Echoes Of The Past by Gabby Black

Author:Gabby Black [Black, Gabby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

I threw open the doors of the library in unbridled enthusiasm. “Explain.”

Wren’s head popped up from where he’d been reshelving books. His face split into a grin and he carried the remainder of the books over to the desk. “The key was going through the older messages and comparing them to the other profile we found for Aleigha.”

He beckoned me forward to meet him behind the desk. As I got closer, I could see tabs were already open, displaying both social media pages.

“Okay, so I looked into the older messages and found something really interesting. First of all, her grammar.”

“Her grammar?” I asked doubtfully.

“Yeah, it sounds like a small thing but everyone has a way they talk or write on social media. The messages and post captions didn’t match the grammar I was seeing on the other profile. Little things, but they piqued my interest. And the people she was talking to don’t match her friends list on the other profile. In fact, it seems entirely random. Lili is on here, as well as several other prominent members of the community.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“I highly believe this profile is a catfish. Aleigha was never running it. We have an impostor in our midst, it would seem.”

I blew out a long breath. “So, one lead closes, opening another one. Any idea who might be the catfish?”

Wren shrugged, a little dejectedly. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to determine that. The email address that’s attached to the account gives no clues to an identity and it doesn’t look like they ever revealed themselves.” He brightened slightly. “But, I think the best thing to do is start with the first person they contacted.”

“Why is that important?”

Wren scrolled further down the page and clicked on the message. “Well, for starters. It’s the earliest message by far. The other messages didn’t start until a month later. And secondly, the, uh… messages are enlightening.”

“Do tell.”

“She was messaging Preston Scott. Really flirty stuff.”

I frowned, not seeing the significance. “So, the catfish was catfishing. What’s so unusual about that?”

Wren leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Preston Scott—boyfriend of one Margery Morgenstern. At the time, anyway. I think they’ve since broken up. No great loss for Margery, apparently.”

My eyes widened. “The sister?”

He nodded, turning back to the messages. “The very same. And judging from the messages the boyfriend was sending, she had a bit of trouble in paradise. He was not exactly the faithful sort.”

“And he thought this was Margery’s sister? That’s sick.”

Wren shrugged. “Teenage hormones, douchebag culture. Take your pick. The fact is, cheating is kind of commonplace in this town. There’s a running joke that everyone goes to school together, dates everyone, cheats, grows up, marries, rinse, repeat.”

“Ew.”

“I know. It’s not exactly advertised in our brochure. But it is what it is.”

I read some of the messages over Wren’s shoulder and frowned. “These messages drop off, just like the ones with Michael. Perhaps our catfish got cold feet.” I reached the end of the message thread and sighed, “Right around the time Preston suggested a midnight tryst.

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