Page 14 of Everything She Feared

“Tanner? What’s Tanner’s last name?”

“Bishop, I think.”

“Was she sad about that?”

“Yes, I guess, but she was happy to be on the trip.”

“Okay, were there any incidents, anything that happened on the bus?”

Thinking about the question, Katie stared down at the ground and shook her head.

“Are you sure?” Pierce asked.

“Nothing happened.”

“Okay, okay, you’re doing good, Katie. What happened when the bus got here?”

Katie gave a little shrug. “We were the last to get our backpacks and get off and follow everybody down the trail. The others were pretty far ahead.”

“Was anyone else walking with you?”

Katie shook her head. “They were far ahead.”

“It was just you and Anna alone?”

“Yes, well, there were butterflies, birds, and we saw a rabbit.”

“What did you talk about?”

“How pretty it was. Anna was taking pictures.”

“So you’re walking from the bus. Do you meet or see anyone else?”

“No.”

“So, it’s just you and Anna. Then what?”

Blinking, Katie said, “We came to the cliff part.”

“Then what?”

Katie looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers.

“Anna says, oh, it’s so beautiful here, Katie, I want to take a selfie.”

“A selfie? That’s what she said?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

“We took off our backpacks to stay there for a bit. She got her phone.” Katie nodded at no one. “And I said—” her voice softened to a whisper “—I said, okay, be careful, Anna.”

“You said that?”

“Yes, because of the cliff.”

“Those were your exact words?”

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