Page 19 of The Sleeping Girls

The boy grumbled and dragged his feet but did as he was told.

Derrick cleared his throat. “Yes, well, Detective Reeves spoke with Kelsey’s mother and she said you wanted Kelsey to run track for you.”

A vein bulged in his neck. “Yes, Kelsey was athletic.”

“Were you upset that she declined?”

A wariness slid over his face. “I was disappointed, but not upset. She was well rounded and at this age, kids can’t do every activity. At some point, they have to choose and she chose the band.”

“Mrs. Tiller mentioned that you two had an affair,” Derrick said, catching the coach off guard.

He lowered his voice. “That was very brief. And I’d rather my wife didn’t know.”

“I’m sure you would,” Derrick said. “But I need you to tell me about the affair.”

“It only happened a couple of times,” he said. “Jean was upset when I ran into her at a coffee shop. I just meant to comfort her but one thing led to another. My wife and I had a rough patch before that, but soon Jean and I realized it was a mistake, that we didn’t want to hurt our families. So we broke it off a couple of days ago.”

“You weren’t angry that she broke things off?”

The coach’s eyes narrowed. “No, it was a mutual decision. I love my wife and son and didn’t want to mess that up.”

He sounded so sincere that Derrick wanted to believe him. “Did Kelsey ever say or do anything to indicate she knew about the affair?”

A muscle jumped in his cheek. “No. And if you’re thinking I was mad about the breakup or that I’d hurt Kelsey, you’re way off base.”

“Do you know of anyone whowouldhurt her?” Derrick asked.

Coach Ward shook his head. “No, everyone liked her.” A frown tugged at his eyes. “Although there were some rumors about some popular girls bullying her and her friends.”

“Who was behind that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. But you should ask her friends. Ruby Pruitt and June Larson.”

Derrick made a mental note to follow up with the bullying angle. Bullying, especially cyberbullying, was a growing problem and had been associated with teen suicide.

EIGHTEEN

SOMEWHERE ON THE AT

He traced his finger over the photo of the girls. Kelsey Tiller. Ruby Pruitt. June Larson.

The young teens had such firm bodies. Small breasts on the verge of bursting into voluptuous bosoms. Caught on camera without their knowledge, they exuded a raw innocence that made them even more beautiful and alluring.

Kelsey looked so much like the girl from his teens. Her buttery-blond hair had been as soft as corn silk, her lips pale with just a touch of strawberry-flavored lip gloss. She smelled of rose water and her skin was porcelain, uncontaminated by the hordes of makeup that some of the girls layered on like pancake batter.

Kelsey reminded him of the girl in so many ways. Not just her looks but her friendly demeanor to everyone she came in contact with. She was smart, studied hard, loved to play the piano.

Yes, his first love had been so special. Until he found out the truth about her… Hell, he’d loved her even then.

But she was off limits to him in the special way he wanted.

He stretched out his fingers and saw the pillow in his hands. Saw Kelsey lying so still, her eyes staring at him in terror. Heard a low whimper as he moved toward her.

“Sorry, darling,” he whispered. “But it’s time to go to sleep.” He swallowed against the guilt as he shoved the pillow over her face. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

“Bye, bye, Kelsey.”

NINETEEN

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