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Nikki sifted through the notes. Miller’s neat handwriting was easy to read, and his records appeared to be thorough. “What about her real father?”

“Left when she was little and lives in California. His alibi is rock solid. He was in the hospital with kidney stones.”

“What about the other kids Kaylee hangs out with?”

“She was kind of a loner. Her cousin lives in Hudson, and Kaylee started hanging out with her and her friends over the summer,” Miller said. “Everyone she was known to hang out with was accounted for.”

“But Kaylee didn’t come around much after they got caught partying. Her cousin hadn’t talked to her since before she got her phone taken away.” Hardin shrugged. “I’d like to think she would have told us that Kaylee had a secret phone, but…” He spread his hands wide. “You know teenagers.”

Nikki chest tightened, but she didn’t look up from her notes. Everyone drove across the river to Hudson for fireworks and Wisconsin beer. “Teenagers lie to police all the time. And they’re a lot smarter than we were. Most of them know you can’t look at their phone without a warrant. And you’d never get one without a lot more evidence.”

“Madison had a decent-sized social circle at the high school,” Miller said. “None of their friends had anything bad to say about either girl.”

“Which is suspect in itself.” No matter how fast the world changed, the behavior of teenage girls remained predictable. There was no way some other girl didn’t have a grudge against one or both of them.

“Teachers were a different story,” Miller added. “Madison was the golden kid, but Kaylee was a problem child who didn’t live up to her potential and had a smart mouth. She spent a couple of afternoons in detention.”

“If it were just Kaylee, I’d have suspected she ran away when she was first reported as missing. But Madison isn’t the type,” Hardin said. “Lots of similarities to your Frost murders. That’s why I invited you to check things out.”

Hardin wasn’t an idiot. He’d known the chances of Frost committing these murders were slim. He’d more than likely used the case as a reason to get her back to Stillwater and defer some of Newport’s attention away from him and onto Nikki. “Evidence suggests it isn’t him.”

Hardin nodded. “That was my thinking, but Sergeant Miller thought differently.”

Miller’s face heated. “I agreed with you that we shouldn’t ignore the possibility.”

Nikki resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I believe we’re looking for someone who knew the girls. Not a serial killer. However, as I told Sergeant Miller earlier, if we let the public believe Frost is an option, then the killer might feel safe and make a mistake.”

“Good strategy.” Hardin’s narrow eyes studied her. “You catch serial killers, though, right? If this isn’t Frost, you have no reason to stay.”

Staying likely meant having to deal with Caitlin Newport as well as the scrutiny of Mark Todd’s appeal. Was Nikki really ready for that? Probably not, but she couldn’t walk away now. “That’s not all I do. I’d like to stay and help.”

Miller’s phone buzzed. His face turned ashen. “Madison’s family is here. God, I hate this part.”

So did Nikki. She saw herself in every family member’s face. “I’ll go with you, if you’d like. Sometimes it’s easier if you don’t know the family well.”

Hardin cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Miller. “She doesn’t know?”

“I wasn’t sure how to tell her.”

“Tell me what?”

“Madison’s stepfather is John Banks. He’s raised her since she was little, after her real dad split.”

Nikki’s chest tightened. John Banks had been her first everything, until her parents died and she shut out the world. He was the one she’d been with the night her parents had been murdered. She hadn’t seen him in years, and his face would be a stark reminder of the things she’d run away from.

Three

“I meant to mention it earlier,” Miller said as soon as they left Hardin’s office. “I hope it doesn’t stop you from helping us out.”

Nikki walked briskly down the hall, her composure already in hand. Like every other damned thing about Stillwater, her and John’s relationship was in the past. “It’s okay. You don’t mind my coming with you?”

“Not at all.” Miller glanced at her sheepishly. “This is bad timing, but I guess you don’t remember me.”

She stopped and stared at him, mentally running through her admittedly sparse memories of high school. “Should I?”

“I was a couple of years behind you in school. I remember how crazy things were after that night.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’ve forgotten a lot of stuff from high school.”