Troublemaker

by Heather Beck

  “Javier!” Ava screamed, her voice breaking. She stood there, breathless, half expecting to see him climb back over the cliff’s edge because there was no way that he could be gone. The seconds ticked by painfully slow, but he didn’t reappear. Ava collapsed onto her knees, her body becoming numb, like she’d lost all feeling, all control.

  Do something, Ava willed her body. You have to do something. Javier might still be alive. Somehow, she managed to climb onto her feet, her steps shaky as she ran back to Christopher’s car and pulled open the driver’s side door. She scurried inside, looking on the seats, on the floor, and in the glove compartment, hoping to find a phone so she could call for help, or even the keys to the car. But all that was there were empty, crumpled bags of takeout food, a photo of her and Logan with Christopher’s head superimposed over Logan’s, and a single black hoodie that looked – and smelled – like it hadn’t been washed in weeks.

  “Shit,” Ava cursed as she scrambled out of the car and started down the only road Christopher could have taken. She still felt weak-limbed, but she powered through it, determined to do whatever it took to find Javier, not ready to give up on him. But despite her determination, she knew every second that passed took him further away from her. The thought made her go faster, hardly noticing as she stumbled over the gravel in her heels. She had to find a way down to the bottom of the cliff. She had to save Javier.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, making Ava stop dead in her tracks. For a fleeting moment, she considered running toward the sound, in hopes of finding help. But then she realized that the sirens were getting closer. Tears of relief and gratitude welled in her eyes, making the red and white lights of the approaching police cars blur together like a kaleidoscope. She wiped away her tears and then raised her hands above her head, waving for the cops to stop.

  The police cars came to a screeching halt in front of her, a heavy, middle-aged man with a nametag that read Hervada quickly getting out of the car that was closest to her. “Do you need help, miss?” he asked.

  “Yes! I was kidnapped by my stalker. He took me up here to kill me, but my friend saved me. They got into a fight, and they both fell over the cliff. Please, we have to get to my friend – now!” As the words came out of her mouth, she knew it sounded crazy. She could only hope that the officer would believe her.

  Officer Hervada looked at her, studying the marks on her wrists and the way her body trembled, all of it illuminated in the idling cars’ headlights. “Okay, keep calm,” he said, obviously believing her. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Please, we have to hurry!”

  Without another word to her, Officer Hervada led Ava into the backseat of his car, speaking into a walkie-talkie that was strapped over his shoulder. “We have a report of two men falling over Acantilado de la Enteridad. I repeat, two men have fallen over Acantilado de la Enteridad. Redirect all emergency vehicles to the bottom of the cliff. Dispatch the Coast Guard to search the area immediately.” He clicked a button on his walkie-talkie and then signaled to his fellow officers to follow him. Then, seconds later, they were speeding down the hill, the other police cars close behind.

  Ava looked anxiously out the window, her face almost pressed against the glass. To her left was the sea, suddenly dark and ominous-looking, the crashing waves sending chills up and down her spine. Javier’s out there, she thought, images of him being swept away and swallowed by a black, endless abyss circulating in her mind. Come on, go faster, she silently begged Officer Hervada, even though he was already driving fast, especially for a road that was on such a steep incline.

  They finally reached the bottom of the hill, taking a sharp left turn onto a sandy surface that definitely wasn’t a road. Sirens blared in the distance, getting closer and louder, and just as Officer Hervada brought the car to an abrupt halt, the area came alive with the flashing lights of emergency vehicles joining them.

  “Hey!” Officer Hervada exclaimed as Ava opened the door and jumped out of the car. “You have to wait here!”

  She didn’t listen to him as she took off running toward the beach, her heels sticking in the wet sand as she reached the water’s edge. She kept on going, scanning the waves in the moonlight, searching for anything that might resemble a body, making her way closer to the bottom of the cliff. “Javier!” she screamed over and over again, her voice straining, her throat aching.

  Suddenly, a hand came thudding down hard on her shoulder and spun her around. She was face-to-face with an angry-looking Officer Hervada. “Miss, you need to get back to the car immediately,” he said.

  “No, I...I can’t,” she said, her eyes falling on the paramedics, firefighters, and other officers who were searching the beach, most of them with heavy-duty flashlights in hand. “I can’t leave until we find Javier.”

  “That’s what we’re trying to do. Every second I spend explaining that to you is taking away time that should’ve been spent on the search.”

  Ava opened her mouth to protest, but a part of her knew that he was right. They were trained professionals, so maybe the best thing she could do for Javier was to let them do their jobs. Feeling awful, like she was abandoning Javier, she turned to go back to the police car, but not before reaching out to touch Officer Hervada’s arm and beg, “Please, find him.”

  Officer Hervada nodded and said something, but Ava couldn’t hear him over a large, crashing wave. Then, before she knew what was happening, a paramedic took hold of her arm, helping her toward a nearby ambulance. At first, she didn’t understand why the paramedic thought she needed his steady hand, but then she realized she had started to shake so badly that she probably would have fallen if it wasn’t for him.

  Another paramedic rushed to put a blanket around Ava’s shoulders, both of them about to help her into the ambulance when she heard a commotion. She turned around to see emergency workers running toward the bottom of the cliff. She tried to run after them, needing to know what was going on, but the paramedics stopped her after she’d taken one shaky step.

  “You need to stay here,” one of them said.

  “We need to make sure you’re okay,” the other agreed.

  Ava hardly heard the paramedics as an officer hurried by, his walkie-talkie turned up loud, the voice on the other end crackling but still audible. “We found a man’s body at the bottom of Acantilado de la Enteridad. He suffered serious injuries to his neck from the fall. He is now deceased.”

  “No,” Ava whispered, her world starting to spin. “Oh, God, no.” Even though she couldn’t be sure they were talking about Javier, the chance that they were was enough to make fear seize her body. Images of Javier lying there, dead, disfigured, flashed in her mind, and just when she felt like she was going to be sick, she heard another commotion.

  “We’ve found someone else!” a man with a deep voice yelled.

  Ava looked up to see two police officers dragging a limp, lifeless body away from the water’s edge and onto the beach. Fueled by the thought that it might be Javier, that he might still be alive, she tore away from the paramedics and ran toward the cops. The light from someone’s flashlight danced over the body, but before she could see who it was, other officers encircled him, blocking her view.

  “He has no vitals,” the same deep voice called out. “He’s not responding to CPR.”

  Ava’s heart lurched, watching as the paramedics, who’d tried to help her, hurried toward the officers, one of them carrying a portable defibrillator. The officers stepped aside, the paramedic with the defibrillator working fast, setting up the machine, taking off the man’s shirt, and then placing two pads on his chest and shouting, “Stand clear!” before shocking his heart. He performed CPR, checked for vitals, and then shocked him again.

  As the paramedic worked, his shadow fell over the man’s face, Ava still unable to tell if it was Javier or not. She paced back and forth, dread and anticipation filling her as the paramedic shocked him three, four times. It’s not working, she panicked. It’s taking too lo
ng. Oh, God, please let this be Javier. Please let him be alright.

  A few seconds later, the paramedic stopped performing CPR. Everyone became deadly silent. Ava was about to shout out, to demand to know what was happening, but the paramedic spoke first. “I’ve got a pulse!” he said. “Get me a stretcher – stat!”

  Ava suddenly felt like she could breathe again, hope rising in her chest. She watched as a paramedic and an officer hurried to the ambulance, bringing back a stretcher. Carefully, the paramedics lifted the injured man onto the stretcher and started to wheel him over the sand and toward the ambulance. The crowd around them dispersed, finally giving Ava a chance to look at the man’s bloody, bruised face. It was Javier.

  * * *

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mentally and physically exhausted, Ava sat in a small examination room in the hospital, surrounded by pale green walls that were covered in medical posters, a young female doctor tending to the wounds on her wrists. After Javier was rushed to the hospital, Ava had been taken away by a second ambulance, and even though the paramedics said she was going to the same hospital as Javier, she hadn’t seen him yet, the paramedics insisting that she see a doctor right away.

  “Everything seems to be fine,” the doctor said as she finished wrapping the last bandage. “Make sure to change the dressings every twelve hours and apply an antibiotic ointment. In the meantime...” she took off her latex gloves and reached for a pad of paper, writing fast on it, “I’m prescribing you a low-dose sedative to help you sleep. It sounds like you’ve been through quite an ordeal.” She tore off the prescription and handed it to her, a sympathetic look on her face.

  Ava smiled gratefully. “Thanks. Do you know if I can see Javier now? I need to make sure he’s okay.”

  “I’m afraid you can’t see him. He’s in critical care. Not even family can see him at this time.”

  “But he is going to be okay, right?” The familiar feeling of panic rose in Ava’s chest.

  The doctor nodded. “I shouldn’t be telling you this and I can’t promise anything, but from what I’ve heard, the prognosis is good. He sustained fractures to his arm and several ribs and he has a mild concussion, but there doesn’t seem to be any internal bleeding. He must’ve landed clear in the water. He was lucky – very lucky.”

  Ava felt her panic subside. He’s going to be fine, she told herself as she stood up. She cast the doctor another smile and thanked her again before leaving the room. As she walked down the hall and toward the waiting room, all she could think about was seeing Javier and finding the right words to express how grateful she was for what he’d done.

  “Oh, Ava, thank God!” someone called so suddenly and loudly that it made Ava jump. She looked up to see her mom hurrying toward her. She then wrapped her in a hug so tight that it almost made Ava wince. “What did Christopher do to you?” she asked worriedly. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine, but I won’t be if you hug me any tighter.”

  Isabelle quickly let go of Ava. “I’m sorry. I’m just so relieved to see you. After the hospital called to say you were here and Officer Hervada told us what happened, I was sick with worry. We all were.” She cast a look behind her, at Mitchell.

  Mitchell stepped around Isabelle to give Ava a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “And I’m so sorry that I failed you, that I wasn’t able to protect you.”

  “This isn’t your fault, Dad,” she reassured him.

  “I still blame myself. If I hadn’t been so focused on my own petty jealousy, I would’ve never left you and Tessa at the art show alone. If I had been with you, Christopher wouldn’t have gotten to you.”

  “He would’ve found a way,” Ava pointed out, her body turning ice cold at the thought of Christopher. “Maybe it wouldn’t have been tonight, but sometime, somehow, he would’ve come for me.”

  This time it was Mitchell’s turn to reassure her. “He’s gone now, and he can’t hurt you anymore,” he said softly. “Whatever it takes, Ava, we’re going to help you get through this.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Ava gave him an appreciative smile and then turned to Tessa, who stood a few feet back, looking as pale as she had on the night Christopher had threatened them with a gun, all those weeks ago. She was slightly hunched over, and her arms were crossed over her body, as if she was trying to protect herself. She looked so scared and sick that Ava immediately wanted to comfort her, but before she could do anything, Tessa burst into tears.

  “It’s over, Tess. I’m okay,” Ava said, wrapping her sister in a hug, surprised by how cold she felt. “And the doctor just told me that Javier is going to be okay, too.”

  This only made Tessa cry harder.

  “I know this isn’t a good time, but I’m afraid I’ll need a statement from you, Ms. Riley,” a familiar voice suddenly said.

  Ava stepped away from her sister and saw Officer Hervada standing nearby, a serious expression on his face.

  “Your parents filled me in on what’s been happening with Christopher, but I still don’t know what happened between the time you left Encantado en el Agua and I found you on the road,” he continued. “I’ll need you to come down to the station with me.”

  “I can’t leave now,” Ava said incredulously. “I can’t leave my sister or Javier.”

  Officer Hervada paused, looking conflicted. “I suppose I could take your statement here,” he finally said, glancing around at the mostly empty waiting room. “It’s not conventional for a case like this, but under the circumstances, I guess I can bend the rules.”

  He led them to chairs on the far side of the waiting room, but before Ava sat down, she turned to her sister. “Do you want to wait in another room?” she asked. “I’m sure Mom or Dad will go with you.”

  Tessa shook her head, choking back tears. “I want to be here for you. I want to know everything that happened.”

  Ava nodded and then sat down to face Officer Hervada. “Before we start, I have some questions of my own.” Without waiting for him to respond, she turned to her mom and dad. “How did Javier know who Christopher was? And how did Javier find me? If he’d been just a second later, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “I don’t know how Javier found you at the cliff. Only he can answer that,” Isabelle said, reaching for Ava’s hand, worry still in her eyes. “He was the one who came to me at the art show, looking for you. He was a little upset, saying that you two had been talking when you’d been interrupted. He seemed anxious to finish the conversation, but he couldn’t find you anywhere and you weren’t answering your phone. He was worried, and that made me worried. When I tried calling you, you still weren’t answering, so we went to find Tessa, thinking she might know where you were.”

  “I told them you’d left fifteen minutes ago,” Tessa spoke up, her voice strained, like she was still trying to hold back tears, “that you should’ve been back at the villa by now. When Javier asked me if I’d actually seen you leave, I said I hadn’t. He suggested that we look for your car in the parking lot to know for sure if you had left or not, and that’s when we found your car still there, the door unlocked, your phone and purse on the ground, like there had been a...a struggle.” Tears welled in her eyes again, causing Isabelle to lean over and comfort her.

  “It obviously wasn’t a robbery,” Isabelle said. “And when Javier asked if there was anyone who might want to hurt you – he thought it could’ve been Carlos or one of Miguel’s other friends – we knew we had to tell him about Christopher, who we were, and why we were here. We thought it was a long shot that Christopher would’ve found you all the way in Mexico, but we couldn’t keep it a secret and take that chance in case he had found you.”

  “That’s when they called me,” Mitchell said. “We called the police and split into groups to search for you. Javier took his car to look for you himself even though the police told him not to – whoever had taken you was obviously dangerous.”

  “But Javier didn’t care,” Isab
elle interrupted. “All he cared about was finding you, and thank God he did.”

  Ava’s throat tightened with emotion. “You have no idea what Javier did for me, how he saved me. Christopher was a monster. He would’ve killed us all, but this was never Javier’s fight. I should be the one in the ICU – not him.”

  “Don’t say that,” Mitchell scolded.

  “Javier wouldn’t want that,” Isabelle added.

  “It doesn’t always help, trying to make sense of a situation like this,” Officer Hervada said. “Even if Christopher was still alive, reasoning with or understanding a psychopath is never easy, sometimes, impossible. The only thing you can do is try to move on with your life and be glad that you and Javier are alive.” He paused. “I know it’s been a long night for you, Ava, but I need to know what happened after you left Encantado en el Agua.”

  Even though Ava was nowhere near ready to relive the events of tonight, she told them everything, starting with how she’d been attacked in the parking lot. Officer Hervada took notes while her parents and Tessa listened, their eyes wide and expressions of horror on their faces as the story unfolded. By the time Ava was finished, she felt drained, like if anything else bad happened to her, there was no way she could handle it.

  Isabelle wiped away a tear. “Oh, honey, the thought of you going through all of that...it breaks my heart.”

  “You were so brave,” Mitchell added, his eyes misting up, too.

  “I didn’t feel brave,” Ava admitted. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” She paused, looking back and forth between Officer Hervada and her parents. “There are a couple of things I still don’t understand. How did the cops know to come to the cliff?”

  “We received a 911 call from someone who saw you and Christopher there,” Officer Hervada explained. “It would’ve been Javier who called it in.”