Excerpt: What Verina Did

“What… This can’t be…” The distraught mother stumbled over the sentence, the paper trembling in her hand. “Why are you showing me this?”

Detective Kiner held back a sigh. Mothers in denial were his worst nightmare. “Ma’am, this is the last entry in your daughter’s diary. We believe this may have something to do with her death.” He covered a wince as Mrs. Kent choked on a sob. He cleared his throat. “Do you have any idea who these two people she is talking about might be?”

“A diary… I never knew. She didn’t even have one as a little girl.” Tears were welling now. “You found this when… when you searched her room?”

“It was on her computer, ma’am. Fairly well hidden. She didn’t want you to know.” Two tears spilled from Mrs. Kent’s widening eyes. “Not that most daughters do. It’s just that age they’re at. Please don’t take it personal, ma’am.” Kiner released a silent breath of relief as she regained her composure most admirably. “But about the man and woman, ma’am…”

With a sharp sniff, she looked the paper over again, shaking her head slowly. “I don’t know, Officer.” Kiner quietly gritted his teeth. “I am sorry.”

“Thank you, ma’am. If you could tell your husband?” The callow man was already back at work two days after his daughter’s brutal murder.

She nodded sadly. “Of course. But I don’t understand. She was such a good girl…”