“I wouldn’t do that! We just did it for fun.” He bit his lip.
“You’re lying.” Patrick slammed his palm on the table. Trey jumped. Even Sean was surprised at his partner’s sudden outburst. Patrick was usually the calm, even-tempered Kincaid.
Reluctant, Trey said, “Kirsten posted it. We recorded us, you know, and then she found this website and thought it would be fun to put it up there.” Trey’s neck reddened. Physical embarrassment was hard to fake. “I told her to take it down, but she didn’t. I was so mad I broke it off. We didn’t talk for a couple months, but after she and her mom got in this huge fight she came to my house and we just, I guess, made up.”
“You mean you had sex?” Patrick said.
“No! Kirsten is really screwed up right now. Her mother was lying to her about a bunch of stuff, and when she ran away the first couple times I thought she’d gone back to California-but she didn’t want to be with her dad, either. She couldn’t wait until she turned eighteen and could leave.”
“What did Kirsten think her mother was lying to her about?”
“It’s not my place to say.”
“If it factors into why Kirsten ran away and where she might be, spill it,” Sean said.
Trey relented, as if relieved to get the information off his chest. “Her mom told her the only good-paying job she could get was here in Virginia. But Kirsten found letters in her mother’s desk that proved she’d been offered positions in Los Angeles, but she’d turned them down. Kirsten never wanted to leave L.A., and she confronted Mrs. Benton. I don’t know what happened, but I think the first time she ran away was right after that.”
Patrick said, “Mrs. Benton hasn’t told the police that she and Kirsten had a fight.”
“Big surprise. She’s all about image. She wanted everyone to think she and Kirsten were so happy, but Kirsten was sick of her mother whining about Mr. Benton cheating on her.”
“Do you know where Kirsten went?”
Trey shook his head. “I swear I’d tell you if I knew. I’m worried sick about her. She is so wrapped up in that stupid website, her grades are slipping-she flunked a big test in December. And then she told me she wasn’t going to play softball this year. She could get a scholarship, she’s that good, but she said she didn’t care anymore and was even thinking about not going to college.”
Sean frowned. All this information about her changing behavior did not bode well. He barely remembered his oldest sister, Molly-she was a drug addict by the time she was eighteen, and committed suicide when Sean was five-but from everything Duke had told him about her, she’d run hot and cold and was seriously depressed the three months before she offed herself. Their parents had tried to force Molly into rehab, but she wouldn’t go.
They hadn’t found evidence of drugs in Kirsten’s room, but Sean asked, “Was Kirsten using drugs?”
Trey shrugged. “No. I mean, we smoked pot a couple times, but that’s it. But you can’t say anything-if my coach found out I’d be cut.”
“When was the last time you saw her, or talked to her for any length of time? How did she seem then?”
Trey took a minute to think about it. “Friday in English class, right before lunch. It’s the only class we have together. She was all distracted, into her own head, and the teacher called on her a couple times and she didn’t know the answer. I asked her if everything was okay, and she said she just had to get away for a while.”
Sean asked quietly, “Did she seem depressed? Suicidal?”
“Kirsten wouldn’t kill herself, no way.”
“If she were doing drugs, that might contribute to depression.”
“I don’t know.” Trey bit his lip.
Patrick asked, “Is there anyone you know outside of the school who Kirsten might go to to ‘get away,’ as you said?”
Trey shook his head. “Only her dad in California. She missed him a lot, but she also blamed him for her mom being so bitter. But she said that no matter what, when she graduated on June fifth, she was moving back to L.A.”
That explained the June 5 circled on her calendar.
Patrick still didn’t look satisfied. Sean said to his partner, “What are you thinking?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. This isn’t adding up.”
Sean disagreed. He felt that he was getting a clear picture of Kirsten Benton. Her parents were split, her mom lied to her, her dad started it by having multiple affairs-he could see her running away. But what didn’t make sense was her involvement in the
“I really don’t know where Kirsten is!” Trey insisted.
Patrick asked, “Do you know if Kirsten ever hooked up in person with someone she’d met online?”
“No, never,” Trey said emphatically.
“Are you sure about that? Because it happens all the time, even with smart girls who should know better.”
Sean glanced at Patrick. His face was tight, and Sean knew he was thinking about Lucy. This case was getting to him-a missing high school senior was too close to what had happened to Lucy nearly seven years ago. But it was not the same, though Sean couldn’t explain that to Patrick now.
Trey ran his hands through his hair. “Last summer, I’d have said no way would she ever hook up online. Now? I never thought she’d quit softball. I don’t know her anymore.”
Sean took down Trey’s contact information, then gave the kid his card and his cell phone number. “If you hear from Kirsten, call me immediately. If you remember anything else that might help, call me.”
After Trey left, Sean turned to Patrick. “What do you think?”
But Patrick was in his own world, staring at the wall. Sean continued, “I believe him, though I think he might know something more, even if he doesn’t know it’s important. We’ll check back with him tomorrow after he thinks more about it.”
Patrick said, “We need to spend more time at Kirsten’s computer.”
“I’m working on breaking her password to the
“We need to find out who she was talking to and if she agreed to meet him in person.” His voice vibrated with restrained anger, something Sean had rarely seen in the three years he’d known Patrick.
“That’s a given. What’s up? What are you thinking?”
Sean didn’t like Patrick’s aggravated expression. He looked more like his hard-edged military brother Jack. He didn’t answer Sean’s question, but said instead, “Specifically, we should look for any communication about college and boyfriends.”
It was not so much his words as his tone. There was only one topic that could make Patrick this angry.
“You’re thinking about Lucy,” Sean said.
“It was all about her excitement at going to college,” Patrick said quietly, his resentment taking a backseat. “And a predator taking advantage of it.”
“We’ll cover every possible connection,” Sean said, “but this isn’t the same situation. Kirsten has a habit of running away. It could be the same guy each time, or different guys. We’ll find her and bring her home.”
“She knew better,” Patrick said.
Sean snapped his head, shocked by what Patrick had said. He couldn’t have meant it. “Don’t-”
Patrick rubbed his eyes. “Sorry. I have a headache.”
“We need to talk.” In all the time Sean had known Patrick, this was the first time he’d hinted that Lucy was even partly to blame for her kidnapping nearly seven years ago when she’d agreed to meet someone she’d been talking to online. Lucy had enough blame for herself, especially after Patrick nearly died searching for her. If she suspected that he had unresolved issues, it would shake her to the core. Sean would do anything to protect Lucy, starting with setting Patrick straight.
Patrick stood and paced the Bentons’ kitchen. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Bullshit.” Sean began to seethe, knowing that Patrick was being unfair. What had happened almost seven years ago was incredibly complex and it remained a volatile issue with all of the Kincaids, but until now Sean had never thought he had to protect Lucy from her own family.
Patrick stared at Sean. The anger was back, a flash, then it disappeared.
“What were you going to say?” Sean asked, his voice low, not wanting a fight but unable to let the
