Then I saw Daniel walking beside a girl. For a moment, I didn’t recognize her. Then she glanced over her shoulder, and I got a clearer look at her face.
“Maya,” I whispered.
Maya had visited Daniel a handful of times. Quiet girl. Polite in a way that seemed careful.
I saw Daniel walking beside a girl.
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In the video, they walked through the gate and toward the bus stop. They got on a city bus together, and then they were gone.
“I need to speak to Maya.” I turned to the principal. “Can I?”
“Maya doesn’t attend this school anymore.” She gestured to the video. “She transferred suddenly. That was her last day here.”
I drove straight to Maya’s house.
A man answered the door.
“That was her last day here.”
“Can I please see Maya? She was with my son the day he went missing. I need to know if he said anything to her.”
He frowned at me for a long moment. Then something in his face seemed to close off.