Saturday, 10:47 a.m.
When Leyna emerged from the Miller house, laptop tucked under her arm, she saw her mom stomping toward home. On her way to catch up, she passed Frank and Serena Silvestri, who lingered in their driveway after whatever argument had clearly taken place. If they hadn’t been in front of their house, she wouldn’t have known who they were. They’d moved in long after she’d moved out. Frank was younger than she’d expected. Not much older than Dominic, she guessed, and nearly as attractive. His short curls faded into a close-cropped beard. Serena, lithe and golden, wore the relaxed elegance of someone who’d studied color charts and makeup tutorials with the attention of a scholar. Leyna’s own T-shirt had a stain from that morning’s coffee, and the wind had tugged a few strands from her ponytail.
Leyna hesitated—should she go after her mom or try to talk with the Silvestris about Ellie?
Only one of the conversations had a chance of being productive. She brushed a hand over her hair and backtracked to the Silvestris’ driveway. She held her laptop against her chest like a shield. When she introduced herself, Serena’s lips thinned. The woman’s judgment surprised her. She usually got such looks only from the neighbors who knew her.
“I recognize you from the photos in your mother’s house, though of course you’re older now, and you’ve put on weight.”
Leyna couldn’t decide which was the greater shock, the woman’s casual rudeness or that her mom hadn’t yet removed all of Leyna’s childhood photos.
“Both of those things tend to happen when children become adults,” Leyna said dryly. “I was hoping you’d answer a couple of questions about Ellie Byrd.”
Frank’s forehead creased as he looked from Leyna to his wife. “We’ve already talked about it with that deputy.”
Serena rested a hand on her husband’s arm. “I’ll fill her in, sweetheart. Why don’t you go inside and finish your workout.”
When Frank was gone, Serena pursed her lips and folded her arms. “Why do you care about this girl? You’re upsetting your mother by being here.”
That’s just a bonus. “Tell me what happened and I’ll leave.”
She meant leave the Silvestris’ driveway, but if Serena misinterpreted the comment, Leyna wasn’t going to correct her.
Serena’s face relaxed. “I know the Durans will be happy to hear that too. Did you really accuse their son of murder?”
Several times. “I’m not here to talk about that.”
“Seriously, though. You’ve got guts coming back here after what you said.”
“We were talking about Ellie?” Leyna reminded Serena.
“She knocked on our door at a quarter after twelve. Interrupted our lunch. Frank forgot to turn off the stove, so our chicken barley burned.”
A sixteen-year-old girl was missing, and Serena cared more about her ruined lunch.
“She introduced herself as Ellie. She didn’t give her last name, or maybe she did and I don’t remember. But yesterday, we recognized her when we saw her photo on the Plumas County Sheriff’s site, and Frank called them immediately.”
“What did Ellie say to you?”
“She was only at our door for a couple of minutes before the smoke detector went off. The chicken barley.” She said the last part as if it were an important detail Leyna should commit to memory.
“Between the introduction and the smoke detector, I’m assuming she didn’t stand on your doorstep mute.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed, long lashes nearly touching. Leyna wondered if she practiced that—getting the lines just right, with no unsightly pinching at the corners. “Your mom said you’re a smart-ass.” She unfolded her arms and waved a dismissive hand. “The girl showed us a photo of the four of you. She pointed to you and said she knew who you were, but she asked for help identifying Adam and Dominic.”
Leyna drew back, confused. At the restaurant, Leyna had been sure Ellie recognized Adam’s name. Shouldn’t she have known his face too? And if the photo had been the one used in the news reports at the time, wouldn’t Ellie have had the names that way?
Unless that wasn’t where she’d gotten the photo.
“She didn’t recognize Adam?” Then again, maybe Ellie had recognized him and only sought confirmation.
Serena shook her head. “She said she’d been to Portola, and someone at the post office recognized the neighborhood but didn’t know anyone in the photo.”
“Did she say anything about meeting me?”
Serena smirked. “Another thing your mother said. It’s always all about you.”
Leyna didn’t point out that Serena was the one who’d brought up Leyna in connection with Ellie, and she didn’t call her out on her lie—with as much practice as Leyna had at fading into the background, her mom wouldn’t have said such a thing. But it didn’t matter. As the youngest Clarke, she’d developed a thick skin.
Serena threw her a curious glance. “So how’d you and the girl meet?”
Leyna was tempted to lie—Serena nearly drooled at the possibility of a rumor to spread. But wasn’t that the point? To get the word out about Ellie? “She came to the restaurant where I worked.” Leyna immediately cursed herself for using the past tense, but Serena seemed to miss it, focused on the juicier details of the story.
“You talked to her?” At Leyna’s quick nod, Serena’s eyes widened. “What did she say?”
“She mentioned a friend, and I got the idea it might be someone she was seeing.”
“I didn’t hear that she had a boyfriend.” Serena blinked rapidly, lashes flapping like bat wings. “Do you think the relationship ended badly? I heard about this attorney who waited in his ex-girlfriend’s car, forced her to drive to the beach where they’d had their first date, then strangled her with his tie.”
Leyna had no interest in talking true crime with her mom’s neighbor unless it involved Ellie Byrd. “I hadn’t heard about that,” she said. “When Ellie showed you the photo, did you identify Grace, Adam, and Dominic?”
“I even told her where Dominic works. It was the neighborly thing to do, wasn’t it?” At her own magnanimity, Serena offered a smug smile. “Then the smoke alarm went off, and I suggested she talk with your mother. She thanked me and left.”
“Did you see her near the Millers’ house?”
Serena looked confused. “Why would she go there? The house was empty that day.”
Leyna considered whether to mention the bracelet but decided against it. Serena’s confusion seemed genuine, and Leyna preferred to spread the word herself. The better to tell if someone was surprised by the news, or lying.
“What about my mom—do you know if Ellie talked to her?”
“Sounds like a question for your mother, but I don’t think so,” she said. “Have you talked with Rocky?”
“I thought he was gone most of that day?” At Serena’s practiced shrug, Leyna said, “His place is off the road. How would Ellie even know to look for it?”
“Not much goes on around here without the king of Ridgepoint Ranch knowing about it.” Even Serena’s sneer was perfect, from its symmetry to the gloss of her lips. “Besides, that’s where Ellie headed—toward the trail that leads into the woods.”
Headed toward Rocky’s, just as Grace had been the night she’d disappeared. Even if Leyna was the only one who knew that.
The wind blew a wave of hair across Serena’s face, one strand sticking in her lip gloss, and Leyna was reminded of the bug strips the Millers used to hang on their porch during the summer before they’d turned their place into a vacation rental. Serena grimaced as she pulled the hair free.
“She should’ve listened to me and gone to your mother’s house instead of heading into those woods.” Serena shivered with a little too much drama, but Leyna understood the underlying dread. Though Leyna had always felt at home in those woods, she knew how good they were at keeping their secrets.