Snapshot

They found her the day after it happened. The woods were swarming with search parties. Half of the teenagers who had been at that party, volunteered like good little kiddies when they heard the shocking news. The news spread like wildfire on Twitter, i********:, Tumblr and eventually, much to their horror- f*******:. "No mom, of course, I wasn't at that party. There was drinking at that party." Clara Dennings was missing. And the whole town pitched up to show their support. Her father was the sheriff, after all. And at the center of it all were her best friends. It was such a heart-warming show of support. Everyone was so concerned. But not too concerned, after all, Clara was seen hanging around that group of misfits lately. No-one was concerned until the unthinkable happened. The newspaper was on everybody's doorstep before the autopsy was even complete. Local Teenage Girl Slain. Who even says slain anymore? Clara's friends were hauled in. One by one. And then the alibis started falling apart. Friends turned on each other. Shocked and mortified parents approached the police station, then took their shame-faced kids home for a stern talking to. Sheriff Dennings and his deputy, Officer Alvarez, spared no tactic. Just because they were small-town cops, didn't mean they didn't know how to grill a couple of teenagers. In fact, it was their specialty. At first, all the teens had a different story. Then, as they were threatened with a jail sentence, they all spilled the truth. Clara had been acting different lately. She had been hanging with a new crowd. She had started saying things, crazy things. Clara hadn't been herself lately. Sheriff Dennings would not believe it at first, his precious little girl seemed fine to him. But as all the teenagers came forward with the same story, he had no choice but to accept the truth. Maybe he did not know her as well as he thought he did. Her tear-streaked best friends tearfully told the sheriff that they hadn't even seen her for weeks now. Ever since the last week before school started. No, not last week, summer vacation. Yes, that long. No, they didn't know why. Sheriff Dennings was mortified by their admission. He loved Clara's old friends. They were from good families. They got good grades. The thing that he did not understand was that looking good and being good were two different things. But he had not learned that lesson yet, and probably never would. Slowly, the spotlight turned to Clara's new friends. The Cedar Lane Squad. It was one of those names they'd picked out for themselves in primary school, and because it was a small town, no-one ever let them forget their youthful mistakes. In a small town, there is always that one group of children that everyone is worried about. Parents talk about them in hushed whispers, the other children avoid them. Those children are probably the most well-adjusted. The grieving sheriff, who really should not have been working the case, called them in to be questioned. First, he called Jeremy Sherman. This is significant because he had already been questioned, the Daily Review noted. The Daily review was the town's newspaper. Yes, the name had already been taken when they chose it. They just decided to put their own spin on it. The editor was from the big city, and everything she said was taken as gospel truth. In the city she was nothing, but here everyone loved her. Which is probably why she got a free pass on most things, like bending the truth and snooping in the sheriff's office. Jeremy Sherman was of note because he was Clara's boyfriend. Her first-love boyfriend. He played soccer sometimes. A good kid, but let's face it- he was only special because his parents had money, lots of it. He threw the best parties, and he was very popular. He wasn't the most popular guy in school, and this was largely since there is no such thing as "the most popular guy in school" and secondly because he spent most of his time with people who used to call themselves "The Cedar Lane Squad". Next, they called in Alexandria "Lexi" Behan. Lexi was bad-tempered and had an issue with authority. She also wore fishnet stockings and dyed her hair blue. The Daily Review called her "troubled". Honey, they had no idea. After being thoroughly cussed out by Lexi, they called in Nigel Ashcroft. Nigel had ginger hair, always wore tailored suits and went to the nearby preparatory school. In fact, he had been classmates with Jeremy before he was expelled for something that the prep school wasn't at liberty to comment on. Nigel, however, wasn't expelled and got excellent grades. He didn't stay in the sheriff's office for long. The family lawyer was there before he was. And finally, they called in Avery Haynes. Their mistake was calling her last. They should have called her in first. This was their first mistake in a police case riddled with errors. Avery was a troubled girl. Not troubled in the way that Lexi was. No, Avery was a quiet girl who was used to being at the center of attention. Not for anything that she did, but rather because of who she was. Her mother was a flighty waitress who abandoned her family for a biker she had known for a month. No-one was surprised. But they were surprised when her father, Mrs. Sherman's brother, was arrested for gang activity. Avery was paying for the sins of her parents, and now she would probably have to pay for Clara's sins too. To find out what really happened to Clara Dennings, you need to keep a careful eye on Avery Haynes. The police didn't catch on quick enough, and they really should have. Maybe you will. You see, Avery is special because she is the only one who might know what really happened that night. Avery is also the girl who took the last picture Clara Dennings would ever be in. Avery is the first person who saw Clara's body. It's just that not everyone knows that yet.