Girl in Trouble

by Stacy Claflin

  "Doesn't matter." Alex played with the empty bottle. "I didn't do it, but I'm still fired."

  "That sucks. What are you gonna do?"

  Alex shrugged. "Not much I can do. Not now. I have to get back to the search party."

  "Here, have one on me." Cole slid him another beer.

  "Thanks." Alex studied the bottle, trying to decide if he should or not. Why not? It wasn't like a second beer would get him plastered. He was still pissed off and wanted to punch a hole in something. He took a long, slow sip, hoping this one would help him feel better. Maybe it would help him figure out what to do about the threats. It was probably time to mention them to Nick—Flynn wasn't playing around, and he needed to be stopped.

  Attempt

  Ariana gasped for air as the deadbolt locked. She couldn't believe she'd managed to get the butter knife into the room. It was a miracle the thing hadn't slid out of her sleeve or showed much of a bulge while she ate. Lloyd had been distracted, though. In fact, he had to get back to something right after they ate.

  At least that would give her some time to see what she could do with the lock now that she had the butter knife. He was now banging things around in the kitchen, so she'd have to wait. If she was lucky, he'd leave again.

  She slid the knife out from her sleeve and stared at it, eager to test it out.

  Knock, knock.

  Ariana jumped, nearly dropping it. She shoved it behind some creepy dolls. "Y-yeah?"

  He came inside. "Sorry to have to leave you in here again, Jan. I'm going to make it up to you. We'll have ice cream and watch a movie tonight, okay? Then tomorrow we'll get ready for Halloween."

  "Okay."

  "Do you need anything?"

  Other than to go home? To her real home. "No."

  "I'll be back soon. Sorry again."

  "It's okay." What did he expect her to say?

  The floor creaked under Lloyd's feet as he walked out and then locked the door.

  She breathed a sigh of relief and went over to the window to make sure he was really leaving. A few minutes later, he appeared out by the car. He got in and drove away.

  Ariana waited, holding her breath, just to make sure he didn't come back. Once she was sure he was really gone, she took the knife and stuck it in the keyhole. It didn't go very far, but she could wiggle it around. She tried several angles, waiting to hear the familiar click.

  Nothing.

  She pressed her shoulder against the wall, jiggling it and trying different angles.

  Had stealing the knife been for nothing? No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't let it be.

  Ariana kept trying and trying, until sweat dripped into her eyes. She wasn't ready to admit defeat, but she had to try something new.

  Gravel crunched under tires outside.

  He was back already?

  She ran over to the window, and sure enough, the car was returning. Ariana looked around the room, desperate to find a hiding spot for the knife.

  Where would Lloyd never think to look?

  A car door slammed shut outside.

  She jumped and breathed heavily, heart pounding. The knife shook in her hand. No, her hands were shaking.

  The car alarm beeped outside.

  Ariana ran over to the large, heavy dollhouse and lifted one side. Everything shifted down to the left in all the tiny rooms. She grimaced but shoved the knife underneath and set the house down, trying to keep it silent. Her middle finger got stuck underneath. She held back a cry as the pain shot through her finger.

  She managed to lift the house again and pull her hand away. As she shook it out, she noticed an indent in her skin. The finger grew hot and throbbed. She stuck it in her mouth, hoping that would somehow help.

  The deadbolt clicked.

  Ariana sat down and grabbed a couple dolls, careful to hold them so Lloyd wouldn't see her finger.

  The door opened slowly. Lloyd appeared. "Are you all right? I thought I heard a thud." He walked over and looked at the messed up rooms in the dollhouse. "What happened?"

  She swallowed. Time to think fast. "They had an earthquake—the dolls did. That's what you heard. Why the rooms are like that."

  Lloyd nodded. "You had me worried, but I should've known better. You've always been so creative like that, Jan."

  Ariana tried to smile.

  "You ready for ice cream and a movie?" he asked.

  "Yeah."

  "Wanna skip dinner and go straight to dessert? Mom and Dad never let us do that, but I say we do what we want since they're not here."

  Time to get into character. Ariana widened her eyes and forced a smile. "Really?"

  He waved her toward the door. "Help me scoop the ice cream."

  Ariana glanced at the dollhouse and back to Lloyd, but he didn't seem to know anything was wrong. She sighed in relief.

  "Are you okay?"

  Fear drummed through her. "Yeah, great."

  Lloyd put an arm around her shoulders. "I can't tell you how glad I am to have you back. I hate that I keep having to leave, but some things came up that…" His voice trailed off. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. We're together now, and that's all that I care about."

  "It's amazing."

  They went to the kitchen, where three boxes of ice cream sat on the table next to five or six bottles of toppings.

  Ariana's eyes widened, momentarily forgetting where she really was until Lloyd rubbed his hands together, his eyes equally lit up.

  "I just knew you'd love it. You fill the bowls while I pop the popcorn." He went over to an old-fashioned popcorn maker and poured in a bunch of kernels. They made a lot of noise as they slid down. Popping filled the air, and soon the entire room smelled of popcorn. He turned on the stove and put a stick of butter in a pan. "You going to make the sundaes?"

  "Right." Ariana turned around and scooped vanilla into each bowl, then chocolate, and finally almond fudge. There was still room for more, so she put extra chocolate into each before drizzling on toppings.

  Lloyd drizzled the melted butter on top of the huge bowl of popcorn and then added salt. He picked it up with one hand and then grabbed a six pack of root beer with the other. "Are you ready to take all this into the rec room?"

  She nodded and took the two bowls of ice cream, following him through a hallway she hadn't yet seen. He opened a door and nodded for her to go in first.

  The room had two green flowered couches, a matching recliner, a huge brick fireplace, a pool table, and some brightly colored posters on each wall. Lloyd set the pop and popcorn on an intricately carved wooden table and turned on the TV. "Eat your ice cream before it melts."

  Ariana sat on the nearest couch and dug in while he set up the movie.

  He sat next to her and took the other sundae. "Mmm. You always make the best ones."

  The movie started, and it was one she'd wanted to see for a long time, but her parents wouldn't let her. They said it would be too scary.

  Lloyd turned to her and gave a friendly smile. "You're going to love this movie. I just know it." He put the bowl of popcorn between them.

  She nodded and took a handful. Guilt stung at her for enjoying herself, but really, who could blame her? Ice cream sundaes, root beer, popcorn, and a scary movie.

  Note

  By the time Alex made it back, the flier-handing party had ended. A few kids played on the playground as their moms talked.

  His heart sank. He'd really wanted to do something to help find Ariana. He popped a couple breath mints. Having beer breath wouldn't help anything. He sighed and parked in his parents' driveway.

  He dragged his feet to the front door. Would he tell them their college dropout son who'd managed to let his daughter get kidnapped was now unemployed? It would take serious effort to sink lower than he already had.

  Alex balanced the box while he dug out his keys and unlocked the door. Upstairs in the kitchen, he could hear conversation. It sounded like his parents, Macy, Luke, Zoey, and her parents. The whole gang.

  No way
was he going to talk about getting canned in front of all of them.

  He slid off his coat and boots and walked upstairs, trying to be quiet enough to walk by unnoticed.

  "Nice of you to stop by," Zoey said.

  His stomach tightened into knots. "I had to talk to my boss. My job was on the line."

  "Are you okay?" his mom asked.

  "I'm fine. How did it go? I wanted to get back in time."

  Macy smiled at him. "It went really well. So many people showed up that we ran out of fliers. But they're online so anyone can print them off. Sit down, you look tired."

  Alex glanced at the full table and shook his head. "I'll head up to my room and print some off. I was serious about wanting to hand them out." He hurried up to his room before anyone could argue. Truth was, he didn't want to see Zoey right then. Not at his absolute lowest. He probably would end up hitting something.

  He connected his laptop to his old printer and set it to print out fifty fliers while he brushed his teeth and took a shower. When he came back into his room, the pile waited for him and Macy sat on the bed.

  Alex adjusted his towel around his waist, hiking it up. "What are you doing?"

  "Just wanted to make sure you're okay. You seemed upset—I mean, more than before. Did something else happen?"

  The concern in her eyes nearly broke him. "Can I get dressed first?"

  She nodded and got up, glancing at his box. "Moving back in?"

  He shook his head but shrugged. "Just seemed like I needed some more clothes. Hopefully, Ari will be back soon and I won't need them."

  "So you can go back to your life?" There was no accusation in her tone, and that made the sting hurt all the worse.

  "I don't know what's going on, Macy. I just need to focus on Ariana. Crap." He slapped his forehead. "I need to call Nick. I was supposed to call him earlier."

  "Who's Nick?"

  "Fleshman. Seriously, I need to get dressed. Scram or get a show."

  "You're on a first name basis with the police captain?"

  Alex reached for his towel.

  "We're not done talking." She left, closing the door behind her.

  He sighed in relief and grabbed some clothes from his apartment. He brushed his hair and then picked up the fliers. Ariana's smiling face and big, innocent eyes felt like a punch in the gut. He sat on the bed, gasping for air as he read the flier with her age, size, coloring, and other information like where she'd been last seen and what she'd been wearing.

  It was all so… He didn't know the word. Clinical? Impersonal? It should've said something about how fun and sweet she was, and how important it was to find her and punish the bastard who'd taken her.

  Alex set the stack on the desk and shoved his clothes into the drawers. When he picked up one of his work shirts, a scrap of yellow paper floated down to the ground.

  He picked it up, trying to figure out what it was from. There shouldn't have been any paper in his clean clothes. He unfolded it to find unfamiliar fancy handwriting in blue ballpoint ink.

  I told you to stay out of it. You didn't listen. I hope you see now that I mean business. Drop your research, or your sister gets it.

  Alex's hands shook as he read and re-read the note.

  First, the weasel takes his daughter, then he plants drugs in Alex's locker and gets him fired. Now he dared to threaten his sister?

  Blind fury tore through Alex. If he ever got his hands on the kidnapper, he would tear him to shreds. He would torture him slowly, making him pay for everything until he pleaded, begging for mercy.

  Alex grabbed a stapler. He would make sure the fliers were on every pole in town. The kidnapper better hope the cops got to him before Alex did.

  Longer

  By the time Alex got back home to his parents' house, he was exhausted. Hanging and handing out fliers was surprisingly tiring—maybe as much as roofing. Or maybe it was because of the mental exhaustion.

  He'd been trying not to think about the kidnapper's threat against his sister, but how could he not? His anger toward that man went into every staple on every pole.

  Alex was tempted to find the man and give him a piece of his own medicine. He had time now that Flynn had gotten him fired. Time was all he had.

  The only question was whether or not to tell Macy there was now a threat against her. The first one had panned out—and Alex sure as hell wasn't going to give up the search for Ariana.

  Macy deserved to know what was going on—but what if Alex could take care of Flynn first? He could outsmart the loser and find him before he made his next move. Then Macy would never have to deal with the stress of knowing he'd threatened her.

  "Is that you, Alex?" called his mom from somewhere upstairs.

  Alex closed the door. He'd been standing there with it open without realizing it. "Yeah, it's me."

  He took his boots off and went upstairs, finding her in the kitchen. She was cleaning it, despite the fact that it was already spotless.

  "I was out hanging fliers. Handed out some, too."

  "Good. You never know which one might be the one that makes a difference."

  He nodded and sat, doubting if they would actually matter. Everyone already knew she was gone from social media and the news.

  "Are you hungry?"

  Alex shrugged. He was, but he didn't feel like eating.

  "You need some food, and we have plenty. Some neighbors brought over meals. Do you want lasagna or a casserole?"

  "Surprise me." He rested his head on the table, trying to decide how to bring up the threats to Nick. One thing was sure—he needed to do it soon. Flynn had threatened Macy.

  Clementine came into the room and rubbed against Alex's legs. He reached down and petted the tabby.

  He realized his mom was talking to him, but he had no idea what about. Then the microwaved beeped, and she set a plate in front of him. He sat up and saw the steaming casserole piled high on the plate. "Thanks."

  "Eat up. You need your energy." She poured some red wine into two glasses and sat next to him, giving him one.

  "So do you. Have you eaten?"

  "Plenty." She sipped the wine. "I hope we all get through this. A second kidnapping—that's two more than any family should have to endure."

  "I'll drink to that." He downed the entire glass of wine.

  Mom arched a brow, but didn't say anything.

  Alex dug into the casserole, realizing just how hungry he actually was. He scarfed the whole thing down, burning his tongue in the process.

  "How long are you planning on staying? You can stay as long as you want," Mom added quickly. "I'm just trying to plan."

  "At least until we find Ariana."

  "Your boss is okay with you missing more work?"

  "He's not expecting me any time soon." Alex pushed his plate away, anger building just thinking about his interaction with Darren.

  "Are you okay, hon? I mean with your job." She took his plate and glass, and carried them to the sink.

  Part of him wanted to open up and spill everything. Mom had always been on his side. But he didn't know where to begin, and he felt like such a mess. "I just need to focus on finding Ariana."

  She turned around and gave him a sad smile. "You're a good dad, I hope you know that. She knows that."

  Alex looked away. "I'd like to be better. Speaking of, I need to make a call. Thanks again for the food."

  As Alex went up the stairs to his room, he passed his dad.

  "I've been blogging about Ariana like I did with Macy. I'm getting a lot of views and comments."

  "That's great, Dad." He'd always been obsessed with his site's stats.

  "It's really getting the word out about Ari. People are talking and searching—they're sharing possible sightings. I need to let the police know."

  "I'm going to call Fleshman, so I can tell him if you want."

  Dad put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "People don't blame you as much as you think."

  Alex snorted.

  "I'm seri
ous."

  "That's because they're commenting on your blog."

  "It gets as many jerk comments as any other site. You should read some of the comments—you've got a whole Team Alex."

  "Right." Alex rolled his eyes.

  "You do."

  "Obviously you haven't been on social media."

  "You have to ignore the trolls. They're only there for the drama. At least until something more exciting comes along."

  "Like I said, I'm going to call Fleshman. If I want things done, he's the one to talk to."

  "I thought the FBI took the case over."

  "They're helping. Hey, I'll check out your blog. I swear."

  "It'll help to hear from people who believe in you. Ignore the trolls."

  Alex nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

  "We'll find Ari. We will."

  "I know." Alex walked by him and into his room. His body begged him to crash on the bed and give into the food coma for a while.

  Not until he spoke with Nick. The captain needed to know what was going on with the threats. He would know how to handle the latest one aimed at Macy.

  Alex sat at the desk and called Nick's cell phone.

  "Hey, Alex. I'm just heading home, and I found something you need to see."

  "We have to talk."

  "Meet me there."

  Flynn had known the last time Alex went there. "Somewhere else."

  "Why?" Nick asked.

  "I'll explain when we get there."

  "Do you think one of our phones are being tapped?"

  Alex's stomach twisted in knots. He hadn't until Nick brought it up. What if Flynn had managed that? If he had, Alex couldn't say anything to Nick over the phone. "Ha, ha. That only happens in the movies. Let's just meet somewhere out of the way."

  "There's a greasy hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the—"

  "Hey, why don't you text me the address?"

  "Sure." The call ended, and a minute later, the text came in.

  Got it. Cu soon.

  Alex stuck his laptop in the case, hurried to his car, and put the address in the GPS before punching the gas. It was definitely out of the way—the number of turns down obscure streets was ridiculous. He found a place to parallel park down a seedy side street. It was a good thing he didn't have a nice car. Someone stealing the Tercel would almost be a gift.