d quit the volleyball team.”

“What can you tell me about it?”

“It was unlike Margot to quit anything. She always stuck things out, even when it was difficult. I was shocked when she said she didn’t want to be on the team anymore.”

“Did she give you a reason?” I asked.

“She didn’t, and I questioned her several times, in fact. I even talked to Coach Warren about it.”

“What did he say?”

She paused a moment, as if trying to recall their conversation. “He asked if I knew why she was quitting. I said I didn’t. Then he asked if I would try to talk her into remaining on the team, which I did. It didn’t work. A few days later, I spoke to him again. He asked me to pass along a message to Margot.”

“What was the message?”

“He wanted her to stop by after class and speak to him.”

“And did she?”

“She told me she’d met with him, that they talked, and she’d said her mind was made up. I felt I’d pushed it enough at that point. I’m not one of those parents who forces their children to stay involved in a sport or activity if they don’t enjoy it. It was her life. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy.”

“You’re a good mother, Rae.”

She raised a brow. “Am I? When it comes to Margot, I feel like I missed something, something that may have kept her alive. I’ll spend the rest of my life having to live with the fact that I’m still here and she isn’t.”

“There’s nothing you could have done, trust me.”

“Does it ever go away—the pain, the remorse, the what-ifs? Does it ever get better? You’ve been through it. I need to know.”

I rose from my chair, walked over to Rae, and wrapped my arms around her. “It doesn’t go away, but it does get better, if you let it.”

As the tears began to fall, she said between sniffles, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week. What I need more than anything right now is family. Several years ago, I did something I’m not proud of, and I never realized just how much it would impact my life until now.”

I leaned back and looked her in the eye. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s silly, to be honest, a stupid fight I had with my brother, Jay. We haven’t spoken much since. I doubt he even knows what’s happened with Margot.”

“Stupid fights can be resolved. I’ve resolved more than I care to admit.”

“After all these years, I’m not even sure he’ll talk to me. Ever since Margot went missing, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him and how much I wish he was with me right now. Our parents are both dead. He’s all the family I have left.”

“Do you have his phone number?” I asked.

She nodded. “As long as he hasn’t changed it.”

“It seems now is the right time for me to go. You have a call to make.”

CHAPTER 21

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