Page 9 of You'll Be Sorry

Again, Mandy didn’t disagree.

“But they never found so much as a sock, hair clip, wristwatch?” Theo mused.

She shook her head.

“Did they ever test the blood?”

Raquel’s question was so abrupt, it caught Mandy off guard. For a moment, her mind blanked, her expression slipped. Well played. If only Mandy understood the exact nature of the game. Because it felt to her as if there was something more driving this seemingly polite Q and A; she just didn’t know what.

She fell back onto one of her father’s tricks, stretching out the moment, slowing the other party’s momentum. She leaned forward in her chair, planted her elbows on her thighs and regarded Raquel and Theo thoughtfully.

“Lotta money in true crime,” she commented at last, doing somefishing of her own. “And alleged paranormal activity slash unsolved mysteries. If you were going to turn this place into a B and B, not a bad business plan.”

“This is our home now,” Raquel countered coolly. “What happened here thirty years ago is a bit more personal than a marketing hook.”

Mandy cocked her head to the side, studied her hosts intently.

“Blood from the footprints was collected and tested,” Mandy allowed, as that was public knowledge.

“DNA results?” Theo.

“Inconclusive.”

“DNA has come a long way since the late nineties.” Raquel exchanged a glance with her husband. “Even if they didn’t get any hits before, I imagine there’s more that could be learned now.”

“Does the town, or would it be the state, still have samples in storage?” Theo asked.

Mandy shrugged. “The attorney general’s office has a cold case unit. I’d start by contacting them.”

Another silent marital exchange.

“What about you?” Theo returned his focus to her, working that grin. “You grew up in this town, with your neighbors gossiping, your father investigating. Must’ve felt for a while that everything came back to that one night, that one family. I bet you have some theories about the Dixons’ vanishing act.”

“Do you believe they’re dead?” Raquel pushed, voice softer.

Mandy genuinely couldn’t answer that question. Her father had never been able to make such a statement. And maybe because of that, even now, the words remained stuck in her throat.

“I think…” She paused, convinced this conversation within a conversation had gone on long enough. “I think we still have no idea what happened that night. But logically, if no trace of a single family member has been found after all this time…”

“The family died that night.” Raquel. “Meaning…”

“Someone in this town got away with murder? Plenty around here have definitely wondered. And on that note”—Mandy rose to standing, placed her hat squarely on her head—“welcome to the neighborhood.”

3

You okay?” Theo put his arm around Raquel’s shoulders as they watched the new Chief Grady drive off in a whirl of dead leaves. Theo was good like that.

“Of course.”

“In other words, no.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, a peace offering. He squeezed her lightly. “Do you think we’re done with visitors for the day?”

“Is there anyone in town left?”

A smile. “What would you like to do now?”

She considered the options. “Couple of hours of daylight left.”