Page 86 of Did You See Evie

She sighs. “Amber was the one sending those messages. And Tara and Beatrice too. They’ve all been talking to boys online. And they’ve been using Evie’s name.”

“I don’t understand.”

But as the pieces fall into place, I think I might.

“Evie never sent those messages,” I say.

“Amber did,” she says. “And the others, too. They’ve been chatting with people online using Evie’s name and picture. I didn’t know they were doing it at first.” She pauses, as though she’s hurt. “I just figured Evie and I weren’t as close as I thought. Like maybe she didn’t want to tell me about it because she was afraid I’d judge her.”

You don’t know her.It’s the same thing that’s been bothering me the past couple days. The behavior seemed so at odds with the Evie I know—and that’s because she was never sending the messages in the first place.

“How did you find out?”

“Colleen broke down and told me after that detective talked with us,” she says. “Beatrice, Tara and Amber told the others about it. They thought it was funny.”

“They did all this as a joke?” The more I think about it, my anger grows. “They think it’s funny to use Evie’s name and photo without her permission.”

“You know how they treated her. It’s like they got a kick out of putting her down,” she says. “That, and they probably wanted to keep what they were doing a secret. Beatrice and Amber’s moms are really strict.”

“Not strict enough,” I say, unable to stop myself.

“Anyway, now that I know what they were doing, I’m worried,” she says. “What if that guy came to the lock-in, just like they talked about? What if he took Evie because he recognized her picture? He thought that’s who he’d been talking to all along.”

“We don’t know that’s what happened.”

But it is a possibility. I have no idea what Detective Fields is talking with Kyle about right now. For all we know, Beth’s theory is right. Kyle was chatting with Amber, thinking it was Evie. He showed up to the school, just as the messages suggest.

“Thank you for telling me this,” I say. “But you really need to go to the police.”

“I can’t?—”

“You can,” I say, phone already in hand. “I’ll go with you if you want. Or you can have a parent with you.”

She doesn’t say anything else, but she nods.

“You’re doing the right thing,” I tell her, dialing Detective Fields’ number. “The more information we get, the closer we are to finding out what happened.”

“That’s all I care about,” she says, quietly. “She’s my best friend.”

“We’d all be lucky to have a friend as good as you.”

The call never connects, so I type out a message to Fields, explaining another student has come forward with information. Only a few seconds after I press send, my phone begins to ring, but it’s Nadia’s name on the screen.

“I have to take this,” I tell Beth. “Thank you for telling me the truth.” I wait for her to leave before answering.

“I’m sorry about our argument,” Nadia says when I answer. “I’ve been lost ever since I moved back here. I think I clung to you and Evie’s disappearance because I wanted to feel like I was part of something. But you’re right. I’m causing more harm than good.”

“That’s not true,” I say, guilt worming through me. “You’ve helped a lot, even if it’s just to bounce ideas off.”

“It hasn’t helped enough,” she says. “Evie is still missing.”

“I just found out something important,” I say, proceeding to explain everything Beth just told me, about Queen Bea and the other girls on the team using Evie’s name and photos.

“Those little bitches,” Nadia says, not for the first time, but this time around, I don’t correct her. Her voice sounds hopeful. “What are you doing now? Are you going to tell the police?”

“No,” I say. “Beth’s doing that. I’m going to talk with the parents.”

FORTY-FOUR

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