Precious shrugged. “I don’t know. Just grew apart, I guess. Pete’s doing a master’s but Kee decided to start work. Or, had to. Wasn’t like she could afford to get herself in even more student debt.”
Nate nodded sympathetically. “What about others?” Nate asked. “Was she back on the dating scene already? Was there maybe someone from before? Someone she’d grown interested in, or who had an interest in her that she didn’t return?” Laura could feel him digging for information about the potential idea of Kenya having cheated on her boyfriend, but he couldn’t come out and say it. Not to Precious. She would probably explode.
“No, there wasn’t anyone,” Precious said. “Kee and Pete have been a thing since forever. Since high school. She never got interested in anyone else and she kept her head down at college. They both went to the local college here, so she was with him all the time. Not like she was going to meet anyone else with him watching.”
Laura made a mental note of the language, the way Precious said it. Was it just that her sister was a good girl, the kind who would never dream of cheating on a partner because it would hurt them? Or was she saying that Pete was controlling, that he wouldn’t let Kenya out of his sight and got jealous if she spoke to other men? That was something to explore when they spoke to him later.
“Any disputes with friends lately? Or colleagues, at the office? Did she fall out with anyone?” Nate asked, checking off all the usual questions.
“No,” Precious shrugged. “It’s stupid. Kee always kept herself to herself. She was quiet. She didn’t interfere in things that were none of her business, not like other people do. She didn’t get into conflict. She would much rather just accept whatever someone else wanted and give in. She wouldn’t get involved in office politics or fall out with a friend – that just wasn’t what she was like.”
Nate glanced up at Laura, checking whether she had any further questions. Laura shook her head slightly. They weren’t getting a great deal of information here. It would have been ideal to hear from all members of the family, to get more insights, but Precious was the only one who was keeping it together enough to talk. Her answers were still leaning more on the verge of hostile, too, even if she was cooperating for now.
It would probably be better to come back here later if they hit a brick wall or needed more information to back up a theory.
“Alright,” Nate said. He drew out a business card from his pocket and held it out to Precious, who took it cautiously as if expecting it to burst into flames. “We’ve got a lot of different avenues to chase down, so we’re going to get moving again now and get this investigation as far as we possibly can. We’ll be likely to come back and speak to you again, but in the meantime, if you think of absolutely anything that might be relevant – just give me a call. Any time. Anything. Even if it’s so small you’re not sure if it might be important, I want to know about it. Deal?”
Precious paused a second, then nodded once. “Alright.”
It wasn’t quite a promise, but it was enough.
Nate stood, nodding acknowledgement to the cop who had been left to look after the family and then turning to Laura. She murmured a goodbye and a sorry to the family as a whole and followed him out, waiting until the front door of the house closed behind them to speak again.
“So,” she said. “To Pete Yalling?”
“To Pete Yalling,” Nate confirmed with a grim nod, because both of them knew that when it came to young women, a boyfriend or ex was usually the strongest suspect they would have.