“Yes.”
“Was one of them Ray Quinn?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember me?”
Lana leaned in, her eyes and forehead taking up most of the picture. “Yes, I remember you. Honestly, I don’t know that anything was going on between her and Ray. She said there was, but I’m not sure. I didn’t really believe it. I think she wanted something to happen with Ray, but he wasn’t interested.”
Gretchen asked, “Was one of the guys she liked a man who was doing construction work at her house?”
Lana sat back in her chair and scratched at the loose skin on her nose. “Yes. I do remember that. He was older. She really liked him. He did seem interested in her. I was at her house once when they were flirting. I don’t remember his name though.”
“Do you know who the other two men were?” Josie asked.
“No. Beverly was secretive about them. That’s why Kelly and I weren’t sure how much of what she was telling us was true. I can tell you this, though. She was only sleeping with one of the guys she was into. She made it sound like she was some kind of irresistible seductress, as though men couldn’t control themselves around her, but she was actually only intimate with one guy. That’s what she told me anyway. I’m not sure which guy that was, but I do know he had a tattoo.” Lana laughed. “For some reason, she thought a guy with a tattoo was so… grown-up. Sexy.”
Gretchen said, “Yeah, that’s what Kelly told us. Do you know kind of tattoo this guy had?”
Lana smoothed a wayward piece of hair out of her eyes. “Oh, I think it was—” The sound cut out and onscreen, Lana’s visage froze, twisting as lines burst across it.
“Oh boy,” Paige said. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to talk to her. Just wait a minute. She’ll come back, hopefully.”
After a long moment, Lana came back on. They asked her about the tattoo again. “Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure it was a skull. I don’t know where on his body, though.”
Gretchen had her notepad out, jotting down this new detail.
“Lana, was Beverly into drugs at all?” Josie asked.
Lana shook her head. “No. I never saw her using any.”
“Do you have any idea who might have killed her?”
“Oh God, no. I’m so sorry. I don’t. I know she was seeing an older guy and she fought with her mom like crazy, but I can’t imagine anyone killing her. Oh but—” She broke off and Josie thought the connection had been interrupted again, but Lana was just taking a moment to think. Almost to herself, she said, “I guess it really doesn’t matter now. In fact, if she was killed right after school ended, you’ve probably already found out on autopsy. Beverly was pregnant.”
“Yes,” Josie said, surprised that Beverly had shared that with Lana but not Kelly. By all appearances in high school, Kelly had been closer to Beverly. Then again, Josie realized, Kelly was more of a minion. She had done whatever Beverly told her to do. Her function wasn’t to provide counsel or comfort. Lana had obviously been the more sensitive of the two friends, refusing to carry out Beverly’s crueler ploys. “That was confirmed on autopsy. Do you know who the father was?”
Lana frowned. “I’m afraid not. But as I said, it could only have been one of the men. That’s actually how I found out she was only intimate with one person. When she told me about the pregnancy, I asked her if she knew whose it was and that’s when she admitted to me she wasn’t as active as she made herself out to be.”
“Did she tell you any of their names? Other than Ray’s?” Josie asked.
“No.”
“Kelly said she had nicknames for them? Do you remember any of them?”
“No, I don’t. It was such a long time ago. I’m really sorry. I wish I could. I’ll give it some more thought, but… I mean, that was high school.”
“I understand,” Josie said. “What about someone named Alice? Did you guys know anyone by that name? Did Vera have any friends named Alice?”
“No, not that I remember,” said Lana.
The screen blipped again, Lana disappearing once more and a strange metallic clang sounding from the speakers. Paige’s fingers moved the mouse, clicking several times to try to get Lana back. They heard her voice before her face popped back up. “Vera knew.”
Josie felt a chill on the back of her neck. “Vera knew? Her mother knew about the men?”
Multi-colored lines filled the screen. A sound like “Yes” came through.
Gretchen leaned toward the screen and loudly asked, “Did Vera know their names?”
“Yes.”
For a long moment, there was nothing but blackness where Lana had been. Then she was onscreen again. Josie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Lana said, “Sorry. The connection isn’t great.”
Josie asked, “Did Vera know she was pregnant?”
“Yes, Vera knew about the pregnancy. Vera knew who the father was, evidently, although I’m not sure how ’cause Beverly wouldn’t even tell me or Kelly. I don’t even think she told Kelly she was pregnant. But she and Vera fought horribly about the pregnancy.”
Gretchen said, “Would you say Vera was abusive?”
Lana’s brow furrowed. “It’s hard to say. I don’t think she meant to be. I think they just had a very strained relationship.”
Josie asked, “Do you think Vera could have killed Beverly?”
The screen twisted again into a kaleidoscope of broken digital images. They heard one word from Lana before the connection went down altogether. “Maybe.”
Twenty
Paige invited them back in a few days for Lana’s next scheduled video call. She gave them Lana’s email address but warned that Lana rarely had time to respond to emails. Back at the station house, Josie and Gretchen got takeout and sat at their desks with Noah, who had returned from the City Codes office. Amber was nowhere to be found, although her tablet still sat at one of the empty desks. Josie and Gretchen filled Noah in on their interviews with Kelly and Lana.
He finished off his cheeseburger and wiped his hands on a napkin. “Are you thinking that Vera killed her own daughter, buried her, and took off?”
Josie munched on a French fry, thinking it over. Then she went to her computer and pulled up a copy of Vera’s driver’s license again. “Here it says Vera was five foot five. Dr. Feist believes whoever shot Beverly was at least six feet tall. Based on the bullet’s entry wound and both Beverly and Vera’s heights, it seems unlikely. But Vera has been off the radar for sixteen years now. So either she went into hiding—and if she did murder her own kid, that might have caused her to go into hiding—or whoever killed Beverly killed her as well. I’m leaning toward Vera also having been murdered, though.”
“Why’s that?” Gretchen asked.
“Because if she was in as bad physical shape as George Newton, Kelly, and Lana said she was, I can’t see her burying Beverly’s body under the basement.”
“Good point,” Noah said. “But she could have had help.”