Page 33 of Villainous Mind

He shook his head.

“Were you a friend of Bryn’s? I noticed you back at her house.”

“Yes. I’m her boyfriend. This was where the bus would pick her up.”

“Do you think she ran away?”

He looked at me, running his hand through a mop of sandy brown hair.

“I’m sorry,” I corrected myself. “My name is Navy Bardot. I’m a reporter.” I offered him my hand to shake.

Taking it, he said, “Sian Lewis. She didn’t run away. She wouldn’t do something like that. She wouldn’t do that to her father or me.”

“So, you think she was taken against her will.”

“I know she was, and the police don’t care,” he seethed. “If her family were rich like Mary’s, they would take it seriously.”

“How long have you known Bryn?”

“My whole life. We went to school together. I left when I was sixteen to work at my parent’s restaurant. I never did my A levels. But Bryn is smart. She can go places. We’ve been dating for the past three years,” he said.

“And she never talked about wanting to leave?”

“No. I talked to her yesterday morning. She was headed to the bus stop, and we made plans to see each other when she got out of school in the afternoon.”

“Did you see the letter she wrote?”

He nodded. “It didn’t sound like her.”

“How so?”

“She kept stating she was depressed and tired of being a burden on everyone, so she was leaving and not to come looking for her.”

“Was she depressed?”

“No, she was better.”

I tilted my head in question.

“When her mom died last year, she was sad. Very sad and she would cry a lot, grief will do that to you. But she started seeing the school counselor, and she got better. We even discussed getting married after she graduated. Are you going to print any of this?” he sounded so forlorn.

“No.” I couldn’t be much older than him and could see how much pain he was in.

“Do you believe me?”

“I believe there is more to the story, and we should keep looking,” I said. “I’m sorry Sian. Truly, I am.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll give you my card,” I said, rummaging through my purse and handing him one. “And if you think of anything else or need someone to talk to, please call me. I promise to keep asking questions and see what I can find out.”

“Thank you, miss,” he said.

“Bye, Sian.”

“Bye.”

I walked back to the village with more questions than I had answers but of one thing I was certain.