Episode 11: Secrets of His Own

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Why couldn't I have just stayed put for once?

The look Uncle Martin was giving me made me want to go back and crawl under my bed. Yes, I messed up. I should have stayed in my room and trusted him to deal with whoever was at the door, but I always felt like I needed to be in the middle of everything.

And now, I'd given myself away to this detective. I'd probably also brought Kai into this questioning session.

Not to mention the fact that my body was bruised and burned. How was I going to explain that?

Oh, no big deal officer, I just skipped school yesterday and fell into a demon's fire spell. But I swear, I have no idea what happened to Peyton.

At least I had the new girl thing going for me. It wasn't like I was here when the other girls were taken.

Which is potentially why the detective gave Kai a strange look. If this guy was worth anything, he already knew Kai had come to town just before the first disappearance. And that Kai worked at Sir Bean, a place all the girls had visited right before they went missing.

"I'm just going to get back to my studying," Kai said, turning the other way.

"No, why don't you go ahead and join us down here," Detective Lancaster said.

Kai groaned and followed me down the stairs.

"You're here pretty early," Detective Lancaster said to Kai, making a point to check his watch.

"So are you," Kai said with a smile. He didn't offer any additional information, and I got the distinct feeling these two had met before.

There was definite tension in the air between them.

"Would you like a cup of freshly brewed coffee, Detective?" Martin asked. "Why don't we all go back to the kitchen to have a cup and sit down together?"

"I think we'll just have a seat out here," Detective Lancaster said, motioning to the parlor.

I rolled my eyes. These couches were going to get more use in a couple of days than they'd seen in the past hundred years.

I sat down on the same square of navy velvet couch I'd chosen when Ms. Greer questioned me and pulled my legs underneath me. I wasn't exactly dressed for company, but the loose sweats and tank top Martin must have changed me into last night would have to do.

Kai hadn't been there when he did that, right? Surely not.

My entire body suddenly went up in fresh flames, and I scooted down, hiding my red face behind my arm.

"What happened to you, Miss Thorne?" Detective Lancaster asked, nodding toward my bandaged arm as he sat down in the straight-backed chair across from me.

I didn't answer, hoping we could stall that conversation for as long as possible.

Martin opted to stand, placing an arm on the mantle of the large fireplace, while Kai took a seat next to me on the sofa. He coughed slightly as a cloud of dust rose from the fabric on that side, and I had to stifle a grin.

"Miss Thorne?" the detective asked again.

"Oh, um. Just a minor accident," I said attempting to laugh it off. "It looks worse than it is. Just a scratch, really, but my uncle tends to go overboard on the bandages."

Detective Lancaster didn't look convinced. He pulled out a small spiral notebook and a pen.

"I looked for you at school yesterday, but the office said you'd been checked out by Julie Peterson. Are you close to the Peterson family? From what I understand you've just moved to the area recently."

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