Suffer II by E.E. Borton Read Free Book Online Page A

vibrate on his hip. He refilled the glass before he answered. “Hey, Evan. How’s it going?”
    “ More questions than answers right now. ”
    “What are the questions?”
    “The glaring one is the complete lack of information about her anywhere. I mean nothing. The last interactions with any friends in social media or emails ended about halfway through her senior year. Even when she went missing, there was no mention on the internet, articles in the papers, or clips on television. It’s as if it never happened.”
    “As if she never happened,” said Grey.
    “Exactly. I was able to hack into a few accounts from so-called friends in high school.”
    “So-called?”
    “Yep. They turned on her quick. It went from normal online chit-chat to a crucifixion. Looks like the turn started right before Christmas. Earlier postings were all about how pretty, smart, and fun she was. After the holidays, she was a junkie and a slut. They turned their backs on her and warned other friends to do the same.”
    “Any mention of why?”
    “ Nothing directly. I did find some mentioning of a combination holiday and birthday party after Thanksgiving. Emily’s birthday is in December.”
    “That’s interesting,” said Grey. “Emily’s last entry was about a party she was going to with her friend Tyler.”
    “ I’m no detective, but my guess is something happened at that party. I’ll widen my search to whoever may have been there. ”
    “Were you able to access her school records?”
    “ I was. That’s where we get even more questions. She was a straight A student until after the holidays, then her grades took a nosedive. Shortly after the Christmas break, she was arrested for possession, and she lost an academic scholarship.”
    “That must have been when she started using heroin,” said Grey. “It’s usually downhill from there.”
    “That’s my point. There was no downhill. She went headfirst over a cliff. This girl was popular in school, squeaky clean, and had a bright future. Then overnight she becomes a junkie and a prostitute? Just doesn’t add up. There has to be more to this.”
    “There always is, buddy. Send me everything you have as soon as you can.”
    “Will do, boss.”
    It was time for Grey to find some of those answers. The time span between the first and last entry in her journals was six years. When she started the first page as a twelve-year-old, Grey was impressed with her writing. It was clear and concise with few errors in spelling or grammar. She was intelligent and articulate with her thoughts.
    After thirty minutes of reading, he remembered he had poured another drink and paused to take the first sip. Emily was a happy, well-adjusted, driven twelve-year-old who adored her parents. She had a thirst for learning anything new and focused most of her energy on school.
    He remembered Karla saying her daughter would be famous someday because of her singing and acting, but Emily wrote more about her love of nature and science than anything else. She was fascinated with the ecosystem in her own backyard. The only rule she fractured on occasion was following an insect, bird, or small animal too far into the woods.
    She wrote about her friends, teachers, and special events in her life, but not with the ferocity and frequency one would expect from a young girl. She was more interested in the social interactions of animals than of her own species. But there was one human who received more attention than most. It wasn’t Tyler, but his older brother, Dawson.
    At first, it seemed to be on an intellectual level. He’d accompany her into the woods and assist with catching insects that she could study. He also had an affinity for science where Tyler had an affinity for sports. In the short time Grey had been reading, he could see the gradual transformation into a crush.
    According to her words, it didn’t bother her that Dawson didn’t seem as interested in spending more time with her. Even at her young