“Do you know if she had a boyfriend at the time? Or did she have a lot of interactions on social media?”
“She had the regular accounts, but we had the log-in information. We were relatively strict about her online interactions, what with the dangers and all. I looked through her accounts, didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but I gave all that information to the police at the time.”
“What about boys at school? Did she like someone in particular?”
Rob’s eyes narrowed. “No. Lauren wasn’t interested in boys.”
Brantley was curious as to the statement. Ellen had said something almost identical. And he got the feeling they didn’t mean because she wasn’t at that age yet. Something in their tone.
“She preferred her friends over everyone. And she was into her schoolwork. Most of her friends were focused on what college they would eventually get into. I think it was a game they played. Who could get the best grades.”
Wow. If Brantley’d had friends like that, imagine where he might’ve been today.
“Were any of her friends boys?”
“No.” Rob’s gaze lowered. “Like I told you, she didn’t date, didn’t talk about boys. Probably had something to do with the fact Ellen forbid her to. Said she had no time for boys in her life and she could focus on that when she was finished with her schooling.”
A little harsh, but it went along with the way Ellen had reacted to Brantley’s question.
“We heard she stayed after school to work on a project,” Reese said. “Do you happen to know which class the project was in?”
“No.” Rob’s eyes lowered. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t as involved in her school as I should’ve been. I didn’t help her with her homework, didn’t even check to make sure she’d done it. I left all that to Ellen. Figured Lauren didn’t need us both micromanaging her.”
When no one said anything more for nearly a minute, Brantley decided to conclude the conversation.
“Mr. Tyler, you’ve got my number,” he said, getting to his feet. “If there’s anything else you can think of that might help us in our investigation, please don’t hesitate to call.”
“And you’ll keep me informed?” he asked hopefully.
“Of course. I’ll make sure you receive frequent updates.”
Half an hour later, Brantley was sitting at a table at Whataburger with Reese. As they waited for their food to be delivered to them, he went back to a couple of things the man had said.
“Rob was pretty adamant his daughter wasn’t dating anyone at the time.”
Reese leaned forward, drank from his straw, sat up. “I know. I caught that, too.”
“Not that I remember a whole hell of a lot about bein’ fifteen, but I’m pretty sure hormones played a big part for me that year. And many years to follow.”
“All the way to present day,” Reese quipped.
Brantley quirked a brow. “What about you? What were you doin’ when you were fifteen?”
“Probably ridin’ my Haro to Jenny Andrews’s house.”
“Jenny Andrews?”
“My girlfriend from sixth grade through tenth.”
“Ah. So you were the settlin’-down type back then.”
“No. It took me that long to round all the bases with her.”
“Go, tiger.”
Reese rolled his eyes. “It’s not the fact Lauren’s father said she didn’t have a boyfriend. It was the way he said Ellen forbid it, therefore it couldn’t have been true.”
“Yeah. Almost like if he said it enough, it would be true.”
“What’re you thinkin’?” Reese prompted.
“I don’t know. Maybe she had a bad relationship. Somethin’ Mom and Dad didn’t approve of.”
“Like an abusive asshole? Maybe someone older? Or…”
“Or what?”
“A girl?” Reese suggested.
That was actually the first thing that had come to his mind. “It’s possible.”
“And maybe this is me bein’ naive, but if she was gay, I don’t see her girlfriend kidnapping her.”
“No, wouldn’t’ve been the girlfriend. Not if she was her age, anyway. And if Lauren was gay, I’d think Corinne would’ve known,” Brantley explained. “They were best friends. Chicks share all that shit with each other.”
“Not if they don’t want word spreadin’.”
Brantley watched Reese, wondering if he was talking about their current situation.
“You know Ethan, right?” Reese asked, pushing his drink to the side.
“Of course. He’s my cousin.”
“You went to school with him?”
“He was a few grades back.”
“Did you know he was gay? I mean, back then. Were you aware?”
“Doubtful. Not somethin’ that interested me.”
“I don’t think anyone knew,” Reese explained. “Based on what I’ve heard from his brothers, Ethan was bullied brutally. His boyfriend took his own life and the kid’s older brother terrorized Ethan for years.” Reese exhaled. “What I’m sayin’ is that not many people knew Ethan’s story because he didn’t want anyone to know. Could be Lauren kept it on the DL.”
“If you twist it enough, yeah, it could fit. When I talked to Lauren’s mother yesterday, she said the same thing. There was no way Lauren had a boyfriend. If she had, they would’ve known. I took it more to mean they kept a close eye on her.”
