Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) by J.M. Cataffo Read Free Book Online Page B

the window. “Look, if it helps, I knew Daniel. But it was a long time ago.”
    “Then why would he have a picture of you in his dorm?” Yasif piped up.
    “I don’t know. I told you, it was a long time ago. We used to live on the same street.”
    “Did you two hang out a lot?” Sally asked.
    “Occasionally,” Jake said. “We were friends as kids… Look, I don’t know what you want, but I hadn’t even heard there was a disappearance until you told me. I had nothin’ to do with this. I promise.”
    “Relax.” Sally grabbed a fry. “We’re not here because we suspect involvement. We are just trying to get to the bottom of this. The disappearance was quite…” She searched for the right word. “…sudden. We found this picture in their room and hoped you would be able to tell us something useful.”
    “I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen Daniel in three years.”
    There was more; she was sure of it, but she didn’t want to press too hard and lose him altogether. He may not have heard about the disappearances, but he was certainly hiding something—something big.
    “Wait, what do you mean by sudden?” Jake asked, as if just realizing what she had said.
    Sally glanced at Yasif, who responded with a shrug.
    Sharing what they knew might just get him to open up more. She got the sense that he cared about what happened to Daniel. “There’s more to what’s going on than what’s in the news—not that you’ve been paying attention to the news.” She paused. “Billy and Daniel didn’t just run away. When I say they disappeared, I’m being quite literal. It happened right in front of my eyes. Poof.” She motioned with her hands. “They were gone.”
    She watched, waiting for the information to sink in, but Jake stared at the corner of the table in deep thought as if he hadn’t heard what she said. Then his gaze met hers. His brows turned upward. “Look. No one but us knows about this. We’re taking a huge chance talking to you, but you’re the only clue we’ve found in all this mess.”
    “I told you. I don’t know why my picture was there.”
    “I have a guess.” Yasif snorted.
    Jake’s eyes grew wide and he looked as though he were ready to bolt from the table.
    Sally still didn’t understand what Yasif was referring to. He raised an eyebrow as if she should have picked up on whatever it was that he thought was so clear. She glanced back at Jake and then it hit her. “Oh!” She wagged her finger between Jake and the picture. “You and he were…”
    “No!” Jake stiffened, his eyes wide. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Sally smiled to herself and looked down at the plate of fries. “Well, that explains why he never… I thought it was something with me…” Looking back at Jake, she said, “It’s okay, Jake, we’re not here to judge. It actually explains a lot.”
    “But it doesn’t help us with the investigation.” Yasif’s tone had changed. He’d deflated a bit.
    “I don’t know what you guys are on about, I’m not…” He stopped, unable to finish his sentence.
    “Do you have a better explanation for why there was a picture of you in Daniel’s room?” Yasif asked accusingly, even a bit harshly.
    “I already told you…”
    “Drop the charade, man. No one cares if you’re gay or not. We just need some answers.”
    Jake cringed as if Yasif had just uttered a vulgarity. He stared down onto his lap as though about to cry.
    Sally put a hand on Yasif’s arm. Why couldn’t he see he was upsetting Jake? “So we’re back to square one.” She pulled out her phone and made a quick note.
    “What are you doing?” Jake looked at her with wide expecting eyes.
    “Just making a note. If you have nothing further, then I think we’re done here.” She moved, motioning to Yasif that she was ready to leave.
    “Wait,” Jake said. “Don’t go. Please.”
    Sally settled back into her seat, her purse strap still on her shoulder.
    “Is there