Lies Left Unsaid

Detective Brandon

I couldn't believe that little shit Martìnez asked that question to the parents. What was he thinking? Now they were going to lawyer up and we wouldn't get a single piece of useful information out of them! I gave him a good talking to once we left Phillip and Vivian's home, but I could see in his eyes he was the type that was going to do what he wanted, when he wanted. This case had the potential to be huge for my career. It was the kind of case that only came along once in a lifetime and depending on how it was handled, it could define or taint my entire career. I wasn't going to let his punk ass destroy my reputation.

The interview with Caitlyn's parents had been less than informative. The picture they painted of Caitlyn was one of perfection, but if there was one thing I knew about perfection, it was that it didn't exist. Being perfect is dangerous because it's hard to maintain. Perfection can easily be shattered and when you're at the top, it's a long fall to the bottom.

Caitlyn's parents were rather tight lipped and conservative in their answers. They were clearly holding something back, but that didn't mean Martìnez needed to call them out on it. It was generally my opinion, that if things look too good to be true, they usually are. Not that they were the first family in Highland Park to be putting up a front. The town was filled with wealthy families whose full time jobs were to maintain appearances. Caitlyn's family though was different than most, in that, both her parents worked. Being a stay at home mom wasn't a luxury in this town. It was a common occurrence, and given the size of the Coates' home, and the expensive furnishings inside, it piqued my interest that Vivian worked not only full time, but late at night. She either took great pride in her work or she was avoiding coming home. But why? Was she lonely at the house with Phillip traveling frequently? Was the pressure of taking care of two teenage girls too much for her to handle, or was there something more macabre at play? Phillip wasn't around a lot, but when he was, what was it like? Was he abusive to Vivian, or perhaps to the girls as well? Was that why they were trying to keep the younger sister away, so she wouldn't tell?

There were too many unanswered questions, and thanks to Martìnez's brazenness, it was unlikely I was going to find the answers simply by interrogating the parents again. Since we didn't get much out of Phillip and Vivian, and probably wouldn't ever again, I was hoping we could find some answers by interviewing the students at Highland Park High and Caitlyn's friends, or friend, I should say. If Caitlyn was, in fact, as popular as the news outlets and her Facebook page made you want to believe, then why did she have just one close friend?

There was only one way to find out. We were heading to the school the next day to do interviews with some of the students and I told Martìnez that this time, he better keep his trap shut. To my astonishment, he actually listened.