Page 6 of The Sleeping Girls

Either one would mean Kelsey Tiller was in danger.

SIX

WHISPERING PINES

A couple of neighbors stood on their porches in the sleepy little community, curious as Ellie and the deputies headed toward the wraparound porch.

Flowers and bird feeders painted a warm, homey feel, and a pond and garden to the right of the house gave the impression of a picture-perfect home. Yet the mountains and woods backed the property, the tall ridges and overhangs daunting. So many miles of untamed forest in the Appalachian Mountains. So many places to hide.

The way the house was situated on the property, a predator could sneak up behind the house and enter without being seen. Recluses, hillbillies and criminals had sought refuge out in the thick forests before, and Ellie tried not to think of the number of bodies they’d found during previous cases.

Although, with a girl missing, it was hard not to imagine the worst.

“Deputy Landrum,” Ellie said. “Look around the property for signs someone was outside last night or if there was an intruder.”

Dread knotted her stomach as she knocked on the door, which stood ajar. She and Shondra entered the house and heardvoices from the living room, which was visible from the foyer. A dark-haired man in gray slacks and a dress shirt was pacing and looked frazzled, his shoes clicking on the white oak floor. A woman in leggings and an oversized shirt stood facing him, her hands thumbing through her short brown bob, her cheeks tear-stained.

“Where were you last night, Tim?” the woman screamed.

“Where wereyou, Jean?” the man shouted.

“Here in bed,” the woman cried. “I had a headache and fell asleep.”

“Without setting the security system,” the man said, his nostrils flaring.

“Because I thought you were coming home,” she yelled. “But you were out all night with some floozy while our daughter disappeared.”

“And we both know your headache was vodka-induced,” he bit out.

Ellie cleared her throat. “Excuse me, please. You’re the Tillers?”

The couple jerked their heads toward her then the man nodded. “Tim and Jean.”

“I’m Detective Ellie Reeves and this is Deputy Shondra Eastwood. I know you’re worried, but I need you to tell me what happened.”

Mrs. Tiller dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “This morning I went to wake Kelsey for breakfast. She usually sleeps in on Saturdays, but we had plans to go dress shopping for Homecoming today.”

“Was she in bed when you went to sleep last night?” Ellie asked.

Mrs. Tiller shook her head. “No, but she was in her room for the night, looking at her phone, probably texting her friends.They were all excited about Homecoming and planning what stores they wanted to go to.”

“Did anything in her room look out of the ordinary?” Ellie asked.

“No, not really. I checked her bathroom and she wasn’t there either. I ran all over the house looking for her. And I called her phone a half dozen times but it went straight to voicemail.”

Ellie didn’t like the direction this was going. “You said she was excited about Homecoming. Who was she going with?”

“Her girlfriends,” Mrs. Tiller said. “Girls do that these days, you know.”

Ellie arched a brow. “Was there a boyfriend or special girlfriend in the picture?”

“No.” Mr. Tiller halted his anxious pacing, his tone emphatic. “Our daughter was not into boys.”

Ellie wasn’t sure she believed that. Socializing and dating were everything to teenagers. But if Kelsey had a boyfriend or if she was into girls, she obviously hadn’t shared that with her parents.

Deputy Eastwood covered a cough with her hand. “May I get a glass of water?”

“Sure, glasses are in the cupboard to the right of the sink,” Mrs. Tiller said.

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