I’m really glad I’m going to this debate after school. I wanted to see Liam perform. That was the reason I told him I wanted to come. And I meant it. But now I’ve got a new, more important reason for going.
I’ve got to figure out who Olivia is.
And I’ve got to keep something terrible from happening to her.
Chapter 4
Transcript of police interview with Sharon Anderson:
“Can you tell me how you know Liam Cass?”
“He attended kindergarten at the school where I work as principal.”
“For how long did he attend?”
“About four months.”
“And this was eleven years ago?”
“That’s correct.”
“So you still remember a child who attended your school for four months over a decade ago?”
“Yes. I remember Liam. Very well.”
“And what was your impression of him?”
“At first? He seemed like a great kid. Real cute. Smart—certainly the smartest kid in the grade. I remember he got up during assembly and gave this long speech he memorized. I couldn’t believe a kindergartner could remember all that. I was impressed.”
“How come he only attended the school for four months? Isn’t the school year nine months long?”
“Liam was… expelled.”
“A kindergartner was expelled?”
“It’s unusual. But the circumstances called for it.”
“I see. And why was that?”
“There was an incident.”
“Can you describe the incident to me?”
“Yes…”
“Will you please describe the incident, Mrs. Anderson?”
“It was… there was a girl…”
“Yes…？”
“Well, she and Liam were friends. They often played together at recess, or so his teacher told me later. And then one day during recess, the girl… disappeared.”
“I see. And did they find her?”
“Yes. They did. And she was… fine.”
“Where did they find her?”
“Does this have to do with that girl from the high school? The one who…？”
“I’m afraid we can’t discuss it at this time.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. But do you think Liam is the one who…？”
“Once again, Mrs. Anderson, this is not something I can discuss.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
“Now can you tell me where they found this girl?”
“So… the story I was told is that Liam and the little girl were playing janitor. They sneaked away and went to the custodial closet during recess. It seems she was quite infatuated with Liam and he talked her into it.”
“And what happened in the custodial closet?”
“They found a roll of duct tape. And they were playing with it.”
“How were they playing with it?”
“…”
“Mrs. Anderson?”
“I’m sorry. It was just… so shocking. I still can’t get over it. That a kindergartner would…”
“Would what?”
“He convinced her to let him bind her wrists with the duct tape. Then he put tape over her mouth. And then…”
“Yes…？”
“Well, we’re not sure what he did next. The one thing we know for sure is he locked her in the closet and walked away. And even when she was noticed to be missing and teachers were looking for her, he didn’t tell anyone where she was. It was several hours later when we finally found her—she was bound on the floor of the closet and refused to speak to anyone. For days, actually.”
“What do you think he did?”
“I don’t know. He was just a little boy. It’s hard to imagine he could have done anything that bad, but the look in that girl’s eyes when we found her…”
“I see.”
“Of course, her parents were hysterical. And given everything that happened, we had no choice but to expel Liam from the school.”
“When you confronted him about what he did, how did he react?”
“He apologized. Of course he did. He claimed it was all just a fun game and she had agreed to it. He even cried. But…”
“But what?”
“But I never believed him. Even when he was sobbing in my office, it seemed incredibly fake. I don’t think he was sorry at all. Not even a little bit. The only thing I think he was sorry about was that we found her.”
Chapter 5