Page 15 of The Girl in the River

“Tori was a high school teacher,” Liam said, pain rasping in his voice. “Sometimes students and parents got angry, but not enough to k… kill.”

“You worked with Tori then?” Ellie asked Mark.

Mark gave a little nod. “She taught English.”

“Any problems with another teacher or the principal?”

Mark shook his head. “She was voted teacher of the year.”

“How were things in your marriage, Liam?”

Anger sparked on his face. “Good,” Liam said. “And before you go there, I wasn’t cheating, and I would never hurt my wife.”

His quick defense sounded sincere. “Any financial problems?” Ellie pressed.

Irritation snapped in Liam’s expression. “We had some debt like everyone else. But we weren’t in trouble.”

The possibilities swirled around Ellie’s mind. Was this a crime of opportunity? Was one of the women the target and the other collateral damage?

Mark spoke through gritted teeth, “And before you ask, my finances are solid. I’m not rich and neither was Mia, but we didn’t care about money. We just wanted to be together.”

Ellie’s chest squeezed. “How long have you been married, Liam?”

He heaved a breath. “Eight months.”

Ellie contemplated another theory. “Did Tori have a former boyfriend who might have wanted her back? Or someone who might have been following her?”

Liam knuckled tears from his cheeks. “She dated some accountant before me,” Liam said. “But she said the break-up was amicable. He’s married now and lives in California.”

Ellie turned to Mark. “How about Mia?”

“She said she hadn’t dated anyone since Pixie was born. It took me six months to persuade her to have dinner with me.”

“I need to see both Mia and Tori’s phones and computers.”

Maybe she’d find a clue in their correspondence or social media to help explain what happened here today.

SEVENTEEN

Pixie clung to Ms. Lola’s hand as they walked toward the garden with all the pretty flowers. She liked Ms. Lola because she always gave her a cookie when she went to the café. And Ms. Lola made the best cookies. Peanut butter with chocolate chips was her favorite then the sugar cookies with the frosting and sprinkles.

But Pixie didn’t want to go to the garden right now.

She wanted her mommy.

Fear tickled her tummy. Something was wrong. Really bad wrong.

She looked back and saw Mr. Mark and Mr. Liam, and knew they were upset. Mr. Liam might even be crying and she’d never seen a man cry before.

Tears filled her eyes. She was s’posed to be dropping rose petals on the ground while Mama walked down the aisle in her pretty white dress. But now everybody was whispering and shaking their heads and looked worried.

She wiped at her face. She’d been scared when she heard that mean voice outside the bathroom. Then she’d heard that chair scraping and the door was locked.

She tugged at Ms. Lola’s hand. “Where’s Mommy?”

Ms. Lola stopped by a bench and patted the seat. She sat down, and Ms. Lola did, too, then she put her arm around Pixie and pulled her close. “I’m not sure, honey. But Ms. Ellie will find her.”

Pixie bit her lip. Ms. Lola was saying one thing. But her nose was all wrinkled up with a frown.

---