Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“Why would she do that? If he raped her, why?”
“I think he’s helping her hide, probably in exchange for money. He got out of prison a few months before Melanie died. They could have found their way back to each other again around that time, made some kind of plan.”
I grabbed his hands and forced him to look at me. “You have to figure this out, Roland. If she did this to you, you have to find her and prove to the world that you’re innocent.”
“How the hell am I gonna do that? If she is out there, I’m sure she made it to where I’ll never get to her, and if she did go back to that Calvin guy and you went there asking questions, he’s probably told her by now and they’re both going off the grid. Why would you even go there alone?”
“I didn’t go alone. Shelia and Ben met me.”
He inhaled and sat back against the seat. “This is fucked up.”
“We have resources, Roland. I can have one of Kell’s guys look deeper. He can help us.”
“Kell knows about this too?” He groaned.
“They only want to help us, babe. Right now, everyone is rooting for you. I’ve always been rooting for you and I want to figure this out. Not only for you, but for both of us, so we can move the hell on from this.”
“And what if we don’t find her? What if it turns out it was her body and not Miley’s?”
“If that was Melanie’s body then the only way we’ll know is if we find Miley. I’m sure Melanie contacted her about leaving. They were close. The answer is out there somewhere, and it’s time for you to find it, Roland. You can’t live like this anymore—not when none of this is your fault.”
As if my words had triggered him, he sat forward and clasped my face in his hands gently. “You really think she’s out there?”
“I do.”
He studied my eyes, his hazel irises focused and intense. “Okay.” He released me and stood, bringing me up with him. “Where do we start?”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
The first thing we did was find out more about Calvin. I called Kell and he shouted at me about going to see Calvin in person, but after he’d calmed down, he took my instructions and went straight to work to find out more about him.
While he did, Roland and I did our own work. There was a room in the house that he said Miley stayed in, and she’d left some of her things behind.
We looked in the closet, past some of Roland’s extra coats and shoes, and came across a small jewelry box. I opened it and there were studs inside that looked like they were for a nose piercing, some earrings, and a necklace. I pulled the necklace out. It was made of gold and had the word Sister on it.
Was this the necklace Melanie spoke about in the journal—the one she said Miley had sold for drugs? I studied it. There were scratches on it, like it’d been around for a long time. She said Miley sold both of them. Had she lied about that too?
I reached farther back and found a burgundy box with a lid. I glanced over my shoulder at Roland, who was watching me. Taking the lid off and setting it aside, I dug into the box and there were photos inside.
“Oh my God.”
“What’s that?” Roland asked, stepping closer.
“They’re pictures.” I flipped through them. They were Polaroids of Melanie and Miley. They appeared to be teenagers here, wearing bright pink shirts and glittery eyeshadow. I kept flipping through them but came to a sudden halt when I got to one of the last pictures.
I felt a drop in the pit of my stomach and stood, walking to Roland to show him the picture.
“That’s him?” he asked.
“Yes. That’s him.”
I looked down at the picture again. One of the twins was sitting on Calvin’s lap, smiling at him with her arms locked around his shoulders. He had his nose buried in the crook of her neck. I couldn’t make out which twin it was. Throughout the photos they looked exactly the same, both of their hair natural, in wild black puffs. This twin in the current photo, whichever one she was, had on a black T-shirt with a green butterfly on it. I didn’t know the twins personally, but after reading the journals and getting an idea of Melanie’s tastes in fashion from the items in the shed, the outfit in the picture didn’t seem like something Melanie would’ve selected as a teenager.
“I think this is Miley sitting on his lap.”
“Miley?” Roland took a harder look at the picture. “I—I don’t know. I can’t tell.”
“If that is Miley, does that mean she was also with Calvin?”