“I have to go,” Taryn cut in. “Someone’s at the door.”

She hung up, deeply rattled by the call. She desperately wanted to talk to Liam, but she’d already left three voice mails on his phone, and he hadn’t called back yet. Outside it was starting to snow, but she couldn’t stand being cooped up inside her tiny apartment for even another minute. She needed to take a walk and clear her head.

She didn’t think about where she was going; her feet automatically took her there, following the same route she’d traveled so many times before.

It was dark by the time she reached Liam’s apartment building. Standing on the sidewalk, she looked up at his windows. His neighbors’ lights were on, but his windows were dark. She knew his last class of the day had ended hours ago, so where was he? She didn’t dare enter his apartment now because he might come home any minute and catch her there, but she was so starved for a glimpse of him she couldn’t leave. Not yet.

Right across the street was a juice bar. She walked in, ordered a glass of acai berry, and claimed a seat by the window. Through the veil of lightly falling snow, she kept watch on his building. It was now dinnertime, and she thought of all the evenings they’d spent together in his apartment, gorging on take-out food. Pad thai from Siam House. Burgers and fries from Five Guys. They’d eat at his coffee table while they watched TV, and afterward they’d slip out of their clothes. Into his bed.

I miss you. Do you miss me?

The temptation to call him was so powerful that she couldn’t resist it. Once again, her call went straight to his voice mail. He was busy studying, of course, because he was determined to get into law school, and he must be preparing for the LSAT. That was why he’d turned off his phone.

She ordered a second glass of acai berry juice and slowly nursed it along, making it last so they wouldn’t ask her to leave the shop. Liam was probably studying in the library; maybe that was where she should go. She’d pick a table on the first floor near the restrooms, and she’d spread out all her books and work on that paper for Professor Dorian’s class. Liam was bound to notice her when he walked past to the restroom. He’d be impressed by how focused she was, how dedicated to her classwork. So much more than just the poor hometown girl he’d known since middle school. No, she was someone bound for bigger things, someone who was his perfect match in every way.

Her cell phone rang. Liam. Her hands were shaking as she answered: “Hello?”

“I thought we were studying at your place tonight. You’re not answering your buzzer.”

She slumped back in the chair with disappointment. It was only Cody. “Oh God. I forgot about it.”

“Well, I’m standing outside your building now, and I’ve got the pizza. Where are you?”

“I can’t meet you tonight. Can we do it another time?”

“But we were gonna go over those essay questions for Dorian’s class. I brought all my books and notes and everything.”

“Look, I’ve got a lot of things on my mind. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

The silence that followed was leaden with disappointment. She pictured him hulking outside her building in his mountainous down jacket, his baseball cap powdered with fallen snow. How long had he been standing in that bitter cold, waiting for her?

“I’m sorry, Cody. I really am.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Okay.”

“Talk tomorrow?”

“Sure, Taryn,” he said and hung up.

She looked across the street at Liam’s window; it was still dark. A little longer, she thought. I’ll sit here just a little longer.

AFTER

CHAPTER 7

FRANKIE

The boyfriend’s name is Liam Reilly, and he seems like just the sort of boy every mother hopes her daughter will bring home. He is blond and strapping, clean shaven, and neatly dressed in chinos and an oxford shirt. As Frankie and Mac step into his apartment, he asks politely if they would like coffee. Too few young people these days seem to respect cops, and even fewer would extend the courtesy of offering them coffee. As the three sit down in Liam’s living room, Frankie notices a stack of law school brochures on the coffee table—yet another detail that impresses her. He is nothing like the unkempt musicians her twin daughters have recently dragged home, boys with no obvious ambitions beyond landing their next gigs. Boys who are afraid to look Frankie in the eye because they know she is a cop. Why couldn’t her girls bring home a Liam instead? He is a doctor’s kid, courteous and articulate, and he tells them he’s already been accepted to two law schools. He has no arrest record, not even an outstanding parking ticket, and he seems genuinely shocked by the news of his ex-girlfriend’s death.

“You had no inkling that Taryn would kill herself?” Frankie asks him.

Liam shakes his head. “I know she was upset when I broke up with her. And yeah, sometimes she could act a little psycho. But kill herself? That’s not like Taryn at all.”

“What do you mean by ‘a little psycho’?” says Mac.

“She was stalking me.” He sees Mac’s raised eyebrow. “Seriously, she was. It started off with her calling me and texting me at all hours. Then she started sneaking into my apartment while I was out.”

“You caught her in here?”

“No, but one of the girls next door saw her leave the building one morning. Taryn never returned my key, so she could’ve come in anytime she wanted. And then I noticed that things were missing.”

“What things?”

“Stupid little things like my T-shirts. At first I thought I just misplaced them, but then I realized it had to be her, taking my stuff. That was creepy enough. Then it got even worse.”

“You mentioned she kept calling and texting you,” says Frankie.

“I finally had to block her. But then she just used another student’s cell phone to call me.”

“So she did have a cell phone.”

Liam gives her a quizzical look, as if the question is absurd. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Because we never found her phone.”

“She definitely had one. She was always complaining that her mom could only afford to buy an Android.”

“If we do find that phone, would you know how to unlock it?” Mac asks.

“Yeah. Unless she’s changed her pass code.”

“What is her pass code?”

“It’s, um . . .” The boy looks away. “Our anniversary. The day we kissed for the first time. She was kind of sentimental about it, and she kept bugging me to celebrate it with her, even after . . .” His voice trails off.

“You said she kept texting you,” says Frankie. “Can we see those texts?”

He pauses, no doubt wondering if there is anything on his phone he shouldn’t reveal to a cop. Reluctantly he pulls out his iPhone, unlocks the screen, and hands it to Frankie.

She scrolls through the list of conversations until she finds the string of texts from Taryn Moore. They are two months old.

Where RU?

Why didn’t U show up? I waited over two hours.

Why RU avoiding me?

Call me PLEASE. This is important!!!!!!

The girl’s mounting desperation is apparent in these texts, but Liam did not respond to any of them. Silence is a coward’s way out, and that’s what Liam chose to be. By not responding, he left the girl screaming unheard into the void.

“I guess you’ve talked to her mom,” Liam says. “I hope Brenda’s okay.”

“It was a difficult conversation.” It was in fact heart wrenching, even though Frankie was not the one who actually broke the news. That unfortunate task went to a police officer in Hobart, Maine, who knocked on Mrs. Moore’s door and informed her in person. When Frankie called a few hours later, Taryn’s mother sounded exhausted from crying, her voice barely a whisper.

“Brenda was always nice to me,” says Liam. “I felt kind of sorry for her.”

“Why?”

“Her husband ran off with another woman when Taryn was ten. I don’t think she ever got over her dad leaving them.”

“Maybe that’s why she freaked out when you left her.”

He winces at the parallel. “It’s not like we were engaged or anything. It was just a high school thing. Except for growing up in the same town, we didn’t have much in common. I’m planning to go to law school, but Taryn didn’t have any plans, not really. Except maybe getting married.”

Frankie looks down again at Liam’s iPhone. “These are the most recent text messages she sent you?”

“Yeah.”

“These were sent back in February. There’s been nothing since then?”

“No. It all stopped after we had this big blowup at a restaurant. I was having dinner with my new girlfriend, Libby. Somehow Taryn found out we were there, and she barged right into the dining room. Started screaming at me, in front of everyone. I had to drag her outside and tell her, once and for all, that we were finished. I think that’s when she finally realized it really was over between us. After that, her texts stopped. I figured she’d moved on, maybe found a new boyfriend.”

“Her mother didn’t say anything about her daughter having a new boyfriend.”