What She Left Behind ✔️

chapter nineteen

"It can't be gone." Levi pours himself a glass of water as I empty my purse for the hundredth time in forty-eight hours. "You said you had it at dinner, right?"

"Yep."

"Did it fall out?"

"I scoured the whole house. It's not there."

He bites his bottom lip. "Maybe it accidentally ended up outside or something?"

"I don't know, Levi! It was in my purse, and now it's missing." I discard my bag onto the floor and kick it across the kitchen. "It doesn't make sense. I've had that thing for months, and I've never lost it, yet the day Carla shows up, I just so happen to misplace it? I want to chalk it up to a coincidence, but—"

"But it seems like there was foul play involved. I see what you're getting at," Levi finishes. "After Carla barged into the house, what did she say?"

"Just that she wanted Evangeline. She said they belonged together because they were family."

"Did she say anything else? Anything that would link her to the videos on the drive?"

"Actually, yeah. She and Raelyn reconnected via skype, and I guess Raelyn would sometimes send her 'adorable' video updates about her life."

"Maybe some of those updates weren't so adorable," he suggests. "Maybe Raelyn said something that Carla wouldn't want anyone else to hear."

"Yeah, except how would she know I had the flash drive?" I inquire. "And how would she be able to break into my parent's house, snatch it from my purse, and then leave without anyone noticing?"

"Maybe she had some inside help," he says.

I frown. "Are you implying that someone in my family might have stolen the drive?"

"Or Alyx. You told me you got weird vibes from her."

"Alyx is harmless. The only weird thing about her is her uncanny resemblance to Raelyn."

"Then what about Bowie?"

My jaw drops. "Bowie? He wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I know, but he had a meltdown at Raelyn's funeral, and then he dropped out of college, like, two weeks after she died," he reminds me. "Even you didn't see that coming."

"No one did," I reply. "Look, I see the weirdness, but that doesn't make him a thief."

He smirks. "Then what? Was Golden Boy Benson rifling through your purse? Perhaps your parents have developed a case of kleptomania!"

I roll my eyes. "Very funny."

"Talk to Bowie." His face is vacant of all humor. "I'm not trying to accuse him of anything, but out of everyone in your family, you spend the most time with him. Maybe he saw the flash drive and took it without thinking."

"Even if he took it, I doubt it's because he's in cahoots with Carla," I respond, bending over to grab my empty purse off the floor. I refill it with the essentials and place it over my shoulder. "I'm going to head over there now. I promised Evangeline I'd stop by, anyway."

Levi smiles. "I think it's cute how you're bonding with her. I mean, it took you long enough, but it's still cute."

"I should have made an effort to be a part of Evangeline's life when Raelyn was alive," I admit. "What is it they say about hindsight?"

"That it's a bitch?"

"No, I think that's karma."

"Well, hindsight's a bitch, too," he says, glancing at his phone. "Shoot! I'm gonna be late for work." He downs the rest of his water, grabs his coat off the back of a kitchen chair, and runs for the door. "Love you! See you later!"