Page 78 of Did You See Evie

“I’m afraid it’s true. Coach Cass did some digging and uncovered it last night,” she says, nodding at me. “We looked into it ourselves. This man has a handful of fake profiles he uses to talk to teenage girls.”

“What are you saying?” Amber asks, her face noticeably pale. “That Evie was talking to some creep the whole time.”

“Yes. There’s two reasons I wanted to talk with all of you today. Number one, if there’s anything else you know about Evie’s connection to this individual, we need you to come forward. Now. We’re already aware she was in contact with him the night of the lock-in. We don’t know anything for sure in this moment, but that communication could be connected to her disappearance.

“Number two, this should be a warning to the rest of you. Evie wasn’t the first girl to get carried away online, and she won’t be the last. But you need to be aware of the dangers out there. I know it seems unlikely when you hear about it in school or see it on television, but this should show you just how real these situations are. How dangerous they can become.”

The girls are dead silent aside from the occasional sniffle. I’m not sure if they are crying for Evie or their own foolishness. Maybe it’s the loss of their innocence. As much as they want to believe they live in a world that’s safe, this entire ordeal with Evie has ruined that forever.

“We’re continuing to look into the leads we have,” she says. “But again, if there’s anything else you know about Evie or the night she went missing, come forward. Even if you don’t think it’s helpful, it might make all the difference.”

The girls stand, carrying their books and binders as they head to the gymnasium doors. Mr. Lake still hasn’t joined us, which means he must still be busy talking to the police about Kyle.

“I still can’t believe the girls were being targeted by one of their teachers,” I say.

“There’s still no telling if he’s connected to Evie’s disappearance,” Detective Fields says.

“He’s the person who was messaging her! And he knew about the lock-in. He knew how to manipulate Evie into leaving with him.”

“I agree with all of that. Right now, messaging an underage girl and abducting one are two separate crimes, and we’re treating them as such,” Detective Fields says to me. “For now, I want you to tell me exactly how you came across this information about Kyle.”

FORTY

Detective Fields and I stand in the empty gymnasium, our voices echoing as I relay to her all the information I gathered from Nadia last night. And from the girls in yesterday’s team meeting.

“It sounds like they were more forthcoming with you,” Detective Fields says, closing the flap on her small notebook. “They didn’t have much to say when I was there.”

“They’re intimidated by you, which is to be expected,” I say. “All of this must be so scary for them. Having a teammate go missing. Girls that young aren’t supposed to be worrying about anything.”

That’s the way it should be, of course. But I know that’s not true. When I was their age, I had a lot on my plate. I simply tried my best to hide it.

“Thanks to the internet they’re growing up too fast,” Detective Fields says, slowly walking toward the gymnasium doors. “Looking at those messages, it’s hard to believe they came from a thirteen-year-old girl.”

Another wave of sickness works its way through me as I recall the conversations between Evie and Kyle. Of course, she thought she was talking to another teenager. She had no idea she was communicating with an adult predator. Her teacher! Still, I can’t help feeling Evie was playing some kind of part. Saying what she thought a teenager would say. Nothing in that conversation sounded authentic.

“We have no way of knowing if Kyle kept his promise to meet Evie that night,” she says. “The video surveillance should be fully recovered soon. Maybe that will give us answers.”

I shudder again. It would be amazing to find out what happened to Evie by watching that footage, but I could also end up in trouble for opening that damned door. I never knew there was a camera angled at the precise spot.

“In the meantime, let me know if you hear anything else. The girls clearly feel more comfortable coming to you,” she says, as we exit the school building. Standing on the curb beside the parking lot, she pulls out her notebook again. “And tell me the name of the person who sent you the information. It might be helpful to talk to them myself.”

“Nadia,” I say, but I am distracted. As I look across the parking lot, I can see Nadia’s car. She’s standing beside it, her phone in hand. “She’s here.”

“What?”

“Nadia is here. She was trying to call me before the meeting.”

At that exact moment, Nadia looks up and sees me. She waves me over.

Detective Fields looks ahead. “That’s the person who told you about Kyle.”

“Yes,” I say. “We’re old friends. She’s good at looking into things.”

Detective Fields begins to nod, as though she recognizes the woman on the other side of the parking lot. “I remember her. The two of you used to get into trouble together.” There’s a hint of alarm in her voice.

I feel my cheeks burning. “That was ages ago, Detective.”

“Isn’t she related to the victim?” she asks, sharply. The friendly tone Detective Fields has displayed in recent visits falls off, and she’s talking to me like she did that first time, when she recognized me from my misspent youth.

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