Page 60 of Little Stolen Memories

“Huh,” Simone said. “Give me a second.”

She reached into one of her pant pockets, pulled out her cell phone, and clicked on her photos. She began flipping through them, saying, “Nope. Nope. Not in this one either.”

A few more swipes, and she smiled, turning the phone around as she pointed at a photo of Owen, Aidan, and Jackson. They were all standing next to each other, arm in arm.

“Chains like these?” Simone asked.

I bent down, narrowing my eyes as I took a good look.

“Yes,” I said. “Where did you get this photo?”

“Owen’s mother gave me a tour of his bedroom while I was there. They haven’t touched a single thing in it since he died. I snapped a bunch of photos he had pinned to a corkboard above his dresser. This was one of them.”

Hunter piped up, saying, “Do you think they were wearing the chains the day they died?”

“I think it’s possible,” I said.

“His mother said they wore them all the time,” Simone said.

“Given they weren’t in the crime-scene photos, it makes me wonder whether they had them on that day. If so, it would mean someone removed them from around their necks.”

“The girls wouldn’t have been wearing matching jewelry, I’d guess,” Simone said. “Why take something from the boys and not the girls?”

“Maybe the killer took something from them as well.”

“If he did, it’s not in the case file, and as far as I know, none of the parents mentioned anything about missing items.”

“Serial killers are known for keeping items from their victims as trophies,” Hunter said. “But we’re dealing with a mass murderer in my opinion, not a serial killer. Serial killers almost always strike again, and this guy hasn’t, as far as we know.”

I gave Hunter’s comments some thought.

“I’m not sure why none of the parents mentioned a missing chain their sons may have been wearing the day they died,” I said. “And we don’t know for sure whether any items were taken from the girls or not. Maybe a memento was taken. As to your comment about an item being removed as a trophy, I suppose it’s possible. But the more I think about it, the more I believe there would have been another reason for doing what he did.”

“A reason like ...?”

“If we consider what we know, they were all murdered in a brutal way. It’s like whoever killed the teens that day was angry. I’d even go so far as to say he felt hatred toward them and even justified in what he did. Removing the chains could have been because he felt they were unworthy of them.”

It was just a guess, mere speculation.

We didn’t know if the chains were even worn by the boys that day.

“So what now?” Simone asked.

Now we get back to the topic at hand.

“Let’s set our theories to the side for a moment and discuss your visit with Aidan’s parents, Simone.”

Simone rolled her eyes.

“That bad, eh?” I said.

“Aidan’s parents are a piece of work,” she said.

“In what way?”

“In every way. Rich, hoity-toity types. They have six children, and to hear them talk about Aidan … it was almost like it wasn’t a big deal to lose one kid when five of their other kids are still alive. I don’t mean to suggest they didn’t love him. I’m saying they live their lives for the children they have left. The way they talk about Aidan is almost like he never existed, like he’s nothing more than a fleeting memory.”

“How could a parent do such a thing?” Hunter asked.

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