Thirteen

Mason

Sheriff’s Office—The Interview Continues

Monday, April 2

11:25 a.m.

Kopitzke: Do you think Lauren DeSanto was capable of hurting Kadence?

I think about that. Sure, Lauren DeSanto may be like a wounded bird, but Kady wasn’t the one who wounded her. There would have been no reason for Lauren to lash out at Kady over what happened to her voice. But then…Lauren isn’t always rational about things. She got a B+ on an English test once and took it out on the lunch lady. Started yelling at her about the overuse of MSG in the Tater Tot hot dish.

When Lauren got mad, she never had trouble slinging arrows. What she needed to work on was hitting the target.

Kopitzke: Mason, I’m asking if you find Lauren DeSanto to be a credible person. Do you trust her?

How am I supposed to answer that? I mean, yeah, once Lauren tried to convince me that Kady was hooking up with other guys, but I don’t think Lauren was trying to be dishonest. I think she was actually worried about me, even though I knew it wasn’t true. Kady wasn’t capable of that kind of dishonesty. Besides, she was with me so much she didn’t have time for anyone else.

I think that’s what’s hurt me the most lately. Kadence has been so involved with her songwriting that we haven’t had time to hang out like before. I’ve missed her. Without Kady I’m just me, right? Nothing special. Kadence made me special. She made everything special.

I’m feeling antsy. Shouldn’t we be out doing something? Shouldn’t we be organizing a search party? I don’t like just sitting here and talking. But fine, if answering their questions is going to get them in action sooner, the quicker we’re done with this, the better.

Mason: Yeah. Yeah, I trust Lauren.

Kopitzke: What about Kadence? Do you trust her?

Mason: She’s my girlfriend.

Kopitzke: Yes, but is she dependable? Predictable? Would she ever do something like take off without telling her parents or you or any of her friends?

Mason: Never. If she even tried something like that, her parents would have her on lockdown forever. They worry too much about her health.

Kopitzke: How so?

Mason: Normal parent stuff. Kady’s got a pretty bad allergy, so they monitor what she eats pretty hard, and they make her carry an EpiPen.

Kopitzke: Food allergies are rough. You have to be strict with yourself, no cheating allowed.

His statement brings me back to Lauren’s accusation about Kady cheating on me. Lauren had been angry about it. She said she didn’t like Kady treating me badly. I called Lauren a liar. I told her it was a pretty low thing to lie about and that she didn’t need to take out her own personal unhappiness on me and Kady. For all I knew, she was trying to break us up just to make herself feel better.

Surprisingly, Kady forgave Lauren. But then that’s the way Kady was. Is. She’s loyal to her friends. All of them. And she’s never one to carry a grudge. Lauren, on the other hand…

Kopitzke: Mason?

For a moment I’ve forgotten where I am. I look up, and Kopitzke is staring at me like he’s waiting for an answer. I can’t remember what question he last asked. I can’t remember what I’ve already told him.

Do I admit that Lauren has the potential to get really angry? No. He wouldn’t understand. Angry or not, I can’t believe she’d actually hurt Kady. Though, who really knew what went on in that girl’s head?