Page 21 of Broken Skulls

The next call I make is to Tank’s contact, Anthony. His wife used to be friends with Elizabeth. They went to school together.

“JD, it’s good to hear from you,” he answers.

“Is it?”

“Not really, but you know, politeness and all that.”

“Is your wife there?”

His silence tells me he’s considering his words carefully. I admire him for it, because if someone wanted to talk to Elizabeth, I’d make damn sure it was in her best interest before I allowed it.

“Danielle, it’s JD,” he says. I hear a shuffle and some whispering before he speaks again. “You’re on speaker.”

“Thank you. I know you guys are busy, so I’ll make this quick and to the point. What can you tell me about a Mr. Baxter?”

The sharp intake of breath from Danielle is a good indicator that I’m on to something here.

“Why do you ask?” There’s a slight tremble to her voice.

“I think he’s the reason Lizzie kept quiet about Dr. Williams.” I’m not going to beat around the bush with these people. I knowhow they feel about Elizabeth, and I get it. But I also know that there is a little part of them that has always wondered why she did what she did.

They were too close to the situation, and I get that they had to protect their peace. Elizabeth wasn’t willing to help herself and by being uncooperative it made her look the villain. And maybe she is a villain in some way, but aren’t we all?

No one could understand why she continued her silence, especially after Dr. Williams went to prison. Fear was the only logical conclusion one could make for her part in it all. That or she herself was evil.

I don’t think Danielle has truly ever believed that.

“He was our teacher,” she says after composing herself.

“I figured that much, but what was Lizzie’s relationship with him? Did she take his after-school art classes?”

Danielle laughs lightly. “No. Lizzie had no interest in art. I signed up for them but,” she pauses and sighs, “life got in the way.”

“JD, the woman is crazy, loud, boisterous, and an overall pain in the ass. If you’ve found her, my advice is to stay as far away as possible,” Anthony tells me.

“Hmm.” That’s not the personality I’m picking up on at all.

His wife huffs a little. “She – she wasn’t always that way.”

“When did it change?”

Danielle’s quiet as she thinks about it. “I guess when …”

“When ..?” I push for her to finish her sentence.

Anthony starts to shut the conversation down. “I think that’s enough for today.”

“No. No,” she argues, and I can tell that she’s not really upset, she’s trying to figure out this puzzle with me. “You know, when we were kids, she was actually very quiet, but in high school that changed. I thought she was just gaining confidence. She started to get more and more outspoken, but I thought it was herangry teenager stage. She pushed everyone away, but she always remained sweet to me. Oh, JD, I don’t know. I thought I knew her, but I have no idea who she really is.”

“Do you think Lizzie and Mr. Baxter were ..?”

She stops me with a squeal. “No! God no.”

Her words trail off, and I detect there is a “but” in there somewhere. “But?”

I make my way out to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.

“We did write a dirty story about him. It was …”

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