Athletic Director Robert Stricker was standing near the entrance to the gym when I arrived at the high school. He raised his eyebrows. “Wasn’t sure if you were coming tonight.”
“I told Kelly I’d be here,” I said. “You seen her yet?”
He tilted his head back toward the locker room. “She’s been here for awhile.” He held a hand up and waved at someone as they passed in behind us. “Anything on the Jordan girl?”
“Nothing right now.”
“Her father driving you nuts?”
“He’s just worried about his kid.”
Stricker nodded. “Understandable.”
“You think of anybody, anybody here at the school who might know something?” I asked him. “Someone who you saw her with that seemed out of the ordinary?”
“Why?”
“She just had some things going on in her life that were definitely not ordinary,” I explained. “I’m just wondering if there was a connection here or if it was all outside of school.”
“Not ordinary how?”
“I can’t really say right now,” I said.
He nodded, then shrugged his large shoulders. “I can’t recall seeing her with anyone other than her boyfriend and teammates. Pretty tight group, you know?”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks. I’m gonna go find Kelly.”
“Good luck tonight.”
“You said she was in the locker room, right?”
He smiled. “I meant good luck with the game.”
“Oh. Right. Thanks.”
I saw Megan entering through the far door at the end of the hall and hustled to catch her before she entered the locker room. She saw me coming, gave a half-wave, took a step as if she was unsure of what to do, then waited on me.
“Hey, Coach,” she said.
“Hi Megan. You alright?”
“Yeah, sure. Why?”
“Just asking.”
I wasn’t just asking. Megan was normally as laid back as was humanly possible while being awake. But her shoulders were bunched, there was no smile on her face and she was clutching her backpack like her hand was glued to it. The tension in her face, body and actions was tangible.
“You hear anything from Meredith?” I asked.
She looked down at her shoes and shook her head. “Nope.”
“You sure?”
Her head snapped up, her eyes now filled with something other than tension. “What? I mean, yes I’m sure. I haven’t seen her.”
“Talked to her?”
Color flushed in her face. “No. Why?”
Going through Meredith’s phone records had shown me more than a couple of unidentified phone numbers. Every day, without exception, Meredith and Megan spoke by phone and texted one another, to the point that it was unnecessary to count how many times. Sorting the calls and text messages by the hour would’ve been more effective. I knew they were good friends, but those phone records demonstrated how close they were. I was no longer buying the idea that Megan didn’t know what was going on in Meredith’s life.
“You told me the rumor about Meredith being a hooker,” I said. “Why?”
She pulled harder on the backpack and licked her lips. “Because I thought it might help.”
“No. You knew it wasn’t a rumor. Meredith was involved in prostitution and you knew.”
The pink in her cheeks glowed into a red. “Why would I do that?”
Goose bumps popped on the back of my neck, as I felt like I was getting close. “Because you wanted to help her. You didn’t want to come straight out with it and betray her. I get that. So you fed it to me as if it was a rumor so I’d look at it. I know what she was doing, Megan. And so do you.”
She’d slipped a fingernail into her mouth and was gnawing on it, her eyes darting from me to her feet and back again. She looked to me as if she was trying to make a decision. I stayed quiet and let her make it.
“Can we talk after the game?” she finally asked.
“I don’t wanna wait, Megan,” I said. “Meredith’s been gone too long and I don’t want to waste anymore time.”
She mumbled something, but I couldn’t understand her.
“What?”
“She’s alright,” she whispered.
“You’ve talked to her?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
The goosebumps popped harder and my heart rate spiked. “Do you know where she is?”
She started to say something, then glanced over my shoulder and something in her expression changed.
I turned and followed her gaze. Kelly Rundles was talking to Stricker at the other end of the hall. She looked up and waved. I waved back.
“After the game,” Megan said quickly. “Not now. We can’t do it now.”
I turned back to her. “Why?”
She started backing away from me, toward the locker room. “After the game. Meet me on the other side of campus, near the admin building.”
“Megan, come on,” I said. “Talk to me.”
“After the game,” she repeated. “Just trust me, please. And don’t tell anyone yet. Please. Don’t tell anyone.”
I didn’t want to let her go, but there was something in her voice and in her face that made me realize I didn’t have a choice. And I didn’t want to push her to the point that I lost her. Plus, I knew I’d be sitting on the bench and she wouldn’t be out of my sight for the next two hours.
I nodded in her direction.
The tension drained out of her face and something close to a smile found it’s way into her expression as she disappeared into the locker room.