“That must have been hard,” I said.
“Can’t say I blame her. I never had much to offer her growing up. I was always working to keep us afloat. After her dad left us, well, you know, it was hard to raise a little girl alone. She never had the things the rest of you girls did. I think it made her mean. You know, always wanting what others have hardens you. That was my Thea. Hard as nails.” She twisted her gnarled hands together on her lap. “She left right after your sister was killed. I don’t know if you remember that?”
“I don’t. I don’t remember much of anything. The year was a blur.”
She dipped her head. “I expect it was.”
I spoke as calmly as I could despite my rapid pulse. “The night I saw Thea, she told me she was going to do something to finally face what had happened to her here. Do you know what that was?”
“Whatever it was—I believe it got her killed.” Mrs. Moore dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “Do you think it had something to do with your sister’s murder? Is that why you’re here?”
“We found a connection that might indicate that’s so,” I said. “I found Beth’s journal from the summer she died. In it, she describes having an affair with a married man but she calls him only Z. One of the last entries describes seeing Thea with the exact same man. We have reason to believe he was under twenty-five. Do you have any idea who that might have been?”
Mrs. Moore visibly trembled. “She was sleeping with a married man? An adult? I don’t think so. She had a crush on Luke Paisley.” She turned toward Cole. “But he was in love with Beth and told Thea he wanted nothing to do with her.” Her gaze turned toward the window as she spoke. “One night she came home and told me she’d made a fool of herself. She’d tried to get Luke’s interest, and he shut her down. When I suggested that she give up on him and focus on a boy who was available, she slammed her bedroom door in my face. Then I heard her crying. I don’t think there was much she wouldn’t have done to beat Beth at something. Which is why when she ran away, I thought she must have been the one to hurt Beth. Why else would you leave town so unexpectedly with nothing but a small suitcase? She was seventeen years old.”
“Did you think she was guilty all these years?” Cole’s eyebrows rose.
“No, just at first,” Mrs. Moore said.
“But you never went to the police. Why?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. I had a daughter too. One that I would do anything for, even if I suspected she’d murdered her frenemy.
“I did. I did go to the police,” Mrs. Moore said. “It about killed me, but I went in and told them what I knew.”
“Was this before or after the article in the paper?” Cole asked. “The one that accused my brother.”
“It was the day after she was found,” Mrs. Moore said. “Before the article.”
“But why wouldn’t they have investigated her?” I asked. “Especially since she skipped town. That makes a person look guilty, doesn’t it?”
“I’d have thought so,” Mrs. Moore said. “But they dismissed my worries about Thea. Told me she was just acting like a teenager. Her best friend had just been stabbed to death and what did I expect? They said she’d be back home in a few days. They were wrong about that. As it turned out, Thea had an alibi. I found out later she’d been with two of the other cheerleaders at the fair during the night in question. A lot of people had seen her. She was wearing a bright pink top. Very memorable.”
I shut my eyes as a memory flooded my thoughts. I’d seen Thea on the fairgrounds from the top of the Ferris wheel. She’d had on white jeans and a pink top. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. “Mrs. Moore, did it ever occur to you that Thea might have been asked to leave town? That maybe she knew something about the murderer and they made a deal with her?”
“Or maybe she left on her own because she was scared,” Cole said. “Either way, there was a reason.”
“Because she’d been with the same man?” Mrs. Moore asked. “The same one who killed Beth?”
“That’s right,” Cole said.
“Did Thea ever mention anything about Thom Richards?” I asked.
Mrs. Moore visibly flinched. “Why do you ask about him?”
“We have a hunch that the man Beth referred to as Z might be him.” I spoke slowly as if that would help the message be less harsh. “It’s possible he killed Beth because she was pregnant. In her last journal entry, she says she’s going to tell my parents the truth. After she tells Z.”
Mrs. Moore’s face had whitened to the color of bread dough rising in a bowl. “You think Z is Thom Richards?”
“We don’t know for sure, but there’s a strong possibility.” I explained as much as we knew, including our theory about the man Beth referred to Z as someone she would have had to have close proximity to, like a teacher.
“Do you know who he’s related to?” Mrs. Moore asked.
“We do. They had the power to make all of it disappear for their nephew.” I hugged my purse to my chest.
“Are you saying you think
