“Can you?”
“Well, he’s got a lease. But I suppose I could break it if I was looking to sell. Or buy him off.”
“Would that put him out of business?”
“No. He’s got his own fields. He’s just taking advantage of my acreage to grow more corn.”
“And your dad got along with Yeager?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, it could have been Yeager sneaking around last night.”
“Why would he?”
“It depends on how secure he feels with his rental arrangement. He saw me and Jack and Shane poking around the property. Then he saw lights on in the house. He could have been investigating.”
“But he wouldn’t string barbed wire.”
“When Jack and Shane came out here with me, we didn’t go into the woods where the barbed wire was strung. We only had time for a quick and dirty security setup. That means the barbed wire could have been there when we were on the property, but we didn’t see it.”
“Okay.” She dragged in a breath. “So what’s next?”
He reached to start the car, then dropped his hand. “I was going to suggest we talk to Brian Cannon, but now I’m wondering if there might be something more productive to try.”
“Like what?”
“You dreamed about the party at Brian’s. Is there somewhere else you and your friends used to hang out after school or on weekends? Somewhere away from adult supervision?”
Chapter 12
Max had thought of the question after his early morning session in Olivia’s bed, and he’d been waiting for the right time to spring it on her. Now he watched her face go pale. She looked like she wished he hadn’t brought up the subject, then made an effort to relax.
“Like where?” she asked in a voice that had gone thin. Interesting reaction.
“Somewhere more private than somebody’s house. Maybe you all thought of it after the party, when you realized you could have gotten into trouble.”
She swallowed hard. “You said ‘you.’ Do you mean, me—specifically?
“No. Any one of your gang.”
He was pretty sure she knew about some other place but didn’t want to talk about it. In fact, he had heard kids talking about a hangout they thought was very private. He hadn’t been there himself because he hadn’t wanted to horn in on a party where he wasn’t invited.
Now he kept his voice even, though he wanted to push her. “I’m not talking about The Mall in Columbia. I’m talking about a teenage hangout where you wouldn’t be tripping over adults.”
She was silent for several moments.
“This could be important,” he pressed, hoping she would be honest with him. He’d felt like they were getting closer. Now he knew she was pulling back.
“Why?” she asked.
“I’m trying to understand the dynamics of what happened.”
She swallowed hard, then said, “There was a place we went sometimes.”
He kept his gaze on her, waiting for further clarification.
“Some kind of county maintenance facility that they weren’t using anymore, I guess. Or maybe it belonged to the water company.”
“Want to show it to me?”
“Not particularly.”
“But you will,” Max said.
“If I have to.”
“What’s wrong with the place?”
“A girl was raped there,” she said in a low voice, like she didn’t want to say it at all. “After that we stayed away.”
“She reported the rape?” Max asked.
“Actually, no.”
“Because?”
“It was like what happened with Gary at the party. She knew she would get into trouble if her parents found out she was hanging out there, so she just kept it to herself.”
“That would be enough to keep a rape to herself?” Max asked.
“I guess so.”
“So adults were the enemy?”
“Weren’t they for you?” she asked.
He raised one shoulder. “I guess that’s right. But we’re not talking about me. I was skating on the wrong side of the law. You were supposed to be good kids.”
“Yeah, well good kids rebel against parental authority, too.”
In his case, it hadn’t been “parental authority.” It had been any authority, but he didn’t feel the need to correct her.
“And you did it at a place that only you and your friends knew about?”
“Right.” She knitted her fingers together in her lap. “That party isn’t the only thing I haven’t thought about in years. This whole deal is bringing back a bunch of memories I must have just edited out of my mind.”