Pretty Little Killers (24 page)

“This was supposed to be about Skylar,” Mary said, still angry, “but you two are acting like it's all about you.”

“Is she mad at me?” Shelia asked Shania.

“Oh, yeah. She's pissed. I don't think she believes you.”

“About what?”

“She thinks you're not telling her something. But you are, right?”

“Mary doesn't believe me?”

“I don't think so,” Shania said. “Look, Shelia, you can't lie. Just tell Mary anything you know. Now.”

Shelia completely lost it, sobbing into the phone she wasn't lying and Mary had to believe her. She
had to
.

Shania held the phone away from her ear and everyone heard Shelia: “I've got to talk to her. She has to know I'm not lying.”

“She wants to talk to you.” Shania reached toward Mary, who snatched the phone.

“I know when you're lying. I helped cover for you too much, remember?” Mary said, referring to all the times she had tried to save Shelia from punishment.

Shelia continued to sob.

“Remember? I know when you're lying,” Mary repeated.

“Please, Mary! Please!” Shelia pleaded through sobs. “You have got to believe me!”

“Why should I?” Mary was beyond disgust. “Would
you
believe you?”

There was a pause, then Shelia sniffed and murmured a word Mary thought sounded like, “No.”

twenty

Facebook Friction

Across town, someone else
was growing suspicious, too. The boy with the blond curls was one of Skylar's closest confidants—and vice versa. Although it's true Skylar didn't share much with anyone, if she did have something important to reveal, Daniel was one of the few people she would confide in.

Soft-spoken, with a pleasant and easy manner, Daniel really
sees
the people around him. He is wary with strangers but reveals an impish side once he feels comfortable.

Daniel knew he could trust Skylar with his deepest secrets so he came out as gay to her before he told anyone else. All his fears about revealing such a personal detail in a small town vanished when Skylar responded with love and unconditional acceptance.

In February of their sophomore year, Skylar had gotten Daniel a job at Wendy's. He tended to goof off at work, snapping photos and clowning around, while Skylar was all business. She was more committed in her academic life as well, but Daniel didn't mind. At that point he wasn't serious about much of anything.

That all changed after Skylar disappeared. Daniel became obsessed with one tremendously important matter—figuring out what had happened to his dear friend. Daniel began to reason that
since Shelia and Rachel were the last two people to see Skylar, they had to know something. Skylar had said something, done something, texted someone, while she was joyriding with them. Daniel wasn't sure what they knew, but he planned to find out.

When he looked back on all their time together, Daniel began to remember small details he had noticed in the months leading up to Skylar's disappearance—tidbits about the three girls' behavior strange enough to get stuck inside his mind. These details haunted him and his close proximity to Rachel provided his suspicions with an easy target.

Having a goal for the first time in his life gave Daniel focus and drive. He vowed he would not give up until Rachel Shoaf came clean.

By the time Skylar had been gone a month, the rumors were out of control, both in real time and online. Some Morgantown teenagers believed Skylar was off partying and would be back soon. Many adults thought this, too. But the peers who knew her best were highly doubtful—such cavalier behavior wasn't characteristic of the Skylar they knew. Another theory suggested Skylar had met up with a boy and run off. Again, her inner circle thought that unlikely. Other, darker rumors had begun to circulate as well. Some wondered if Skylar had hooked up with an internet predator or had been abducted by a pedophile. After all, teens heard about these kinds of scenarios in the news all too often.

Less malevolent but equally disturbing rumors were floated on Facebook and discussion sites: Skylar went to a party and got drunk, fell, hit her head, and died. Skylar overdosed on drugs and died. On some boards the speculation turned lurid: Skylar was using hard drugs and running with the wrong people. Skylar was trading sex for drugs and was then killed when she fell in with a nasty crowd. Of course these rumors wounded Mary and Dave, who could only watch helplessly as the gossip grew. They knew the awful lies were
baseless, but they were powerless to stop them. Besides, they had no concrete leads, either.

However, the teenagers who knew Skylar best had begun to believe one particular rumor. As it turned out, area students believed what Officer Colebank and Special Agent Spurlock suspected: Shelia and Rachel were lying.

By then Colebank and Spurlock had questioned Shelia and Rachel a number of times. They had their own opinions about each girl. Colebank believed from the very beginning the two teens knew something: “[Rachel] stuck with the story Shelia first gave. Their story was exactly—verbatim—the same. It was word for word.”

Until it wasn't, and Rachel's version veered away from Shelia's.

Without access to the results of the psychological tests performed on Shelia, it's hard to say if her next actions were those of a scheming sociopath playing a game, a psychopath carrying out a devious plan, or simply those of a teenage girl living in denial about her part in a hideous crime. In hindsight they appear dark no matter how they're construed.

On August 6, one month to the day after Skylar disappeared, Shelia entered Skylar's inner circle of family and friends with her first post on the “TeamSkylar<3” page. She posted a photo showing her and Skylar from happier days. The picture showed Shelia smiling, head turned slightly, eyes closed, wearing a red tank top with white print flowers. Skylar is next to her, her right hand on Shelia's bare shoulder, her face pressed to Shelia's hair as if she's about to whisper something, her eyes peeking impishly toward the camera.

Shelia had been the photographer, taking a “selfie” of the pair. Underneath it she wrote,
want my bestfriend back . Shelia's words—and the symbol

Within minutes, eighty-two people signaled their approval by clicking Like. A little later Dave weighed in:
Love you Shelia, I want
her back too
. In spite of his own pain, Dave wanted to be there for his daughter's friend.

A small cascade of approval followed with comments from:
Skylar your family and friends miss you
to
So glad to see something like this
! That evening, Shelia reciprocated:
thanks guys. love you too Dave
.

Her post was a hit.

TeamSkylar<3 soon became
the
place to post about all things Skylar. Anyone who wanted to learn more about the missing girl, offer assistance, leave a warm thought, or even discuss the case could do so. All they had to do was join the group, which was designated as open to the public. In short, everything the group did could be seen by the outside world—and it was. In a very big way.

Skylar's distant cousin, Hayden Hunt, started the group in July after he learned about her disappearance. Hayden lived with his mother, Jennifer, in Maryland and may have created the group because she asked him to. Jennifer had only met her distant cousin Dave once; Dave doesn't remember ever meeting Hayden. Nonetheless, the Hunts seemed to want to help. They even added links to their Facebook page so people could click, download, and print MISSING posters of Skylar.

Over the next few months, the TeamSkylar<3 group would evolve into a nasty source for gossip and innuendo—and a considerable source of stress for Mary and Dave. However, when it first began, neither of Skylar's parents knew much about social media or how to use it. TeamSkylar<3 soon became the easiest place for the Neeses to find an outpouring of support and sympathy. The page was also the first online group where their friends and the general public could show how much they cared about Skylar and her distraught parents.

One teen after another joined the group to leave messages for Skylar, hoping she would see them. The kids tried to get her attention. They urged her to let them know she was safe. Some teens reminded her school would resume in a week. Surely she would return to pick up where she'd left off, as a junior. School was what Skylar lived for. One teen's simple hope was heartbreaking:
Skylar, please come home, we miss you and just want you home safely. Your
parents . . . just want to know your alright. You can even call me. . . . I won't tell anyone where your at or what your doing. 304-555-9157 come home Skylar we love you
.

Four days after her first post, Shelia spoke up on the group page again. Her comment was equal parts longing for Skylar's return and something else entirely, something no other member of the group knew or particularly cared about:

all i want is for my bestfriend to come home. i wish i knew something to give the police a lead or so she can come home but i don't know ANYTHING. . . . i wish i knew something like everybody thinks i do. come home skylar, it's been five weeks too long. i miss and love you
.

With her post, Shelia revealed she clearly knew law enforcement was watching. She also knew exactly who they had their eyes on: her.

Meanwhile, on August 7, the unthinkable happened, giving police and the public even more to worry about. A local NBC affiliate station, WBOY, ran a brief story about a second missing teenage girl in Star City. The townspeople were horrified, afraid a serial killer was in their midst.

“The Star City Police Department is looking for another missing teenage girl. Police said Elise Nix, 16, was last seen at her home on Saturday and was reported missing on Monday . . . It was just one month ago that Skylar Neese, 16, was reported missing after she was last seen at her home in Star City. Neese is still missing. If you have any information, call the Star City police at (304) 555-4707.”