The Day I Lost You: A totally gripping psychological thriller

by Alex Sinclair

  “Don’t come any closer,” I said. Alice started to wail, unhappy with the tone of our voices. I looked down at her and tried to provide comfort. “Look what you’ve done now. She’s upset.”

  Michael took another step. “You can’t do this,” he said.

  I tried to calm Alice, but she wouldn’t quiet down. “There, there, Bunny. It’s okay. Time to be quiet.”

  Michael didn’t respond. Instead, he held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as his other hand stayed firmly across his chest, gripping his elbow.

  I continued to speak to Alice and finally saw some progress. She stopped crying and eased off enough for me to put her back into her carrier so I could begin to load up.

  “You’re still going? Why?”

  I grabbed the last bag with difficulty and shook my head at him. “We have to go. Now, are you going to let me past?”

  The question hung in the air for a moment. Michael stared at me, his eyes burning. “I thought we could work things out. I thought things might change.”

  I came as close to Michael as I was comfortable doing. “There was a time when I thought that was possible too, but we went past it. Now please, step aside.”

  Without another sound, he stepped away from the front door and gestured for us to leave, without taking his eyes off mine. We stepped on through to the corridor. I turned back to see him still facing me.

  Michael let us walk right by him and out of his life. What took me so long?

  Thirty-Five

  Now

  “Which apartment do you think he might be hiding in?” I quietly ask Gus, as we stay hidden at the far end of the seventh floor. The police would be arriving at the building and possibly coming up to Mrs. Stellar’s apartment within the next ten minutes, according to Gus’s estimate.

  “Hard to say. He’s got a lot to choose from, but a few options stick out to me. Our key cards can open practically any door in the building. The only thing we have to worry about is justifying why we would open a certain door, as every swipe is recorded against each card. Desmond has his own card, as do I. Every thirty days, our company audits the key card history against resident requests for maintenance. But I doubt Desmond plans on hanging around long enough to be caught by some audit.”

  “Is it possible to see where he has been right now?”

  “Not from here. The records can be accessed by the company we work for and handed over to the police.”

  “So we can only guess where he might be.” I lower my head as a realization comes to me. “He’s probably got someone else’s card, anyway.”

  “If he’s smart enough to cover his bases, yes. I’d imagine it was the first thing he thought of.”

  “Great. So my little girl’s chances of being found slip away while Desmond remains safely hidden.”

  Gus shakes his head. “Not if I can help it. There are some things I can forgive in this world, but taking a child from their parent is not one of them.”

  I raise my head and give Gus the best smile I can manage, given how tired and worn down I am feeling. Coming so close to Alice only to lose her again has taken a toll on me I never imagined possible. I have to find her, and fast, before Desmond tries to flee the building, past Henry’s lockdown.

  “If you were in his position, where would you go on this floor?”

  Gus scratches at his chin. There’s a thin layer of stubble forming. “If I wanted an apartment that would be good to hide in, I’d have to go with 701. It’s close to the elevator, is fully furnished, and all of its utilities are on, because it’s technically being rented but the tenant never uses the place. Some of the guys are known to create false maintenance calls so they can take breaks in there from time to time when things get quiet.”

  I shake my head. “Well, it’s a good start. Only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The police are about to arrive, and Mrs. Stellar is still stalking the hallways. Her apartment is fairly close to 701, isn’t it?”

  Gus leans out, checking the corridor for the old crone. “If she’s standing out the front of her door, it’s very close. Knowing her, she will be hanging out at the entrance of her apartment or will have left her door wide open. I’ll head back to Mrs. Stellar and distract the old dear. I’ll see if I can get her to go back inside and stay in her apartment before the police get here.”

  “That might take a while. What if I check out 701 while you keep her busy?”

  Gus shakes his head. “If Desmond is in there with Alice, he’ll be backed into a corner. You’ll need all the help you can get to save your little girl without any risk of him hurting her—or you.”

  I let out a groan. He’s right. If I rush in and catch Desmond off guard, he might freak out and think it’s all over. A desperate man in that position might be capable of any number of actions. I couldn’t live with myself if I caused Alice any harm as a result of my impatience.

  “I guess I have no other option but to wait then.”

  Gus nods as he begins to walk away from me. “I’ll move as fast as I can. Unfortunately, Mrs. Stellar can be a real pain in the ass.”

  “You don’t need to tell me.” I can still feel the pain in my wrists from her unexpected handcuffing. I take a peek down the hallway as Gus leaves, and hope that we aren’t too late to find Desmond. It seems crazy that he’s still in the building. Michael must have really needed him and Alice close by for his plan to work. I wonder when he’s planning on showing himself. Is he waiting for the whole day to go by so he will have a substantial alibi established at work?

  I push the idea out of my head. The planning and execution of a kidnapping is not something I want to ponder. How Michael managed to go through with this makes me want to vomit. Did he not understand the lasting impact this experience would have on her for the rest of her life?

  For a solid two years, he seemed to give up on the idea of taking Alice from me. It wasn’t until she turned three that he tried to get more involved in her life again, with requests for more visits. When those got denied, he would show up unannounced and try to spend more time with his daughter. Had he realized that Alice was a person who’d one day grow up and understand the truth about her father?

  Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. I would never let him take her from me. Not while I was still breathing.

  Thirty-Six

  I stand behind a support column in the corridor, tucked just around the corner from the area of the seventh floor where three things exist: Mrs. Stellar, apartment 701, and the elevator.

  Gus approaches Mrs. Stellar’s apartment, making it appear as if he has come back from chasing me around the building. I can hear the concerned old woman out in the hall, still complaining, hoping the whole world acknowledges her.

  I can just picture the frustration on Mrs. Stellar’s face when she finds out that Gus has failed to apprehend me. The old crone will moan and sneer at him, unimpressed with any effort he has made. Gus will need to smile and nod to speed things along, trying to get her back inside. I don’t envy him.

  “Mrs. Stellar,” I hear Gus say in the distance.

  “Where is she? The police will be here soon.”

  “That’s probably a good thing,” he says, “because she gave me the slip.”

  “Of course she did,” she says with a tut. “I knew I should have chased after her myself. I always say you’re better off doing things yourself.”

  I shake my head. Mrs. Stellar couldn’t keep up with a runaway shopping cart, let alone a woman my age. She did seem to be the expert when it came to taking down people using handcuffs, though. There was something about being restrained by an old lady and fastened to a radiator that seemed outright insane. But this day was proving to be nothing but a big mess of crazy.

  “If the police are almost here, then you should head back inside your apartment. We don’t want anything bad happening, do we?”

  “Nonsense. I’ll be fine right where I am, thank you. That girl i
s no match for me, and anyway, Henry is going to call me when the police arrive.”

  She must have filled Henry in on the call she placed to the police. Hopefully, it didn’t take long for him to realize who it was that Mrs. Stellar had placed in handcuffs. As soon as the police arrive, he will tell them the rest of the story and paint me in the right light. Thank God I have a few people on my side who believe in me.

  I listen while Gus continues to struggle with Mrs. Stellar. She refuses to budge from her position in the corridor, which gives her a clear view of the apartment we need to check. I decide I can’t wait much longer for this situation to resolve itself. I have to check out apartment 701. Too much time has been wasted; time that Alice does not have to lose. At any moment, Desmond could work out just how screwed he really is and run. I creep further along, until I’m at the edge of the hallway.

  As carefully as I possibly can be, I inch my head around the corner and take a peek at Gus and Mrs. Stellar. She is still outside of her apartment, arguing, but Gus has her distracted. He nods away and listens to her ranting and raving about a completely irrelevant topic to her current predicament. I feel like he deserves a medal for his efforts. I would have lost it by now.

  I spot apartment 701 on the other side of the elevator to where I am and glance down at Henry’s key card, which I still have in my possession. I’m so glad Henry is now on my side along with Gus. The head of maintenance could have easily seen me as a nothing but a liar and escorted me off the premises. I guess him temporarily losing his own child in the park a few years ago gave him enough perspective to want to be the kind of person who helps a parent in need instead of looking in the opposite direction.

  I pull out the card and inspect the piece of plastic. It amazes me that Henry can easily access any home within the building with a quick swipe. I assume Henry’s card is held to the same level of scrutiny as the maintenance workers’.

  Seeing Mrs. Stellar with her back facing my direction gives me enough confidence to creep into the main corridor and move down to the next support column. Gus sees my move and locks his gaze on the old lady, so she doesn’t suspect I’m behind her, sneaking around.

  “I suppose I could go back inside and leave my door open,” Mrs. Stellar says. A moment later, she and Gus are walking into her apartment.

  I move again while the opportunity still exists, and see the hesitation and concern lining Gus’s face as he steps inside. He is not comfortable with my impromptu idea to go and open up 701 on my own. I know myself that it’s a terrible idea, but I can’t wait another second. If Alice is in there, she needs me. She needs her mommy to rescue her from the awful people who thought it would be okay to take a young girl from her mother in broad daylight.

  I reach Mrs. Stellar’s apartment and dash past, catching a glimpse of Gus looking back out the door.

  “What are you looking at?” Mrs. Stellar asks Gus. I duck behind the nearest support column.

  “Nothing,” he says.

  “No, it’s something. I saw your eyes twitching about. Did you see someone out in the hallway? I’d better check it out.”

  Crap. What is with this crazy old bat? Either she thinks I’m not a threat in the slightest or she wants to be the hero of the building.

  “There’s nothing there,” Gus says, trying to stop her. I can hear her footsteps shuffling in my direction. I’m trapped where I stand. Across the way from me is apartment 701.

  “There has to be something catching your eye,” Mrs. Stellar says. “It could be that girl again, back for more.”

  I press myself tighter and tighter against the wall, somehow hoping I can turn invisible before the old lady sees me. I don’t know how I’ll be able to weasel my way out of this one without compromising Gus’s job. I don’t want him to be fired because he made the mistake of helping me out. He doesn’t deserve it.

  The elevator beeps a sharp note, startling me. The doors roll open and I hear two lots of footsteps come out.

  “About time you showed up,” Mrs. Stellar says.

  I can’t see who she’s talking to, but I think I can guess quite easily.

  “Mrs. Stellar, I presume. My name is Officer Mason of the NYPD. We are responding to a kidnapping call made earlier. Apparently, a little girl has been taken. Henry here tells me that you had a woman handcuffed inside your apartment, but she managed to escape? Do you know where she might be? We need to talk to her as soon as possible.”

  I don’t know if the police officer is on my side or not, but Henry is standing right next to him. He has to have told the man everything he needs to know about me. Gus hasn’t said a word, so I step out from hiding.

  “I’m here.”

  “That’s her,” Mrs. Stellar yells, pointing a shaky finger at me.

  “Just take it easy, Mrs. Stellar,” Gus says, as he ushers the old lady back into her apartment.

  “But that’s her. She’s the one harassing poor Desmond. Arrest her, Officer.”

  Gus continues to deal with Mrs. Stellar for me.

  “Erika,” Henry says, “are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Henry,” I say with a nod. I snap my focus to Officer Mason. “Officer, my daughter has been kidnapped by a maintenance man in this building. I think he’s on this floor right now with my little girl, specifically in this apartment here, 701.”

  “Okay, ma’am. Why don’t you take a step back from that door until my backup arrives? I’m the first officer to respond, but more will be here any minute now to search the building for your little girl.”

  “Can we look in this apartment now? She’s in there.” I know in my heart she is in there. I can almost feel her pulse beating through the walls. I walk closer to the door. Mason rushes toward me, but he is a good few paces away.

  A second before I reach the entry, the door bursts inward. A gust of air tugs at me and I feel a jolt down my spine as I see Desmond standing in the doorway, looking just as stunned as I am.

  Thirty-Seven

  Desmond and I stop and stare at each other for a fleeting moment, both waiting for the other to make a move. I see a streak of sweat dotting his brow; he has been busy all this time, running around kidnapping my child on Michael’s behalf. It takes all of my restraint not to attack him. I can’t see Alice.

  “Sir,” Officer Mason yells. “Stay right where you are. Do not move.”

  Desmond clutches the door so tight his knuckles begin to turn white as he glances from me to the police officer. I knew I’d be putting myself in harm’s way by confronting Desmond, but the reality and danger of the situation doesn’t hit me until now.

  “Get down on the ground,” the officer orders, as he pulls out his pistol.

  Desmond doesn’t move an inch.

  “Where is she?” I ask, my voice almost breaking as I battle my fear. My question sparks a chuckle from Desmond, though I can’t begin to fathom its meaning. What has he done?

  “Desmond!” Gus yells out from behind. My eyes snap to Gus’s in an instant; he is standing in the corridor beside Officer Mason. Before I know it, I am being pushed out of the way by Desmond, with a swift shove that sends me flying back. I hit my head on the wall—hard.

  A sense of empty peace overtakes my mind as I slowly fade out, my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

  * * *

  I know I’m dreaming when I find myself walking through empty city streets in a summer dress. The outfit ripples slowly in the breeze, as if I’m underwater. I’m walking down the middle of Times Square, surrounded by all of the billboards and lights, but seeing only one image on the many screens: Alice’s face. Despite being aware of the off-color cityscape around me, I can’t escape this reality.

  “Alice,” I call up to the electronic billboards, as my daughter gazes down upon me from every direction. She has dirt on her face and her hair is a mess.

  “Mommy?” she asks.

  “I’m here, Bunny. Where are you?”

  “I’m right in front of you, Mommy. Can’t you see me?”


  Every single image of Alice disappears in a blink. The light of the street beams down at my stomach. It has swollen up again, as if I’m pregnant. I begin instinctively to rub my belly over the silk of the flowing summer dress. I feel the kick of my child in the womb.

  “Alice?” I ask her.

  “I’m here, Mommy.”

  “No, that isn’t right. You—” I don’t finish my thought, as my belly shrinks back down while Alice materializes a few steps in front of me.

  “I’m here, Mommy,” she says again.

  I move toward her and see her vanish with a puff of smoke. She reappears fifty feet away, further into Times Square.

  “What are you doing, Bunny? You shouldn’t be out here. It’s dangerous.” I suddenly see scores of vehicles filling the streets. The empty roads are now crammed with taxis, cars, and trucks, their drivers going about their busy days.

  “Alice. Stop right now.”

  “No, Mommy. Daddy’s here. He’s going to save me.”

  “No, he won’t,” I say. “He’s not here to save you, Bunny; he’s here to take you from me.”

  “That’s a horrible thing to say,” Michael says, as his face shows up on every screen in Times Square. I stare up at the billboards, seeing that they span in all directions.

  “Give her back!” I yell.

  Michael laughs wildly, like a maniac. “I never took her, Erika. You did. You lost our daughter.”

  “I didn’t mean to let her out of my sight. She got out through the elevator. It wasn’t my fault.”

  “It’s never your fault, is it? Erika is always the victim. Everyone else is wrong, aren’t they?”

  “No, it’s not like that.” I close my eyes, trying to leave this world. I can’t seem to shake the booming voice Michael sends down from all angles. He laughs again, overwhelming my senses with flashing lights as a violent storm begins to pour down to drown me like a rat. I feel the water rising.