First Girl Gone(11)

“Is the computer…?” Charlie gestured at the laptop.

“It’s mine,” Rachel said. “But Kara uses it sometimes. For school, usually. Though most of the time she talks me into typing up her reports for her. She says it’s because I’m faster at typing, which is true, but…”

“But she also likes getting people to do things for her?” Charlie guessed.

Rachel looked surprised but nodded.

“I had a sister like that,” Charlie said, thinking of the time she constructed an entire diorama for Allie’s history class. “Can I check the search history real quick?”

“Sure,” Rachel said.

Charlie opened the browser and checked the history for the days leading up to Kara’s disappearance. Searches for “makeup tutorials blue eyes,” “best tanning spray,” “SpongeBob memes,” and “clubs in Cozumel” were obvious enough. Charlie scrolled further down the list, but nothing gave an indication of where Kara might be now.

“Does she ever use your dad’s laptop?” Charlie asked.

Rachel’s head shook from side to side.

“No, that’s his work computer. It’s strictly off-limits because one time Misty was using it to play Bejeweled, and she accidentally downloaded spyware. Dad got really mad and banned any of us from touching it.”

Charlie chuckled.

“And aside from that, is this the only computer in the house?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know if Kara ever talked to people online? People she didn’t know in real life, I mean.”

“I don’t think so. She would think that was… I don’t know, dorky or something,” Rachel said, then tilted her head to one side. “But maybe if it was the right kind of person.”

“A cute guy, you mean?”

A shy smile spread over Rachel’s face. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

“Does she have a boyfriend?”

“No. At least I don’t think so.” Rachel looked like she was about to say more but stopped herself.

“What is it?”

“It’s just that Kara has a big heart, but sometimes she trusts the wrong people. And lets them get away with treating her like crap.”

Rachel went quiet then, her eyes on the photostrip of Kara pinned to the wall.

“She acts like she’s invincible.”

This comment struck Charlie as odd, at least without some sort of context.

“How do you mean?”

Rachel startled slightly, as if she’d forgotten Charlie was even there.

“I… don’t know. Just things she does sometimes.”

She was trying to pass it off as nothing, but Charlie wasn’t buying it.

“What kind of things?”

When Rachel started chewing her lip, Charlie knew she was onto something.

“If you’re hiding something, I need you to tell me what it is. Keeping Kara’s secrets right now isn’t helping her. There’s a chance she’s in trouble, and I’m not talking about the kind that gets you grounded. You understand?”

A tear spilled down Rachel’s cheek. Her voice came out a whisper.

“She’s been sneaking out after her curfew. Not every night. Usually on weekends.” She wiped the wetness from her face and sniffed. “I figured it was to go to parties or to hang out with a guy or whatever. I told her it was stupid. That if she got caught, she could end up in juvie.”

Charlie only nodded, waiting for Rachel to continue.

“She kept saying she had a plan.”

“A plan?”

“To get out of Salem Island. For good. She’s always hated it here. But it got worse after the trouble she got into. I don’t know why she hates it so much, really. I figure Salem Island is probably mostly the same as everywhere else. It’s not perfect, but it isn’t so bad,” she said, shrugging.

Charlie thought Rachel was right and wrong at the same time. Salem Island wasn’t so different than any other small town. But Charlie knew the feeling of wanting to escape it. Some places had more ghosts than others.

“And you have no idea where she went those times she snuck out?”

Rachel shook her head.

“She outright refused to tell me where she was going or what exactly her big plan was. And that was weird. Because she tells me everything.”

“OK,” Charlie said, with a nod of her head. “Just one last question. If you had to guess the first person Kara would have called or gone to after she left the house on Wednesday, who would it be?”

Charlie’s gaze followed Rachel’s to the photos on Kara’s wall. The girl seemed to scan the faces, trying to decide who Kara trusted most.

“Probably Maggie.”

“Last name?” Charlie asked, getting out her pen.

“Stahl.”

The pen scratched over Charlie’s notepad. She took a business card from her pocket and handed it to Rachel.

“If you think of anything, even something small, please let me know. You never know what detail might help.”

Staring down at the simple card with Charlie’s name, phone number, and email address printed in neat black letters, Rachel swallowed. Her brown eyes flicked up to meet Charlie’s.

“Do you really think she’s in trouble?”