by Kate Anders
“Well, that’s good, right?” I ask, trying to find anything to be optimistic about.
“Only if they can trace him back to the beginning. We already know what kind of car he was in, and it was stolen and already recovered so unless the backtracking leads up to a video of him physically getting into the car, the footage probably isn’t going to do anything.”
“Right, that makes sense.” My head is starting to hurt again. “So basically, the cops confirmed my account but we don’t actually have anything new to go on.”
“Exactly.” I can tell he is trying to figure out how I’m doing because he’s analyzing my every movement, or rather, lack thereof. “How are you feeling?”
“What’s worse than like shit?” I ask.
“Death warmed over?” Will says with a smirk.
“Sounds about right.”
“Well, you made it downstairs on your own, which is honestly kind of impressive. I thought for sure you were going to need help down the stairs.”
“Oh, really?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“No judgment, I’ve laid down my bike before and while nothing was actually broken, my body felt like a walking bruise. I didn’t go upstairs for a week because those stairs just weren’t worth it,” he explains.
“Oh.”
He chuckles.
“So about last night,” I start.
“What happened last night should have never happened, I should have gone and picked you up. I don’t know why I didn’t consider that someone might be watching you. Kenzie, I’m sorry.” He genuinely looks torn up about it.
“Oh my god, Will, no. You have nothing to be sorry about. It didn’t make any sense for you to leave your house, pick me up, drive back, and then have to drive me back to my apartment and then drive back here again. It wasn’t practical. I don’t think anyone considered that I might be a target. Joe certainly would have said something if he thought I was in danger.”
“He’s pissed, by the way.”
“What? At me?” I feel my heart rate start to pick up as I consider the possibility that Joe is mad at me.
“No, not at you, at himself. He’s been calling to check on you every couple of hours. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just refuses to go home until he figures this all out.”
“But it wasn’t his fault either,” I argue.
“While I agree with you in theory, in practice we almost lost you, and that’s not something either one of us is willing to even entertain the idea of,” he explains.
“Oh, well, okay then, that’s kind of sweet.” Will chuckles again. I’m really starting to love the sound of his chuckle. “Anyway, I was just wondering if you could tell me why I was going to your house in the first place, why King wanted to talk.”
The smile leaves Will’s face quickly. I think somber is the best word to describe his expression.
“Did she get the files open?” I ask.
“No.”
When he doesn’t say anything else, I let the silence hang between us. There is clearly something he doesn’t want to tell me, or that he is worried about telling me. Whatever it is, I can wait him out. But thankfully I don’t have to.
“Kenzie, the DNA was a match. To the first girl who went missing.”
There’s a buzzing in my ears that seemingly came out of nowhere. I just sit in my chair rigidly, trying not to breathe in too deeply and staring at Will. The few pieces of hope I have been carrying around with me are starting to flicker out of existence.
“The cops, they’re sure?” I can’t keep the silent plea out of my tone.
“The cops haven’t released it yet.” I must have had a questioning look on my face because Will rushes to explain, “King doesn’t exactly do well with waiting. Or playing by the rules, for that matter. I assume she has been monitoring communications between the police. She got confirmation last night and wanted to tell us in person since she isn’t exactly supposed to actually know anything yet.”
“Oh.”
“The autopsy was done a while ago. She was found months ago, so most of the work has already been done outside of identifying her.”
“How did she die?” I ask as a single tear slides down my face.
“Homicide.” Will leans forward and rests his elbows on his thighs again before clasping his hands together.
“How did she die, Will?” I ask again.
“Kenzie…”
“How?”
“Are you sure you really want to know this?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Okay. The coroner wasn’t exactly sure. She had a lot of blunt force trauma to her body, but she was also shot in the head as well as strangled. Both happened at or around the time of death, so they aren’t sure of the exact mechanism of death.”
“Jesus.” I’m suddenly glad I haven’t eaten lately because the nauseous feeling that is settling in my stomach is borderline overwhelming. “Did, um. Uh. Was there any, I guess, evidence that they found?”
“There was a partial fingerprint, not enough to use in a trial but it could be used to rule someone in or out.”
“So no suspects then?”
“No. I’m sorry.”
I nod. And keep nodding. Trying to absorb this new information.
Is this the fate that Clara is going to have? And Jenny? Is this what all of them who came before went through? Another cold tear rushes down my face as I try not to imagine this poor woman’s last moments.
“What was her name?” I ask.
“Lauren, it was Lauren.”
“Lauren.” It feels so final. “She was the first.”
“Yes,” he confirms. “You okay?”
“No.” I don’t even bother trying to lie about it. I am not okay. I don’t know if I will ever be okay again.
Death is one of those facts of life. And I have been exposed to death more than once. Losing my brother was horrible. And the aftermath was just as bad. But no one set out to kill him. It was a tragic accident. The culmination of a million little choices made by countless people that ended in tragedy. Was it horrible? Yes. Absolutely. Could it have been prevented? Doubtful.
But this. This wasn’t a million different choices by countless people. No. This was a choice by one person. One person bent on taking the life of another. And then who apparently decided to do it again. And again. And again. And who knows if they will ever stop.
“I’m so sorry, Kenz,” Will says, trying to bring me some level of comfort. I know he means well, but I can’t take it right now.
“What’s next?” I ask as I quickly wipe the tears off my face, ignoring the pain coming from my lungs and shoulder.
“Kenz,”
“What’s next? Where do we go next?”
“You don’t have to do this—”
“YES. I do. What. Is. Next,” I repeat.
There’s a long pause before Will finally gives me with an answer.
“I was planning on talking to the guy who King had reached out to for help.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because I want to check out anyone who had any kind of knowledge of our investigation.” I raise my eyebrows, my skepticism slightly showing. “I’m not taking any chances.”
“Will.”
“You can look at it one of two ways: one, I’m looking for any connection no matter how small to Clara, or two, I’m keeping you safe. The sooner we find out whoever is behind going after you, the sooner we find Clara.”
“I’m not opposed to keeping me alive, Will. I just kind of wonder if you really think investigating everyone we have ever talked to about this is going to yield us any results.”
“I’m not losing you, Kenzie. I’m not. It’s not happening. When I took this case, I told you I would find Clara, and I will. But I am not going to lose you in the process.”
The look on his face is so intense. The way he is looking at me is different than before. It’s obvious he is worried, that’s a given, but there is something else underneath it.
/> “Will, I’m fine. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, and I promise I’ll follow whatever ridiculous instructions you have for me to keep myself safe while we figure all this out, okay?” I try to reassure him.
“Kenz, you have no idea the things that went through my head last night. When you didn’t show up, I had this feeling in my gut something was wrong. King was already here waiting, and she felt it too. By the time we were out on the road looking, you had already crashed.” He lets his head fall forward before running his hand over the top of his head. A quick shake of his head and he’s back to looking at me, utter devastation written all over his face.
I can’t help it, I get up. Too quickly.
I go to move toward him, to comfort him, but my brain, or I guess my heart, must have forgotten the catalog of injuries and pain I am lugging around with me.
Will is on his feet before my grimace fully takes over.
“No, don’t, stay. Sit down, don’t hurt yourself,” he says while gingerly holding on to my left arm, trying to guide me back to the chair. I let him. It hurts more than I am willing to admit to myself.
“Will, I don’t know what to say.” I pause. “I hate that you’re this upset. I’m okay, I’m going to be fine, everything is going to be fine.” I try to reassure him as he kneels down in front of me.
“Kenzie, when I saw your car upside down in a ditch, I panicked. I’m always the cool headed one, but I was out of the truck faster than my brain even realized I had done it. And then to see that asshole’s car there alongside yours, where he clearly bailed out and was going after you.” He shakes his head like he’s trying to clear the memory out of his head.
I reach out and take Will’s face in my left hand, feeling the prickly scruff. He covers my hand with his own.
“I kept thinking I was going to get to you too late. I had to guess what to do. Should I take off into the woods and hope I caught up with him before he got to you, or drive around to the other side of the woods and hope to meet you before he caught up?” He swallows hard. “I knew if I made the wrong choice, it meant losing you. I was so scared, Kenzie.”
“I was too,” I whisper.
“When I finally found you, I was so relieved, and then I saw the shape you were in and I was back to being in full panic. I don’t ever want to find you this hurt ever again,” he says quietly.
“I knew you,” I say quietly back. Confusion muddles his expression. “In the woods. I knew you. Up until I saw your face, I didn’t know anything. I was afraid, I knew I was running from someone, but I didn’t know why, or who, I didn’t even remember the crash. It took me minutes to figure out I was upside down in a car.” I breathe in slowly before continuing.
“But when I heard your voice, I wasn’t afraid. And when I saw your face, I knew you. I knew I was safe. I knew who you were. And everything came back. I knew everything was going to be okay,” I tell him.
“Look, about before, I know we should talk about it, clear the air, but right now I just want to keep you safe,” he says.
“We can do that. It can wait. I’m not going anywhere,” I assure him.
“And you’ll stay here, at least until you’re better?” he asks with a twinge of pleading running through the question.
I don’t hesitate.
“I’ll stay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“1979” BY SMASHING PUMPKINS
“You’re not going.” Will is standing at one end of the counter in the kitchen of his house repeating himself over and over. Like a broken fucking record.
“And again, that’s not your decision to make, Will,” I say for what feels like the millionth time.
“Kenzie, I’m fucking serious. There is no way in hell you are coming with me. You have two choices. You can stay here alone with the security system fully armed, locked inside or I can call King to come hang out with you while I’m gone. Pick one.”
“No.”
“No? Just no?” Will says incredulously.
“Yep.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Of course I’m serious. I am going with you. I want to talk to this guy.”
“But you don’t need to talk to him. I will talk to him and I will tell you everything we talk about. Hell, I will even FaceTime you while I am there, so you can watch the conversation if you want.”
“Don’t you think that would be a tad on the awkward side?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes!” Will slams his hand down on the counter. “Of course it would be fucking awkward. But you’re acting like a lunatic right now and at this point, I am willing to do anything to get you to see reason.”
“It is not unreasonable to want to be a part of the investigation that almost killed me and has my best friend missing!” I yell back.
“That is exactly my point! Almost. Killed. You. You are literally hobbling around the house. You sound like you’re dying when you walk down the stairs, but for reasons passing all understanding, refuse any help. I’m ninety percent positive your head is still killing you since you keep turning off all the lights and squinting every time there is light.”
“No one needs that much sunlight,” I argue.
“You do hear yourself right now, right?” I huff. “You are seriously trying to make the case for too much sunlight to cover the fact that you’re recovering from a pretty serious concussion?”
“Look, I’m going whether you take me with you or not, so wouldn’t you rather just take me with you?”
“You’re insane. Seriously insane. This guy probably doesn’t even know anything, I’m just crossing his name off the list since he is one of the people who knows about our investigation.”
“Well then, it’s not dangerous and I can go,” I argue.
“I’m not taking you.”
“Thank God for Uber.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I can do this all day, Will.”
“I noticed.” He sighs. “Why can’t you just stay home? I’ll be there and back before you know it, I can even pick up food. From anywhere you want. Pick your poison and I’ll get it. Sky’s the limit. As long as you stay home.”
“Not even a little bit tempting. I’m going.”
Will throws up his hands and walks out of the kitchen toward the living room. I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. I’m pretty sure Will didn’t hear, but I try and stifle it down just the same. It’s kind of nice having someone this concerned about me.
It’s only been about a day since I’ve been home from the hospital, but he’s always around. Do I need anything to eat? Do I want any medicine? What about helping me down the stairs? He’s hovering. And I should hate it.
But I don’t.
It’s weirdly attractive.
Maybe it’s just because outside of Clara, I’ve never had someone this concerned with my comfort and safety. Years of a relationship with Collin and he was never like this. Not even when I came down with pneumonia.
I follow Will’s path through the kitchen and into the living room, only to find him staring out the window, looking at his truck in the driveway.
“You really would call an Uber, wouldn’t you?” he asks without looking at me.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went with you? You could watch me all you want; I promise I will do whatever you want. If you say stay out of sight, I’ll hide. When you say duck, I’ll stop, drop and roll.” He chuckles.
“That’s for fire.”
I shrug. “Fire, gunshots, same thing. Stay in motion and get down, right?”
Will turns to face me.
“You might be the most ridiculous person I have ever met in my life.”
“Hey!” I say in mock outrage. “I will have you know I’m a fucking delight.”
Will full on laughs out loud. I smile back at him.
“Fine. But there will be rules.”
“Okay, lay it out.” At this point, I’m willing to agr
ee to anything just to be a part of this.
“Number one, you have to listen to me. I promise I won’t ask you to do anything that isn’t necessary for your safety, but I need you to listen.”
“Done.”
“Number two, you have to tell me if you are in pain. No hiding, no pretending, no acting like you’re fine when really you’ve broken into a cold sweat and your eyes are tearing up,” he says with a pointed stare.
“You caught that, did you?” I say with a joke.
“Kenzie.”
“Fine. Fine. Okay, I’ll tell you.”
“And you will ask for help or at the very least let me help you when I try.”
There’s a pause while I consider my options here. What can I say? I’m terrible at accepting help.
“Kenzie,” he says flatly.
“Okay. I agree to your terms.”
“Then we should get going, no sense wasting daylight.”
“Who are we going to see again?” I ask.
Will freezes.
“You just spent a half hour arguing with me and you don’t even know what you were fighting to go do? Are you kidding me right now?”
I shrug.
“I knew it had to do with Clara so I knew I wanted to be there, that’s really all I needed to know,” I rationalize.
He looks incredulous. Like he can’t believe he just spent all this time arguing with me. He might even have a vein starting to pop out on his forehead. It’s quite possible I’m driving him crazy.
“We are going to see King’s contact. She told him the bare-bones basics about the investigation when she asked him for help with the last encryption. He’s one of the few people who knew anything about you being involved, so I want to just talk to him and get a feel for him. Maybe he’s not the crazy guy in the woods.”
“You don’t really think he’s the guy in the woods, right?”
“It’s not high on my list of possibilities, but I don’t discount this kind of thing anymore. Better safe than sorry,” he says.
