Gingerbread Man: A Marlow and Sage Mystery (A Nursery Rhyme Suspense Book 1)

by Lee Strauss

  “You could have a twin.”

  “But why would I do that? Why would I spin such a crazy story?”

  “Uh, because you’re crazy?”

  “Okay, then why would he? You can ask him yourself if he has a twin. Ask people who know him.”

  He shifted nervously in Teagan’s chair and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  “Why don’t you take those off?” I asked

  His head bobbed up sharply. “Huh?”

  “The glasses. I get how it feels like you can hide behind frames.” I waved to my collection on my dresser. “But I’d just feel better if I could see your eyes.”

  Marlow slowly removed them. I examined his features. He had a nice enough face, nothing striking, but pleasant. His eyes were a clear pale green. He squinted like he actually couldn’t see me.

  “Stop that.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Squinting like that. If you want me to go, just put them away and we’ll go.”

  “But I need them to see.”

  “Please.”

  “Please what? These are prescription lenses. I can’t see my hand in front of my face without them.”

  I scoffed. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Why would I be kidding?”

  I reached for his glasses and he let me have them. They were heavier than any of my frames. I tried them on. “Whoa. You are blind. Why don’t you get your eyes lasered?”

  “I don’t have the cash.”

  “But it’s covered by universal medical.”

  He burst out laughing. “Seriously? Ha. I’m definitely not in my universe.”

  I frowned at that. His story was bizarre, but since I couldn’t report Teagan as missing until she’d been gone for twenty-four hours, I had time to humor this guy and maybe he’d give me a clue as to where Teagan went.

  “I’ll go with you, but you have to walk in front of me, more than an arm’s length and I’ll have my phone ready to dial the police.”

  “Deal.” He stood and walked to the open door. When he was six feet ahead of me, I got up and followed.

  Marlow knew exactly where he was going, and with his long legs, I had to break into a near jog just to keep up to the six-foot mark behind him. The guy was on the tall side and lanky and with the way his hair swooped forward, he reminded me a bit of the character Shaggy from the cartoon Scooby-Doo.

  The campus had a system of well-marked walking and biking paths that skirted around all the technical buildings and lecture halls and weaved through all the residential areas. Five minutes later, we arrived at a dorm that looked similar to the one I lived in with Teagan. Marlow ducked down behind a hedge, and when I didn’t follow—because, hello, crazy!—he waved me over with frantic intensity.

  I looked around and over my shoulder to make sure no one spotted my strange behavior and scooted in to duck down near him. The fall air was crisp and I noticed that he was starting to shiver. I wrapped my jacket tighter.

  “They can’t see me,” he said in a near whisper.

  “Why? Are you invisible now? Because I hate to break it to you.”

  “No, I mean, I can’t let them see me. I don’t know what will happen if the two mes meet.”

  I rubbed my temples. Marlow’s stories were definitely making my headache worse. Teagan was probably back at our dorm right now, wondering where I was. She left early and simply forgot her phone. She was a bit of an airhead, her mind always on her artwork, and it wouldn’t be the first time she’d left it somewhere. I’d gotten all worked up for nothing, and boy, wouldn’t she laugh when I told her about this nut job.

  Or maybe not. I was sure she actually had hopes for the Marlow guy she’d met online. I hated to be the one to have to break the bad news that he was not the one.

  “Just go knock on the door,” Marlow continued. “Ask to talk to Marlow Henry. Then ask him your questions. I’ll wait here.”

  Couldn’t he hear how psycho he sounded? But, since I was here anyway, no reason not to check it out. I made my way to the front door of the dorm, smoothed out my jacket, ran a hand through my hair and took a breath. Then I knocked.

  A skinny guy with a beard answered the door. “Is Marlow Henry here?” I asked.

  “Uh, yeah.” He called over his shoulder. “Marlow, there’s a girl here to see you.”

  There were a bunch of guys in a common room much like our lounge. This one had a large flat-screen TV in the corner and an old couch situated in front of it. My breath hitched a little when Marlow’s doppelganger rose to his feet and came to the door. He looked exactly like the Marlow who was hiding behind the hedge, but without the glasses. I might not have noticed the mirror image if I hadn’t asked Marlow to take off his glasses earlier. Each Marlow had a dark mole high on his left cheek.

  “You’re Marlow Henry?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you have a twin brother?”

  “No. What’s this about?”

  “You wouldn’t happen to have ID on you?”

  He folded his arms and leaned back defensively. “Is this about that Teagan girl?”

  My heart jumped. “Why would you ask that?”

  “I already told those detectives I’ve never met her. Never even heard her name before they interrogated me. I have no idea why she’d implicate me for such a horrible crime, but it was a cruel joke, and I’m not laughing.”

  I was there when Teagan told the police about her suspicions about Marlow after he’d warned her of a rape before it happened. She thought that since he’d warned her, he might’ve been the attacker, like he was telling her what he was going to do.

  The Marlow standing before me claimed to never have messaged with Teagan and the police couldn’t prove otherwise. Then another man was arrested.

  “Look, unless you’re here to clear my name or offer some other benefit to my wasting time talking to you,” this Marlow said, “I’ve got work to do.”

  “Sorry to bother you.”

  My legs were shaking when I returned to the Marlow behind the hedge.

  “Wow,” he said. “I’m a jerk in this universe. I promise, I’m not like that.”

  I studied him, squatting like a toddler, his face full of concern and turmoil. He’d warned Teagan about a rape before it happened, here. Had it already happened there? Could this guy be for real?

  “You said you had reason to believe Teagan was in trouble. Why?”

  Marlow’s gaze dropped to the ground. His shoulders sagged. “Because, in my world… she’s dead.”

  29

  

  Marlow

  Sage broke into a sprint back to her dorm. I called after her, “Sage!”

  “Stay away from me!”

  “I can’t. I need you to help me find her.”

  “She’s probably back in the dorm right now, and if she is, I’m calling the cops on you!”

  “And if she’s not?”

  Her pace slowed and she covered her face with one hand. Her voice was so quiet I barely heard her say, “She has to be.”

  Unfortunately, Teagan wasn’t there when we arrived, just like I knew she wouldn’t be. I wished Sage was right, that I was crazy. That I hadn’t woken up this morning in another realm and gotten beamed out through a mysterious storm to this world where Teagan was missing.

  Sage sat quietly at her desk and stared out the window. “Do you think she’s dead?” she asked. “Here, I mean.”

  Her question gave me hope that she was starting to believe me. I needed her to believe me because I needed her help.

  “I don’t know. In my world they found her body right away. Since there’s been no reports of another victim here so far, we can hope she’s alive.

  Sage grabbed her laptop and started typing. She scrolled through the news headlines. “No, there’s no reports of a new attack.” She spun to look at me. “She’s probably fine and on her way home.”

  “Have you texted her?”

  She flashed me an annoyed look and
pointed to a phone on a small table beside Teagan’s bed.

  I sat in Teagan’s chair and pulled her laptop close. “Do you mind if I check? Maybe there’s a clue here to where she went?”

  “Good idea.” Sage pulled her chair up close to mine. She smelled good, fruity, and I tensed. I wasn’t used to having girls sitting so close. And I probably smelled like a garbage dump. I shook my head and forced myself to focus.

  Teagan hadn’t shut down her computer or signed out, so all I had to do was click the return button to wake it up. I found the forum where we chatted still on the screen.

  Sage shifted closer to read. It was strangely embarrassing, having one girl read the transcript of a conversation I had with another girl.

  She glanced at me. “You’re averagegeek99?”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know how average.”

  She flicked her fingers at me and I stopped talking.

  @averagegeek99: This is going to sound weird but I need you to confirm your identity. Quickly, so I know you’re not scrolling through old texts, what is my biggest fear?

  @art4ever: Snakes.

  @averagegeek99: My roommate’s name?

  @art4ever: Zed.

  @averagegeek99: First joke?

  @art4ever: Knock, knock. Marlow, what’s going on?

  @averagegeek99: Sorry. Don’t mean to freak you out.

  @art4ever: Too late.

  @averagegeek99: Something weird is happening. I can’t explain it, just, I thought you were in trouble.

  @art4ever: I’m fine. I’m in my dorm. Door’s locked. Just getting ready for bed.

  “That’s creepy, Marlow.” She glared at me. “Why would you try to scare her like that?”

  “I wasn’t trying to scare her. I was scared. I’d just heard that she’d been killed. All the news sources confirmed it.”

  I scrolled down to the bottom of the page, not wanting Sage to read any more between Teagan and me. I was looking for something else. Another conversation tucked out from underneath the forum window. I clicked on its edges.

  “She went to meet her mother.” I remembered now. “It was one of the last things she wrote to me.”

  Sage leaned in and I purposely took a deep breath of her scent. Somehow I managed to say, “Read this.”

  @art4ever to @mylakeisthebestlake: Hey, Mom. What’s up?

  @mylakeisthebestlake: Good news! I’m at DU! There’s a coffee shop by the park on the edge of campus. Believe in Beans. Do you know it? Can you meet me? I’d come to your room but the campus is so large and confusing. I’m afraid I’d lose my way in the dark.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Sage said. “Teagan’s mom is way overprotective. That’s why I can’t picture her asking Teagan to bus across campus to her. If she came this far, she’d come all the way to the dorm.”

  “Maybe she tried and got lost.”

  “It’s not that complicated.”

  “Why wouldn’t Teagan think it weird then?”

  “I don’t know. Her mother is very controlling. She says jump and Teagan jumps, no questions asked. It was one reason why Teagan wanted to go to an out-of-state college, to gain some distance from her and her mother. It was the only time I’ve seen her defy her mother’s wishes.”

  “You’ve known Teagan a long time?”

  “Since I moved in next door to her in fifth grade.”

  “Do you know how to get to this Believe in Beans place?

  Sage nodded.

  I stood, wishing I didn’t look like such a dweeb, then reminded myself to stop being so shallow. How I looked in front of a pretty girl was of no consequence. What mattered was finding Teagan.

  “Take me there,” I said.

  Sage nodded and threw an oversized hoodie at me. “I borrowed it from my brother. It should fit.”

  My mind went in a million directions as I took in the sight of this alternate world. It was a cleaner, wealthier version. The buildings all had new paint jobs and trimmed vines out front and the people wore high-end clothing. I felt like a complete bum and kept my arms wrapped tightly around my chest. I followed Sage onto the bus—she had a pass, and she threw some coins in for me—and took the aisle seat after Sage scooted next to the window. Her gaze remained outward. I didn’t blame her for wanting to forget I was there.

  We sat in silence as the bus went north, stopping every so often to let riders on and off.

  Sage finally spoke. “Teagan is a really responsible girl. She doesn’t even party. She’s quiet, too. Likes to be alone. I’ve made a lot of new friends since September. She’s met…” She glanced at me woefully. “…you.”

  I patted her arm. “We’ll find her.”

  Her gaze cut to my hand still touching her and I sharply pulled it away.

  “Mrs. Lake’s message said it was dark out,” I said, “which at this time of year means she left anytime after 5 pm.”

  “What time were you chatting?” Sage asked.

  “Late afternoon. I’m not sure how synced up our times zones are.”

  “It’s so weird when you talk like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you’re from another plane.”

  I sighed. “You don’t believe me?”

  She snorted through her nose. “That’s the problem. I do.”

  There were only a few passengers left when the bus came to the stop near Believe in Beans. I spotted the café sign through the window and stood. My face was slapped with a cold November wind as I hopped off the bus.

  Sage stepped up beside me, her hands tucked deeply into her jacket pocket. “It doesn’t even look open,” she said.

  My gut told me this was bad even before we got close enough to look inside. “If Teagan came here and saw this, what do you think she would do?” I asked.

  “It depends on whether her mother was here waiting or not.”

  Or if someone else was waiting. I shivered and looked around. The parking lot edged along a forested park. I walked toward it.

  “Maybe she went to the hotel across the highway,” Sage said. “Maybe she’s there right now, with Mrs. Lake.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  There was a noticeable path in the woods but it was impossible to tell if Teagan had been here. It would’ve been quite dark. There were no exterior lights.

  We hoofed it over an overpass across the highway to where we could see a hotel down the road. A rush of dried leaves followed us inside the building when I opened the door to the lobby.

  Sage went to the counter and spoke to the clerk. “I’m looking for a friend. She might be staying here with her mother.”

  “What’s the last name?” the clerk asked.

  “Lake. Her mother’s name is Madison Lake.”

  The clerk typed into a computer then shook her head. “I don’t have anyone here by that name.”

  I stepped forward. “What about last night?”

  “No. No one by that name.”

  “Our friend has blond hair,” I said

  Sage added, “With a blue streak on the right side. Hard to miss.”

  The clerk shrugged sympathetically “I wasn’t on duty last night. I can ask around.”

  Sage pointed to a hotel brochure. “Is this your email?”

  The girl nodded. “I’m emailing you a picture of her. Would you mind printing it?”

  Sage thumbed at her phone, sending a pic of Teagan and the clerk printed it. I couldn’t help staring at the 8 x 11 image.

  “Her name is Teagan,” Sage said. “If you see her or if anyone here has seen her, please call me.” Sage wrote her number on the bottom edge of the photo.

  We stepped back outside into the blustery fall day.

  “Now what?” Sage asked.

  “Let’s go back to your dorm,” I said, sighing. “It’s time to call the police.”

  30

  

  Sage

  My heart plummeted to the floor when I got back to our room and Teagan still hadn’t shown up.

  P
art of me really hoped and imagined she would be there, flashing her welcoming smile and then freaking out when she saw who I was with. Part of me knew she’d still be gone.

  I didn’t want to believe Marlow’s story. Even if he and the other Marlow were twins playing an elaborate joke to get back at Teagan for pointing a finger their way, it didn’t explain why Teagan was still missing. And if it were a joke, this Marlow was an incredible actor. Tension and distress oozed off him. Plus, he wouldn’t be calmly standing there watching me dial the police, would he?

  “Hello? I need to report a missing person.”

  I glanced up at Marlow, and he rubbed his face before sitting in Teagan’s chair.

  “It’s my roommate. Teagan Lake.” I told the dispatcher that she left our dorm sometime last night and hadn’t returned. She asked me if it had been twenty-four hours since I last saw her.

  “Not yet. Almost.”

  “Kids take off all the time without telling dorm mates,” she said. Had I called her parents? Kids, especially freshman, get homesick all the time.

  “She wasn’t homesick and she wouldn’t have left without telling me.”

  The officer wouldn’t budge. Told me to call in when Teagan had been missing for twenty-four hours.

  “No go, huh?” Marlow said.

  I shook my head.

  “Do you mind if I use your shower?” Marlow asked. He ran a hand through rough-looking hair and inconspicuously sniffed an armpit. “It’s, uh, been awhile.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, pretending not to notice. “Knock yourself out.”

  If I was going to believe Marlow’s story, and at the moment I couldn’t think of an alternative, then that meant he “arrived” with just the clothes on his back. I made a decision to visit my brother, a senior who lived in a dorm not far from mine. He was here on a football scholarship and hopefully wasn’t home. I needed to steal some of his clothes.

  I got back to my dorm about twenty minutes later, with clothes and two sub sandwiches.

  Marlow had showered up and sat on Teagan’s chair. His wet hair was slicked back and his glasses were perched on his nose. The way he sat, all hunched over made him look like a scared little boy. He jumped a bit, looking startled when I breezed in.