Page 67 of The Followers

“You.” He paused. “It’s...”

“Scary?” she supplied.

“Scary is an understatement. You absolutely terrify me.”

She wondered if his fun-loving, joking act was just that: an act. Designed to protect the real Jeremiah, not much different than her own bubble of solitude. She thought she might be glimpsing the real Jeremiah tonight, and got the feeling maybe even his own friends and family didn’t see this.

Monday, she told herself. She would call Molly and tell her everything. It would be such a relief to let it all out. She imagined Molly being surprised, maybe angry at first, but eventually understanding. Soon, hopefully, Liv would get invited to interview for the running specialist job.

She let her mind drift further into the possibilities: Oliver would go open Kristina’s safe deposit box and find nothing special in there, no reason for someone like Dale McKinley to want it. That was most likely, wasn’t it? Liv had spent the last nine years telling and retelling herself a story about what had happened to Kristina and Gabriela, and believing it had made her suspicious, afraid of getting too close to anyone, always anticipating the worst. But that story had changed, which meant everything had changed, so maybe she could change, too.

What if she stayed here, in Durango, and made a life for herself? She’d come here looking for her niece, but she’d found so much more.

Jeremiah pulled her toward him, and she closed her eyes and let herself imagine the future. Barbecues and get-togethers with Molly and Scott and their girls, getting to know Jeremiah better, and their relationship deepening. Watching Ella grow up. Being part of a family.

She had never wanted anything permanent. Or rather, she’d never believed anything permanent could exist. But for the first time in her life, she didn’t want to run away.

thirty-five

@trickster297—What’s the hardest part about sharing your life online?

@InvincibleMollySullivan—It’s the constant balance between my innate desire to share and the need to maintain boundaries. I always ask myself if I’m sharing something out of desire to connect or because I’m trying to get attention. Sometimes there’s a fine line between the two.

From an Instagram live Q&A

Molly couldn’t step away from the computer. It was three in the morning and her eyes were dry and her hands were shaking, but she couldn’t look away.

Pittsburgh, PA - Police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found yesterday in a Mitchell Street apartment. She has been identified as 22-year-old Kristina Casillas.

Detective Kent Rasband said the woman’s body was discovered by a neighbor who heard shouting and then noticed the front door of the apartment left open. Casillas was found dead in her apartment and her 11-month-old daughter is missing.

“We are awaiting results of the autopsy for official cause of death,” Rasband said, “but we anticipate investigating this as a homicide in addition to the kidnapping of her daughter.” He noted that the incident was likely drug-related and that narcotics were found in the apartment on the 800 block of North Mitchell Street.

Given the circumstances of the mother’s death, Rasband continued, police are concerned about the safety of her daughter. The child has brown hair, brown eyes, weighs 21 pounds, and is not yet walking.

Anyone with information related to the case or the location of the child is encouraged to contact police.

Homicide. A missing eleven-month-old girl. Molly was breathing too quickly, her face going numb and tingly. The obvious conclusion—the conclusion she didn’t want to admit—was that Scott had done it all. Had killed Kristina, had taken his daughter—if she really was his daughter. He wasn’t on Gabriela’s birth certificate, and she’d never seen the positive paternity test. He could be lying about this, too.

But if Gabriela wasn’t Scott’s daughter, why would he have taken her? Despite Scott’s lies, she couldn’t imagine that he’d kidnap a child. Or maybe she was being delusional, not wanting to face the truth.

She found another article.

Pittsburgh, PA - Police shared preliminary autopsy results today regarding the death of a murdered woman, Kristina Casillas. She was found dead on the floor of her living room from blunt force trauma to the head. Casillas also had significant trauma to her face and neck, including broken bones in her face and signs of attempted strangulation.

Molly couldn’t read anymore, her stomach churning with nausea. Blunt force trauma to the head. Attempted strangulation. She couldn’t imagine Scott doing that—but then again, she’d seen a glimpse of his anger when she’d shared that picture of him online. Scott was tall and strong. If he’d lost control... She shuddered, thinking about it. How well could you ever really know someone, even if you had slept next to him, even if you shared a bed, a home? If Scott had been capable of hiding all of that from her, what else was he capable of?

She continued clicking on articles, scanning through them. Person of interest found in Murder/Kidnapping. She clicked the link.

Samuel Howard, 23, is wanted in connection with the death of 22-year-old Kristina Casillas, Pittsburgh police said today in a press conference.

Molly relaxed as she read the words. Scott had insinuated that Kristina had been involved in a rough group before her death. Drug dealers, that sort of thing. If this person, this Samuel Howard, had killed Kristina, that made sense. Scott’s story—about the overdose and the adoption—wasn’t complete, but it wasn’t totally wrong, either.

Molly’s heart rate started to slow as she put the pieces together. Scott had lied to her, yes, but it was a lie of omission, because Scott was a good person. She needed him to be a good person, the kind of man who did the right thing.

She ran her hands over her face, her cheeks wet with tears as the tension and relief bubbled up out of her. But as she continued to scan the article, the relief froze into dread.

Howard is the former boyfriend of the deceased and father of her daughter, Gabriela, who was discovered missing the night of the murder.

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