Secrets Untold

Chapter 3

On Thursday morning, two days after Sadie's disappearance, a few middle school boys uncovered Sadie's body in the woods. They immediately dialed 911, running home terrified to their parents and vowing to never explore the woods again.

Sadie's murder was broadcasted across the news with a message asking anyone with more information to please step forward. Raven observed Sadie's corpse immediately after the discovery, noting limited signs of struggle and an injection mark in her neck. Doctors discovered chloroform in her bloodstream, meaning the killer had kidnapped Sadie and killed her with a lethal injection, the least painful way for Sadie to die. No fingerprints were found on her body—the killer was careful to wear gloves and wipe away any skin flakes and stray hairs—and Sadie had neither been raped nor abused in any way.

The killer didn't want to torture her, Raven realized. The killer just wanted her gone. But why?

"Well Sadie did upset people, alright..." she heard Bree echo. Did Bree know more than she let on? Raven made a mental note to visit the sorority house and keep an eye on those girls.

Following the body inspection, Raven decided to give her condolences to the Thomas family. She baked some chocolate chip cookies and brought them over, brushing away her typical snarky attitude and replacing it with a sympathetic composure. Unfortunately, she often had to express her condolences to murder victims' families and it never got easy. Doing so always brought back memories of her mother.

She arrived at the Thomas' modest home and knocked. Sadie's brother, Joey, opened the door and sized Raven up. "Have you found him yet?" he demanded without a filter.

"Joey, honey," Mrs. Thomas appeared, immediately placing a hand on Joey's shoulder and silencing him. Her sad eyes silently beckoned Raven into their house. Raven handed Mrs. Thomas the cookies and Mrs. Thomas nodded for Joey to take them. Joey responded with an angry look but begrudgingly obeyed his mother. Raven followed Mrs. Thomas into the living room, where she slid into a chair beside her husband. Mr. Thomas slumped with his round bald head in his hands, staring into space and hardly acknowledging Raven's presence. Joey returned to the living room and attempted to engage Raven's attention, but Mrs. Thomas butt in before he could speak. "She was a great kid..." she mused, sinking into the chair, her words as soft as the air conditioning's whisper. She buried into herself, becoming a ghost of a human as she reminisced of the blissful memories of her daughter. "I can't believe this happened...so soon...none of us were expecting it..."

"I'm so sorry about this. Sadie was an amazing person—is amazing—for everything she did. In her sorority, at Graham, as a daughter. Let me know if I can do anything to help," Raven said.

Joey bit his lip and shook his legs. Then he shot up, darted to his room, and slammed the door.

"She was always just so happy...I don't know who would've done it. Who would do this to my baby?" Tears formed in her eyes and she covered her face, spreading her palms over her swollen eyes.

Like every time Raven visited a mourning family, the flashbacks swarmed into her mind. She numbed herself, guarding her insides against the shock, the loneliness, the hurt. "Mom? It's time to take your medicine! Mom?" And then she was back there, in their dilapidated house where they could barely afford rent, checking her cancerous mother's pulse. "Mom?" Her insides curled and Raven blinked a few times, resurfacing to the present, away from those painful memories.

She waited until Mrs. Thomas' tears subsided, giving her time to think. "Do you have any idea who did it?" she finally gasped.

"I'll destroy them," Mr. Thomas muttered. "How dare they touch my daughter, how dare they— "

"I'm investigating," Raven replied. "Your daughter had lots of people who loved her, I hope you know."

"I didn't like the sorority," Mr. Thomas said quietly. "They weren't that nice..."

"They all made me feel weird," Mrs. Thomas interjected.

Raven mentally agreed with that one. She never liked sororities. "And what about them made you feel weird exactly?" She could name a million things.

There was a knock at the door. Mrs. Thomas dragged herself to the door and welcomed Malcolm, Sadie's boyfriend. So this was the boy, Raven thought. The boy Sadie didn't bother putting up on her wall. Malcolm hugged both the parents, his eyes turning moist as he struggled to hold back tears. "I really miss her," he said to no one in particular. "She was my best friend. I just, I can't even think..."

"I know," Mrs. Thomas said softly. "You were so good to her Malcolm. Sadie is smiling down at you—at us from Heaven now. You were such a big part of our family and always will be, with or without Sadie. You have been so sweet to our little girl and we can never thank you enough."

"I appreciate it, Mrs. Thomas, Mr. Thomas. I really do." Malcolm swallowed his tears and turned to face Raven, revealing his tousled golden locks and sea green eyes. His muscles flexed underneath a Theta Kappa tee, bulging even more as he sighed. Raven devoured his handsome features, feeling slightly intimidated in his presence. Even in distress, Malcolm knew he was attractive. "Are you the detective?" he asked.

"Yes," Raven replied, composing herself.

Malcolm nodded, turning back to Sadie's parents.

Raven took this as her cue to leave. She exchanged melancholy goodbyes with the Thomases and exited the house, feeling somewhat relieved.

When she opened the door to her car, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't like him," Joey mumbled, shaking his head.

Startled, Raven inquired, "Why not?"

Joey looked back at the house as if waiting for Malcolm to pop out and join him. He abruptly waved his arms, closed his eyes, and hummed a tune.

"Joey?"

Joey started humming louder, his hum an angry helpless scream.

"Are you okay?" Raven knew Joey was autistic with some anger problems, but she wasn't trained to deal with these kinds of issues. She thought about reaching out a hand to comfort him, but decided against it.

"Please— "Joey began.

"Joey, get back in the house!" Mr. Thomas yelled, running outside to grab Joey. "I'm sorry about that," he apologized to Raven, pulling Joey away from her. "Joey doesn't know what he's saying. He really misses his sister and, like the rest of us, isn't sure how to handle it."

"I understand," Raven nodded, although she wanted to know what Joey had to say about Malcolm. Sadie's life seemed to have many secrets. She sighed, stepping into her car and distancing herself from the gloomy Thomas household.

Right before Mr. Thomas shut the door, shielding Raven from Joey's familiar glare.

And right before Joey hit Malcolm.