Poisonous: A Novel by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online Page A

cell phone or computer. I think the lack of serious punishment, followed by Ivy going back to her old habits, led to Justin Brock’s frustration.”
    “Who sent Ivy the video in the first place?”
    Grace raised an eyebrow, a half smile on her lips. “You caught that, too. It was recorded on Heather’s phone and e-mailed by Heather. Based on what happened in the weeks prior to her suicide, it appears that Heather may have recorded the video, but someone else with access to her phone sent it to Ivy.”
    “Anyone at school. Kids keep their phones in their lockers or backpacks.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Who else did you look at as a possible suspect in Ivy’s murder?”
    “Anyone she had posted something negative about. Frankly, there were a lot of them and nothing came of that endeavor. Most of the people involved were in high school or had just graduated. They were Ivy’s peers. It came out during our investigation that many of these kids sent Ivy private information—gossip, photos, video clips—knowing that Ivy would put it all up on the Internet. So while on the one hand, some of these kids had cause to be angry with her, they were also culpable in her online shenanigans. But none of these individuals had the spark. I might have looked harder at Christopher Holbrook … he was the male in the sex video with Heather. He’s now in college—he was a year older than the girls. Fortunately for him, he was also a minor at the time the video was made. But as you know, when these things get out they have more repercussions for girls than boys. Christopher wasn’t in town the weekend of Ivy’s death, either. He and his family were in Europe for five weeks. July third was smack in the middle of that.”
    Grace got up and stretched. Max hoped that didn’t mean she was calling the interview off—she still had several questions.
    However, Grace simply walked around the small room rubbing the small of her back. “My back gets to me—all the years I was a beat cop wearing that damn utility belt. You know how much they weigh? Mine was eighteen pounds. Ruined my back.” She sat back down on the edge of the table and continued. “What I really fear is that the person responsible is a teenager with sociopathic tendencies. Most of the time when a young person faces questioning, they give something away. They may not confess right away, but they trip themselves up. Or the guilt pushes them to confess. Or they tell someone, who comes to the police or tells someone else. These are teenagers. Secrets are hard to keep in the age of the Internet.”
    Max knew that was true. “Or it’s someone you haven’t interviewed.”
    “Could be.”
    “I told you over the phone that Ivy’s stepbrother wrote to me about the murder,” Max said. “Tommy Wallace.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Is that out of character?”
    “I couldn’t say. But he came by a couple months ago asking about the investigation. I told him to talk to his parents.”
    “Did you consider him a suspect?”
    “Not for long. His mother swears he was in bed, asleep. I told you he’s a bit slow, I think they now call it intelligence disabled. Very polite, nice kid. Answered all my questions without hesitation, I don’t know if he even has the capacity to lie or manipulate. He certainly has the physical strength to push someone off a cliff, and several witnesses recounted how cruel Ivy was to Tommy. He’s been in a few fights. Nothing that the police were called into, but when we spoke to the high school, we got a copy of his disciplinary record. In each case there were conflicting statements about how the fights started, but after interviewing several students and teachers, I determined that each time Tommy had been intentionally provoked or was defending his stepbrother. He never struck first. But because he was the biggest kid involved, he got the blame.”
    “Could Ivy have provoked him?”
    Grace considered. “I suppose. But he hasn’t been in a fight in over two