"I don't bite," Maggie said with a warm smile.
Kevin responded with a smile that came and went quickly. "How's Mrs. Stoner?" he asked quietly.
"It was touch and go, but the latest word from the hospital is that she'll be fine."
"I feel bad. She's had a tough time."
"Because of Rachel?" Maggie asked.
Kevin shrugged. "Sometimes. Parents and kids always have some kind of problems."
"Seems like they had more than their share," Maggie said.
A ghost of a grin. "Maybe."
"Why do you think she took the pills?"
"I guess she couldn't take it anymore," Kevin said.
"Take what?" Maggie asked.
"All of it."
Maggie waited until Kevin looked up. "People tell me you're close to Rachel. They said Rachel would have been better off with you, but she never really appreciated you. That must be frustrating."
Kevin sighed. "Rachel has always been kind of a fantasy. I never really expected anything to come of it."
"So what about that last night?" Maggie asked sharply. "You told us that Rachel came on to you."
"That was nothing. She can be cruel that way."
"Could she have been meeting someone else that night? Another boy?"
"Maybe. Rachel dated a lot. We didn't talk about it."
Maggie nodded. "You know, it's funny. I talked to dozens of guys at the high school today. No one admitted going out with Rachel."
"Big surprise," Kevin said. "Everyone's scared. They know what you found at the barn."
"So they're lying."
"Sure," Kevin said. "I bet she dated all of them."
She could hear the bitterness in his voice.
"How about you?" Maggie asked.
"I already said no."
"Except for that night," Maggie said. "That's kind of weird, don't you think? She comes on to you, and that night, she disappears."
She saw anxiety instantly bloom in his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"You said Rachel made a date with you for Saturday night. But when you arrived at her house, she was gone."
Kevin nodded.
"You're sure the date wasn't for Friday night? You didn't make plans to go to her house later?"
"No!" Kevin told her, his voice rising.
"You didn't go back?"
"No, I didn't. I went home. The police talked to my parents. You know that's what happened."
Maggie smiled. "I know a lot of kids who are pretty good at slipping out without their parents knowing. Look, if Rachel wanted to disappear, you would have helped her, wouldn't you? You would have done anything she asked."
Kevin bit his lower lip and said nothing. He looked around as if he were hunting for an escape.
"So did you? Did you help her run away?" Maggie said.
"No," Kevin insisted.
"Did you go back later anyway? Did she have another date? That would have pissed you off, right? I can understand, Kevin. You've loved her your whole life. She's your fantasy. And then she starts playing games with you. That must have made you mad."
Kevin shook his head fiercely.
"It didn't? You didn't go over and wait for her? Try to convince her that she was wasting time with all those other guys? They weren't right for her. You were. But she rejected you."
Kevin was angry now. "I didn't see her. I didn't go to her house."
"You have to admit you've got a great motive."
"Cut it out," Kevin said.
"Maybe you two went out for a drive. Just to talk. And maybe you ended up at the barn. Maybe the talk didn't go so well."
Kevin clenched his fists. "That's a lie."
"We found blood and condoms at the crime scene, Kevin. What are we going to find when we do a DNA analysis?"
Kevin stood up. He was trembling with rage. "You'll find out it's not mine! Because I wasn't there!"
Maggie stood up, too. She touched his arm softly, but he yanked it away. She tried to coax him into looking at her. "Sit down, Kevin. I know you weren't there. But most of the time, I don't know-not until I push people. The guilty ones don't push back. Please. Sit down."
"Rachel's the last person in the world I would ever hurt," Kevin said.
"I know. But it looks like someone did hurt her. So, if you didn't go to Rachel's house, who did?"
Kevin shook his head. "Don't you think I'd have told you if I knew?"
"You don't remember anything Rachel said? You didn't hear any rumors at school? From what I understand, the barn was a popular place. It's hard to believe there weren't stories going around."
"Oh, sure, everyone knows about the barn. Lots of people talk about it. But who knows what's real and what's just locker room bullshit, you know?"
"But you're sure she went there," Maggie said.
"I don't know it for a fact. But I can't believe she didn't."
"Why?"
Kevin spread his arms in exasperation. "She talked about having sex all the time."
"Was it just talk?" Maggie asked. "Or did she really do it?"
"I don't know. She didn't mention names."
Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw a plump teenage girl with chestnut hair standing in the doorway of the bar. Hands firmly on her hips, the girl swiveled her head, studying each table like a velociraptor. When she spotted Kevin in the corner, her face lit up in a smile. Then she saw Maggie, assessed her outfit in a single glance, and frowned. She marched toward them.
"Hello, Kevin," the girl said loudly.
Kevin glanced up, surprised. "Sally!"
He leaped to his feet and planted a kiss on Sally's lips.
"I came in with my parents for dinner," Sally said. "Paula said you were in here. She was sort of pissed." Then she added bluntly, "Who's this?"
"This is Ms. Bei," Kevin said. "She's with the police."
"The police?" Sally said, her eyebrows raised.
Maggie stood up and extended her hand, which Sally shook limply.
"We've both talked to the police already," Sally said.
"I know. Kevin was just telling me he didn't really know any of Rachel's boyfriends," Maggie said. "We're thinking someone must have gone over to her house after she left the two of you. Can you think of anyone?"
"I don't think anyone was special to Rachel," Sally said. "She used people up and threw them away."
"That sounds like a good way to get people pissed off," Maggie said. "Anyone sound like he was obsessed with Rachel? Did she ever complain about someone who wouldn't leave her alone?"
"Complain?" Sally said. "Not hardly."
"Okay, let's forget about Rachel for a while. What about other girls at school? They ever talk about boys who were giving them a hard time?"
Kevin scratched his chin. He looked at Sally. "What about Tom Nickel? Remember how Karin said he was always sending her those creepy notes? Real prick."
Sally shrugged. "Sure, but that was two years ago. He graduated last year."
"But he goes to UMD," Kevin said. "He's still in the area."
"I suppose."
Maggie wrote down the name in her book. "Anyone else?"
"Most of the guys in school are jerks," Sally said. "That's why I'm so lucky." She slung an arm around Kevin's waist, and he kissed her hair.
"How about girls who had a bad time at the barn?" Maggie asked.
There it was.
It lasted only a split second, but Maggie saw the look in Sally's eyes. Her whole demeanor changed, the cool arrogance replaced by fear. Then, just as quickly, the moment passed. Sally turned and kissed Kevin again, not looking at Maggie. When she turned back, she had pasted a mask on her face.
"I don't hang out with girls who go to the barn," she said.
Maggie nodded. "I understand."
"Kevin!" Someone shouted from the doorway to the bar. A fifty-something woman with a hassled scowl waved a stack of menus at them. "We're dying out here. I need you now, you hear me? Right now!"
Kevin turned to Maggie. "Was there anything else? I have to go."
Maggie shook her head. Kevin kissed Sally again and rushed out of the bar. Sally began to follow him, but Maggie tugged gently at her arm.