Luke’s breathing hitched. The room spun around him. Two pieces of good news in a row? “You did? Where was she?”
She tilted her head toward the hallway and whispered, “Talk to me over there.”
He nodded, hardly able to contain himself. What if she knew where his mom was?
They went into the hall, and the woman looked around before turning back to Luke. She stepped closer to him and spoke just above a whisper. “I was visiting my boyfriend on Wednesday—but I’m not supposed to see him. He can get violent, you know? But he never means to hurt me.” She rubbed her hip. “Anyway, he threw a beer bottle against the wall and broke it. I ran over to the window to put space between us, and when I looked out, I swear I saw Lottie walking up to the building with some groceries.”
“What building?”
“The Meriwether apartments.”
Luke pulled out his phone and opened his notes app, adding all the information. “Wednesday, you said?”
“Yeah, you’re not going to tell anyone I was there?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even have your name. But can I get it? Are you willing to talk to the police?”
Her face paled. “Part of the agreement for me staying here is to stay away from him. If anyone finds out—”
“If it helps find my mom, I’m sure they’ll make an exception. Besides, maybe you should stop seeing him. You’re pretty. You could do a lot better than someone like that.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. Can I get your name?”
She bit her lower lip. “Well, I guess I could say I was there for another reason. I’m Lena Watkins.”
He added her name to his note file. “Thank you, Lena. You really should think about dumping him.”
“Maybe I will.”
“I’ll let you go so you can eat your dinner.” Luke found Detective Fleshman’s number in his contact list and called him as she went back to her table.
“Captain Fleshman.” He sounded tired.
“This is Luke Walker. I have some information that might help.”
“What is it?”
“Someone saw my mom at an apartment complex called the Meriwether. She was carrying groceries—or something that looked like it.”
“Meriwether…” The captain’s voice trailed off. “Why does that sound familiar? I swear I heard that name today. Do you know why she would’ve been there?”
“She never mentioned it, but she must’ve been helping someone. Mom probably found someone who needed groceries. I just wish she would’ve said something to Macy or me.”
“Okay, well, this is good. We finally have something to go on. I’m going to look into the Meriwether. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks, Captain.” Luke ended the call and sent Macy a quick text.
I might’ve found something. Tell u when I cu.
Out
Lottie opened her eyes to find she was still in darkness. She tried to roll onto her side. Her hips and shoulder ached from laying on her back for so long in the wooden box. There was no room to move around. She shifted, trying to relieve some of the pressure. It didn’t help. She only managed to add to her soreness.
Conversation drifted from outside. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t buried underground. Maybe they would let her out soon. Even though she would have a whole new set of problems, at least she would be able to breathe fresh air. She tried to ignore the stench and the stiffness of her pants where the urine had dried. Underneath, the wetness remained, pooled near the middle.
Something hit the side. Lottie jumped, holding her breath. Something else smacked the wood. A few more sounds all around. Then her feet rose as the box lifted on that end. Her entire body slid down toward the lower end.
She reached for the sides and pressed her palms against them, scraping her skin against the rough wood. Her head hit the wood and the pee rolled down to her back, soaking into her shirt, cold against her skin. The stale ammonia stench made her gag.
The outside scraped against the ground as her captors dragged her. Lottie shifted down, her neck twisting against the rough wall. She jolted to the left and the right as she went along.
Finally, the movement stopped. The box fell to the ground with a harsh thud. She managed to scoot herself down and relieve the pressure from her neck.
An array of noises sounded just outside. Scrapes, bumps, jostles, and then a creak. A sliver of blindingly bright light shone from the top.
Lottie covered her eyes, the light an assault on her senses after being in the dark for so long. The air grew fresh, pushing aside the stench and the stuffiness. She squirmed and turned toward the wall away from the light. Voices sounded, a mixture of male and female, but they blended together, making it impossible to tell what anyone said.
“Get up!” a familiar male voice commanded.
Lottie groaned and moved one arm away from her face. The light hurt, but not as bad. She blinked a few times to adjust.
“I said, get up!”
She rose slowly. Everything ached and the bright light was still too much. Lottie kept her gaze low as she reached up for the sides and pushed herself to standing. Her knees wobbled and her arms shook. The urine-soaked shirt clung to her back and her hair stuck to her face.
“Look at me,” the same man ordered.
Lottie took a deep breath, pulled her long hair from her cheeks, and stared at him. Her eyelids tried to close in protest of the sunlight. She forced them to stay open, even only through slits. “Jonah.”
The short, stocky dark-haired man crossed his arms. “So, you remember.”
“Yes.” Her eyes watered as she fought her eyelids from closing.
“Yes, what?”
“I remember.”
He shoved her. “Yes, what?”
Lottie held back a cringe. “Yes, sir.”
“I think you mean, Great High Prophet.”
“Yes, Great High Prophet.”
“Good, and you remember your capital offenses against the community?”
Her stomach tightened. If she admitted to anything, he could very well kill her on the spot.
“Not speaking? That’s fine. You can wait until your trial.” He turned to the right. “Take her away and clean her up!”
Two women wearing all white came over to her. Only their faces were visible, and they kept their gazes lowered. The younger one, who may have been a teenager, stayed behind the older one, possibly her mother or sister. The older one, who couldn’t have been older than forty, reached out to Lottie, but didn’t touch her. “Follow us.”
She climbed out of the box, leaning against the side. Every muscle and joint in her body ached. Her eyes finally adjusted to the light, and she could make out their surroundings. Trees went out as far as she could see on either side of them. The sun shone so brightly because they were in a clearing.
The two women walked to the left. Lottie struggled to keep up with pains shooting out from her left ankle and her right hip. They didn’t slow for her. Lottie took deep breaths, taking in as much fresh air as she could—not that she could fully escape the smell of her own urine that clung to her clothes.
After about twenty minutes, the other women stopped in front of a tiny shack and waited for Lottie to catch up. Once she finally did, the older woman looked in Lottie’s direction but wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Do you remember the cleansing process?”
It had been a long time, but she would never forget her and Luke’s first day in the community. She nodded.
“Good. That’ll make this go faster.” She opened the door, and all three women entered the small unfurnished building. “You know that nothing polluted by the world can enter the community.”
“Yes.” The stench from Lottie’s clothes filled the small room. Putting on the community’s garb would be a welcome treat.
“The shower is that way.” The woman pointed to a door to the right. “We’ll wait while you scrub off the world’s evilness and influence. Remem
ber, your skin must be red from scrubbing hard, or you’ll have to go back inside and start the process over again.”
As much as she wanted to clean herself, the thought of an icy shower and extra-rough scrub brush made her shudder.
“What are you waiting for?” asked the woman. “You’d better hurry. There’s a lot to do to prepare you for your trial.”
“Do you know what I’m being tried for, exactly?”
“You told Jonah you knew your sins.”
Lottie took a deep breath. “I don’t know which ones I’m being held accountable for.”
“Everything you’ve done to harm the community.”
“I see. What about—?”
“You need to hurry.” The woman revealed a long, sharp blade hiding underneath the folds of her robe. “Jonah will be displeased if this takes too long.”
“We can’t have that.”
“And don’t try to escape. Some of our best fighting men are outside, also brandishing weapons.”
“Understood.” Lottie walked toward the bathroom door, tears blurring her vision. She would never see the outside world again.
Connection
Alex handed a flier to a guy with a green mohawk carrying a skateboard under his arm. “Call the number if you hear anything.”
The guy nodded walked away, stuffing the paper under his board.
Alex glanced around the mall’s courtyard for anyone who hadn’t gotten a flier yet. His phone rang. It was his mom.
“Where are you guys?” he asked.
“We went across the street to the senior center. Macy just called and said they’re headed to our place to eat.”
His stomach rumbled. “Sounds good to me. I haven’t found anyone who’s seen Lottie.”
“Neither have we. Where are you? We’ll pick you up.”
“The courtyard. I’ll head out to the parking lot.”
Once he got to the sidewalk in front of the mall, his dad’s car pulled up. He climbed in, and other than the music, the ride home was silent. When they pulled into the driveway, both Macy’s and Luke’s cars were out front.
Inside, the house smelled like chicken and spices.
“The casserole is almost done.” Macy poked her head out from the kitchen. Alex kicked off his boots and joined them. She and Luke looked as tired as he felt.
“It seems so quiet here without Ariana,” Luke said.
“She’s at a friend’s house,” Alex said. “We’re not telling her about your mom just yet. I hope we find her before she ever has to know.”
Luke’s expression darkened. “Yeah, same here.”
Macy opened the oven and peeked in. “Just another couple minutes. I’m so glad Mom made this ahead of time. With as stressed as I am, I couldn’t make anything.”
Alex grabbed a pop from the fridge and sat at the table. “Did you guys have any luck?”
Luke sat taller in the chair. “I don’t know if it’ll help us, but someone said she saw Mom at an apartment complex called the Meriwether. The only thing that concerns me is that Mom never mentioned that to us, and I’m not entirely sure I trust the source.”
Meriwether… Why did that sound familiar?
“Why not?” Alex took a long swig of the caffeinated drink, hoping it would help with his fatigue.
“The source was there, visiting an abusive boyfriend who she isn’t supposed to have contact with. Also, she seemed a little… off. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Macy pulled the casserole from the oven. Alex’s mouth watered. He was so hungry, he almost would’ve eaten it straight out of the oven not caring about burning his mouth. “Maybe the girl was just nervous. She was probably afraid you’d say something and get her in trouble.”
“Maybe.” Luke didn’t appear convinced.
Mom and Dad came in. Mom looked at the food. “Thanks for warming it up. I’ll grab the salad.”
The air was somber, and they ate in silence. Macy and Luke didn’t stay long after eating. Mom and Dad also bolted from the kitchen as soon as everything had been cleaned. Clementine, the orange tabby, sat looking at him in expectation, his tail twitching.
Alex picked a piece of chicken from his plate and held it out for the fluff ball. The cat stretched before ambling over, taking his time before running off with his prize. Alex chuckled and then headed up to his room to check on his blog. He had a bunch of new comments, but none were helpful. Just as he was about to close the tab, he pulled his hand away from the mouse.
The missing janitor he’d written about had lived in the Meriwether. That was the same place Luke said someone saw Lottie. His palms grew clammy as he read over the blog post again and thought back to his conversation with the girlfriend. He couldn’t find a connection between Lottie and anything else Crysta had said. The fact that both of them were missing and had been at the Meriwether had to be more than a coincidence.
He pulled out his phone and called Nick. It went directly to voicemail. Alex didn’t bother leaving a message. He stuffed the phone into his pocket and headed downstairs.
Dad came up just as Alex slid into his coat. “Going somewhere?”
He grabbed a stack of fliers from the table. “I’m going to hand out some more of these.”
“This late?”
“Yeah. See ya in a while.”
“Well, I’m sure Luke appreciates your dedication.”
Alex nodded and headed out to his car. His mind raced, trying to find a connection between Lottie and Rory. On the surface, they had nothing in common at all besides being living, breathing human beings. They had both been at the same apartment complex before disappearing. That had to mean something.
He found the address and plugged it into the navigation system. It was in the poorer section of town—not surprising, given what Crysta had told him.
It only took him about fifteen minutes to get there. He parked his Tercel against the curb between a dirty white van with three busted windows and a rusted red convertible with bullet holes in the passenger door and hood. He stared at the Meriwether across the street. It wasn’t in any better condition.
Alex made sure his pocket knife was easily accessible in his jacket and headed for the walkway. As he opened the front door, the strong odor of dirty diapers and something rotting stopped him in his tracks. He gagged and covered his mouth, his eyes watering, and headed for the elevator. Nothing happened when he pushed the button.
A girl about sixteen stopped. “That’s broken.”
He turned around and showed her the flier. “Have you seen this woman?”
She studied the paper and then shook her head.
“Do you know Rory… what was his last name?”
“The janitor? He’s hot.”
“I wouldn’t know about that. His girlfriend is Crysta.”
“Yeah, she’s totally annoying.”
“Have you seen him?”
“A few days ago. Why? Is he missing, too?”
Alex nodded.
“Does she live here?”
“No, but she might have been here.”
“Huh. Well, hopefully they show up. People come and go around here, you know? If they lose their job and can’t pay, they’re gone.”
“It’s not like that with these two. Be careful, okay? I don’t know why people are disappearing.”
She shrugged. “I can ask around.”
Alex handed her the flier. “Call the number on here if you hear anything. No matter how small it seems.”
“Okay.” She shoved it into her purse and pulled out a joint. “I gotta get going.”
“You’ll call that number?”
“Sure.” She headed outside.
Alex frowned and walked toward a stairwell. Hopefully someone else in the building knew more than she did.
Entrance
Every inch of Lottie’s skin ached from the vigorous cleansing. After showering in the icy water with the pungent soap and horribly rough sponge, the two women had examined her skin to make sure
she’d washed well enough. It took three times, and by then, her skin was raw and bleeding in places. That was in addition to the aches and pains from being trapped in the box for so long.
As she walked down the narrow pathway with the two other women, the rough, stiff material of her robe rubbed against her skin. Lottie cringed, but didn’t dare slow. The older of the two other women walked in step next to her, hand over the hilt of her hidden weapon.
Lottie couldn’t see much because the white head covering only allowed her to look out through a small slit. Despite the ridiculous outfit—that she had once accepted as normal for outsiders to wear when entering the community—she still managed to see Jonah’s men positioned in various places behind trees and shrubbery.
There would be no escape. Attempting to run would lead to a certain death. Waiting out the trial at least bought her time to try and figure out a plot to get away. People had gotten out of the community’s clutches before, and she was determined to find a way out herself. Though it was certain to be more challenging now. Given the cult had been broken up before, Jonah and the others were bound to be especially determined to keep that from happening again.
The path curved around a bend and Lottie squinted, trying to see what kind of fence Jonah had commissioned his people to build this time around.
“How much longer?” she asked.
“Hush,” the knife-bearing woman demanded.
Lottie frowned. “I’m thirsty and hungry.”
“Denying your body will make you more spiritual,” said the younger woman.
“Don’t talk to her,” the older one scolded.
Lottie sighed. She’d long since pushed all the community’s rules and regulations from her mind. Now she needed to remember all of them again. How had she ever thought they held any normalcy?
She’d been smitten by Jonah’s smooth words. He’d saved her from the streets and from possibly losing her son to the system. She would have done anything the leader asked. She shuddered, thinking about some of his requests, which in reality had been nothing more than thinly veiled demands.
Turn Back Time Page 6
