Chapter 115

Zoey didn't beat around the bush. "Do you know about Faye being raped?"

Rilla's eyes widened in shock. "She never told me. How could that have happened? By who?"

"Who do you think might be connected to her death?" Zoey added.

Rilla shook her head. "I have no idea. Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you cops be handling this?"

"Besides Sadie, she spent the most time with you. When she came to hear your stories, did she ever hint at anything? Was she in a bad mood recently? Did she have any problems?"

Rilla's lips twisted into a strange smile at Zoey's questions.

Zoey wasn't sure if she was imagining things.

Rilla stared at Zoey, unsure of what to say. "I really don't know. If I had noticed anything, I would have comforted her right away. When they listened to my stories, they just listened quietly, never interrupting. But they often said, 'If only we could enter the world of the story.'"

Even if they hadn't read "Little Women," they probably knew a bit about it.

It was a story about a few tenacious women.

Alexander found it hard to connect "Little Women" with their desire to enter the story's world.

He asked, "Which part did you tell them? I'll look into it. Why would they want to go into the book's world?"

Rilla understood Alexander's point, a fleeting look of despair crossing her eyes. "Where else is not good besides Willowbrook Village?"

Alexander understood that it was about the old-fashioned views and customs that placed men above women, which were difficult to accept.

"Yeah. I get what you're saying." Zoey was about to open the copy of "Little Women" on the table when her phone buzzed.

She picked it up and saw a message from Robert.

"Officer Davis says she found Haven's phone location!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Zoey at that moment.

Compared to Alexander and Jordan, Rilla's reaction was extremely intense. "What? You found Haven?"

Zoey glanced at her calmly. "We found Haven's phone location, not Haven herself."

Rilla visibly grew more agitated. "Where is Haven?"

Her current agitation was a stark contrast to her previous calm demeanor.

Everyone looked at her with a bit of surprise, wondering if Rilla was really so close to Haven.

Zoey observed her expression closely, then put her phone away, addressing Rilla with a flat tone. "Sorry, this is a police matter. I can't share it with unrelated people."

"Haven is my friend! My only best friend for so many years. At least in my heart, I consider her my best friend. I've been worried about her for so long. I hope you can tell me."

"Enough with the fake concern."

"I'm not being fake!"

Zoey continued, "If you're not, why didn't you report it when your so-called best friend went missing?"

"I did report it!" Rilla's voice was full of anger. "It was Hugh! He told the cops I was crazy, said Haven took his money and left. The cops believed him, not me. They wouldn't file a report. What could I do?"

Mentioning Haven seemed to pull Rilla back into the past.

Her face was filled with hatred, worry, and reluctance. "Where is she? Please, tell me where Haven is!"

The more anxious Rilla got, the more satisfied Zoey felt.

People would reveal their true selves when they were desperate.

Zoey smiled slowly, locking eyes with Rilla. "You want to know about Haven? I can tell you. But I'm a cop. If I leak important information, I'll get in trouble. And I'm just an intern..."

Zoey paused deliberately.

Seeing Rilla trying to appeal to Alexander and Jordan, she brought the topic back. "Don't bother looking at them. They're interns too."

Rilla was speechless.

"But I'm braver than them. I'm not afraid of getting in trouble. But you can't expect me to do something for nothing. How about this: I'll tell you about Haven, and you give us the information we need in return." Zoey scrutinized her, speaking slowly. "Rilla, you're smart. In a place like Willowbrook Village, you should know what I want."

Rilla's agitation calmed down because of Zoey's words, but her furrowed brows didn't relax.

Zoey gave her a few seconds, but Rilla didn't seem inclined to speak.

She looked at Alexander and Jordan, waving her hand. "Let's give her some time to think. I don't like forcing people."

After the three of them left, Rilla remained standing there, motionless.

At that moment, no one but herself knew what she was thinking.

Jordan and Alexander had walked a bit away from Rilla's house when Jordan couldn't hold back any longer and asked Zoey, "Where did you find it?"

"We didn't."

"What?"

"You just said..."

Zoey was unapologetic. "I lied to her."

Jordan was stunned.

Zoey thought Jordan was a bit naive. "If there was news, Officer Davis would have posted it in the group. There's no way she'd send it just to me." Even if it was posted in the group, she'd be the last to get it.

Her old phone wasn't capable of receiving messages promptly.

Alexander was used to Zoey's tactics and just smiled quietly.

As if on cue, Zoey had just finished speaking when a message popped up in the group chat. It was from Robert: [Found Haven's phone location at Hugh's house!]

"Hugh's house?" Jordan looked at the two in surprise. "No way she left without her phone, right? Could Ava have taken it? What a terrible person."

"Let's go check it out and see what's going on."

When they arrived at Hugh's house, Robert and the rest of the crime team were questioning Ava at the door.

They were about six hundred feet away when they heard Ava's voice. "You think you can just search my house? Why? You took my son without reason, and now you want to search my home? What did we do to deserve this? And who is Haven anyway? I forgot about her long ago. It's been years. What can you find now? Our family doesn't care about her anymore. Shouldn't you be searching her place instead?"