White Lies (Book 1)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Okay, can I just ask a question?"

"Go ahead, Elizabeth."

"Why are we bothering with all this shit? We all know Griffin did it." Tall, long-legged, dark-haired Liz Johnson had attempted to join the class discussion in between scrolls through her newsfeed.

"Phone away, Elizabeth."

Since the albino incident, everyone had started calling me Griffin. Never Jesabel. It was easy even for me to forget that I had a name, sometimes. Apparently, my reputation was far too low to have been afforded the luxury of a first name. I hadn't been considered worthy enough to be thought of as a human being.

Being caught out as a dirty liar really did that to you.

I'd given no response to Lizzy. My World History classmates were currently seated in a small, makeshift circle. Three police officers had come down to Alistair to interrogate its high school students regarding Jenny and Robbie's disappearance. They seemed to be trying out the whole group interrogation thing first, before the real stuff could get underway.

A few people had grumbled in agreement, casting their dirty looks over their shoulders. Lizzy had some backers in the room. I sat very silently and very still, with my long hair hanging like a curtain around my face.

"Language, Elizabeth," Ms. O'Connor scolded. She was a strange lady, with her ankle-length dresses and frizzy hair. She smeared her lipstick over her lips and onto her teeth just for good measure.

"We don't have any solid leads yet, Ms. Johnson. That all remains under investigation. We were actually hoping that you could all lend a hand to help us. But no conclusions will be drawn until there is appropriate evidence," the tallest member of the police team – Officer Cross – explained. Out of all of them, he looked the easiest to talk to.

When the principal had announced that two of its students had gone missing, the entire school had undergone a state of shock. Missing was the word that had actually been used, but murder had been spray-painted in red across the newsletter bulletin in the school office for the entire cohort to see. Fortunately for whoever had defaced the bulletin, they had never been caught and punished. Unfortunately for everyone else, this said person had unthinkingly caused mass hysteria.

Nobody could believe that something like that – the two very well-known people in Alistair vanishing ominously – could have even happened in our quiet town. Speculation had built up between friends and neighbors. What had happened to Rob and Jenny? And how could they bring it upon themselves to reimagine the worst possible scenario? It had only taken three weeks for their disappearance to become conflated with murder. Either way, the affected families had certainly been devastated. Holiday homes had been boarded up. The very notion that something as unconscionable as murder could have happened seemed to have spread like wildfire unto houses and streets and neighborhoods.

Nobody felt safe. Somebody living in our community might have had enough cause to murder innocent and well-loved people. And until they were given the proper answers they needed, everyone was a walking target.

Anyone could be next.

Jennifer's family had been one of the wealthier families in Alistair – and the Hockleys had spared absolutely no expense. Posters and missing signs were on every corner, window, and street light. Word had even reached media outlets, and speculation was basically printing itself across all media channels. You couldn't even turn to the local news channel without catching a glimpse of Jennifer's bubbly, smiling face. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing Robbie's name.