Page 87 of The Sleeping Girls

“Derrick, I just listened to an interview Ms. O’Connor recorded with Darnell.”

Derrick looked up from the police report. “And?”

“He told her he heard a noise and got up to check. He thought it might be the mother returning. That he saw a shadow and thought someone was in her room and he blacked out for a minute. His father’s shouts brought him back and he saw the pillow in his hands.”

“The prison counselor said he made contradictory statements in his sessions with her.”

Ellie angled her head toward Heath. “What happened with your mother, Landrum?”

Anguish darkened the deputy’s eyes. “I don’t know. She just ran off one day. Dad said she left a note.”

“Had your mother ever left before?”

Heath shrugged. “A couple of times after they had a fight.”

“What did they fight about?” Ellie asked.

Heath rubbed his temple. “Normal stuff. Mom accused Dad of being too tough on Darnell.”

“Was he?”

“Yeah,” Heath admitted. “Anna Marie was definitely his favorite.”

“But if your mother defended Darnell, why would she leave the family?” Ellie asked.

Heath twisted his mouth in thought. “Like I said, I don’t know. Before, she’d be gone for a night or two, but she always came back.”

“Did your father look for her?”

“He called her, but she didn’t answer. Then Anna Marie died, and he fell into a deep depression and refused to talk about her again. Said she was dead to us.”

Ellie frowned at the wording. He’d used the same phrase about Darnell when he went to prison.

Derrick raised a brow. “I may have found something in the police report and trial transcripts.”

Hope sparked in Ellie’s mind. “What?”

“Police canvassed three neighbors who claim not to have heard anything the night of Anna Marie’s death. But one said she noticed a black car drive by the house several times that week and thought a squatter had been staying in the abandoned place next door.”

“What?” Landrum asked. “I don’t remember that.”

“You were what? Eleven at the time?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah, but if there was someone stalking Anna Marie, the police should have looked for them.”

“Did they?” Ellie asked.

Derrick shook his head. “There’s no mention of it. But he could have been a person of interest.”

The hair on the back of Ellie’s neck prickled. “Officer Traylor dropped the ball.”

“He thought he had a confession,” Derrick said with derision.

“And he never looked any further.” Ellie understood now the O’Connor woman’s interest in the case.

“Is his name listed?” Ellie asked.

“No. But if he was a squatter or drifter, once the news hit the media, he could have skipped town.”