Make It Right

by Shannon Flagg

  What the hell was that all about? From what she'd learned about Jillian, she wanted to have nothing more to do with Nightshade than was absolutely necessary. Maybe she was pissed they'd come to her to ask for another favor.

  “Hey.” Jillian's voice was as bright as her forced smile. “I bet I can guess why you're here.”

  “I also need some coffee and pie with whipped cream to go. James is hungry.”

  “I should go and have a word with him.” Ace cleared his throat. “Jilly will get you up to speed.”

  “Asshole.” Jillian huffed the word under her breath. “Sorry. He just... I haven't heard anything that I can be sure of, but there were a few officers in here earlier who were heading for a special assignment. They were bitching about it. I'm not sure where, but they headed towards the waterfront when they left.”

  It wasn't much, but at least it was a direction. “Thanks. Anything helps. What time is your shift over?”

  “I'm working until nine tonight. Why?”

  “Just wondering. You look tired.”

  “I've been here since eight, so yeah, I'm tired. I should have been off at four, but one of the other servers is suspiciously sick.” Jillian rolled her eyes. “And the water brigade over there is due for a refill. Do you know what kind of tip you get when a table only drinks water and splits one order of cheese fries?”

  “Not much, I'd imagine.”

  “Exactly.” Jillian sighed. “I'll call Edge if I hear anything else. And I'll get you that coffee and pie.”

  “Make it two of each.” Amelia knew that it was going to be a long day. A really long day. It didn't take Jillian long to bring her over a takeout bag. “And keep the change.” She handed her over a twenty and shook her head when offered change.

  James was sitting right where she'd left him, fingers tapping impatiently against the steering wheel. She hadn't even taken that long, and she had pie. “Did Ace tell you?”

  “There's an apartment about three blocks from the waterfront. One of the newer buildings. It's empty, the company that owned it went belly up about six months after they opened the doors. No one ever even got to live in the apartments above the shops.” James grabbed the one of the coffees out of the holder. “Let's check it out.”

  “How are you going to eat pie and drive?” Amelia settled down in the seat, put her coffee in the holder between them and took out one of the two containers.

  “I am a man of many talents. Hand it over.”

  Amelia handed it over, placed her container of pie back in the bag and was suitably impressed when he managed to get them to the building and eat the entire piece of pie without incident. “Isn't that Harris?”

  James pulled over to the curb about a block away from the building. “There are binoculars in the glove compartment. Give them to me,” he told her. Amelia got them and gave them to him. “It's her and she's pissed.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “She's motioning with her hands as she's talking.” He let out a laugh. “I think she's really losing her shit.” And he laughed again. Amelia didn't quite understand what was so funny. “Don't you get it? If she's that pissed, it can only be for one reason. Something happened with Missy. By the way she's yelling at the two uniformed officers, I'd say it's a safe bet that they let her slip away.”

  “That's not funny.”

  “Saves us from having to take out cops to get to her. If she's ditched Harris, she's going to want to get out of town. She can't use her car, DPD is going to be looking for it. So, she's got to find alternate transportation.”

  “And she's not going to be able to steal a car. She doesn't know how to hotwire.”

  “She could try for the airport.”

  “No.” Amelia shook her head. “She can't do that. You need identification to fly. Sure, she's got it, but if DPD flagged her plates, they're going to have the people at the airport on alert. If she's going to go with public transportation, it'll be the bus or the train.”

  “Can you see Missy on a bus?” James let out another snort of laughter. “Here. Watch Harris. I'm going to try and see if we can hear anything. I've got a sound amplifier in here, maybe we'll be able to hear some of what they're saying.”

  Amelia took the binoculars, focused on Harris while James dug around in the glove compartment a bit more. He found what he was looking for. “Isn't that one of those things old people use to hear the television without waking the neighbors?”

  “Something like that. This version is more powerful.” He slid the earpiece in his ear. “You're right. They've got the airport, bus and train stations notified, but Harris is trying to keep it quiet. Good luck with that.”

  “The airport is definitely out. I can't see her on a bus, either, but a train might not be so bad. It's faster. Easier to hide on. It's just a guess but if I had to bet, I'd bet on the train station.” Amelia handed the binoculars back. “I need to call Danny. Get at least some of the guys there.”

  James tossed the binoculars into the back seat. “We can get there before them. Call him when we're almost there.”

  “But...”

  “I want to be the one to kill her, Amelia. I need to be the one.” James tore the earpiece from his ear and threw it in the same direction as the binoculars. “I need to be the one.”

  “I get it. I really do.” Amelia left her phone on her lap, but she didn't dial Danny’s number. As long as Missy died, did it really matter who killed her? And maybe killing her would help James to find some sort of peace. She owed him that much.

  James drove directly past where Harris was still throwing her fit. The blonde woman never even noticed them. Amelia had the window down enough to hear the stream of profanity she was unleashing on the two officers. The train station wasn't far, but the drive seemed to take an eternity. By the time that they were finally there she was sure that she was going to throw up from the sheer nerves.

  “There are two different tracks,” James said as he parked the truck. “We're going to have to split up. There's no way to tell where she'll be going.”

  There was no way to know which side Missy was going to be on. “Alright. So what, whoever finds her kills her?”

  “If you find her, don't let her see you. Give me your phone.” He took the phone, programmed a contact on it. “That's my number. You call me and I'll get there. Trust me, I'll get there.”

  “Alright. I'm going to call Danny now.”

  “I'll see you up there.”

  They headed up two different staircases. Amelia dialed Danny's phone and got no answer. She left a tense message and shoved her phone back into her pocket. The train platform wasn't very crowded, but there were enough people that she'd be able to blend in.

  Amelia flipped up the hood on her sweatshirt and walked along. Each time that she spotted a blonde woman, her heart began to race a little faster, but disappointment followed when the women weren't who she was looking for. Missy must have been on the other side. She looked over, saw James. He was also wearing his hood. He'd hunched himself over to make himself seem shorter.

  Maybe they were at the wrong place. Maybe she'd made the wrong decision to bring them to the train station. Missy could have called a friend. She could have paid someone to drive her out of town. There were a million options. She shouldn't have focused on this one, the wrong one.

  Amelia stopped dead in her tracks as she realized that she might just have signed the death warrant of everyone in Nightshade.

  “You've got to be fucking kidding me.” Missy hissed the words in Amelia's ear. “All I wanted was to get out of this town but no, you've got to show up here. That was a big mistake.”

  Amelia remained still as she felt something sharp press against her side, there was a stinging pain and she felt warm blood pool beneath her sweatshirt. “What do you want, Missy?”

  “I want you to say hi to your sister for me. That's what I want. Walk forward. Now.”

  Warning bells went off in Amelia's mind as she heard the distorted mechani
cal voice announcing the next train that was going to pull into the station. When she didn't move, Missy pressed the knife against her side again.

  The pain of the blade piercing her flesh made Amelia cry out. Several people looked over, but they all looked away just as fast. One of the perils of a big city was how people could ignore what was happening right beneath their noses.

  Amelia realized that the way James laughed earlier hadn't been about humor, it had been about hysteria. It was what she felt as she began to move forward. “You're not going to get away with this.” With all the shit that Missy had done, there was no way she could. There had to be some sort of payback for her actions. There just had to be.

  “Are you talking about Monroe? He can try to get here in time, but he won't. You've got a train to catch.” Missy sounded so smug, so pleased with herself, that it actually made Amelia want to throw up. She knew without a doubt that there was no way Missy thought she could get caught or be stopped and she intended to prove her wrong.

  Amelia looked down the track. She could see it approaching and realized that Missy intended to push her in front of it. “I'm not talking about Monroe.” She took a deep breath, steeled herself for whatever pain might follow. “I'm talking about me.” Missy stuck the knife deeper. Amelia screamed but struck out anyway. She turned and swung wildly, felt her fist connect with Missy's jaw. The shock made Missy stumble and she dropped the knife.

  It was covered in blood, Amelia's blood. Some part of her brain recalled that adrenaline could mask pain. She pressed her hand to her side, nearly passed out from the pain, and it came away covered with blood. “MISSY!” The voice was familiar, but it took Amelia a moment to realize that it was Royal. Missy turned to face him. The train horn blared; she could feel the vibration as it approached the station. Royal lunged forward, tackling Missy, and together they both seemed to fly off of the raised platform.

  The train hit them both. Someone screamed. Amelia felt something thick and warm splash on her. She looked down and realized that it was blood, or more accurately bloody chunks of flesh. Someone screamed again and Amelia realized that she was the one screaming.

  She was aware of the people around her, the pure chaos that had erupted. Other people were screaming, sobbing. Someone was talking loudly on the phone to a 911 dispatcher. Someone else was narrating the scene, and when she looked over she saw it was a teenage girl with her cell phone recording the carnage. “This is totally going to go viral,” the pleased girl told her friend standing net to her.

  “Miss? Are you okay? Oh my, you're bleeding.” A concerned stranger, a man in a nice suit, laid a hand on her arm and Amelia nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “I'm fine. It's not mine. It's from...” she just motioned towards the tracks and the carnage there.

  “You should sit down. The police are on the way, I'm sure that there will be ambulances here.” The man tried to urge her towards the benches for commuters but all Amelia wanted was to leave. She shook her head and backed away from him. After a few steps Amelia realized that she should have sat down. Her sweatshirt was soaked in blood, and it wasn't from Missy or Royal. It was from where Missy had stabbed her. “Miss! I really think that you should sit down.”

  Amelia ignored the man and continued to walk. People stopped and stared. Of course they would, she was covered in blood and goo. They probably didn't realize that some of it was hers, but she did. It was hard to think or focus. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was wearing down. “Amelia!” James shouted her name. “Christ, look at you.”

  “She's dead.”

  “I know. I heard Royal scream, looked over and saw it all. You were right there. Right there. I'm sorry, Amelia. I should have taken this side. I should have...”

  “She's dead,” Amelia repeated. “It's over. It's over. It's finally over.” Saying the words made it real. Relief washed over her. The woman who had taken her family from her was dead. And with her death, they all had the chance to live again. Nightshade would continue to work with Joseph Miller, and life would return to normal, or at least what passed for normal with them.

  “Amelia?” James frowned. “You're not looking so good. Are you bleeding?”

  “She stabbed me a little in the side. Maybe I should be sitting down.” She took a step, stumbled a bit from the pain. “Yeah, I think sitting down is a good idea.”

  “We've got to get you to the hospital.”

  “No.” That was the last thing they needed to do. The hospital would have to report the stabbing. It would be too many questions. “It's not that bad. Just get me out of here. Get me home.” Amelia gripped his arm hard. “Get me out of here and find Danny.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was downright depressing inside Foxy Bend during the middle of the day. Only one woman was working, and she was having trouble staying on the stage. She'd gone nowhere near the pole in the time that Danny and Ace had been inside. Not that Danny was watching, she wasn't his type, but he couldn't help but noticing.

  The half dozen patrons didn't seem to care. Most of them weren't even watching her, they were more interested in the draft beers and cheap luncheon meat sandwiches the place offered on the buffet. Most had been there since it opened, one had been there since the night before and no one had seen Missy.

  “Where next?” Ace questioned.

  “No fucking clue.” Danny walked over to the bar where a dark-haired woman was reading something on a tablet. “Excuse me, could we get a couple of bottles of water?”

  “Sure. Smart move with the bottles. You do not want to drink out of these glasses. I'm Karen, by the way.”

  “I'm Danny. He's Ace. Do you know who we are, Sweetheart?”

  “I sure do, which is why there's no charge for the water.” She set two bottles on the counter. “Something else I can do for you?”

  “You seen this woman around?” Ace had printed out a picture of Missy. "If not today, maybe in the last few days?”

  “No. We don't get many women who aren't working in here. Why?”

  “We need to find her. I'm going to leave you a number so that you can call if you do happen to see her. Got a pen?” Karen handed him one, and he wrote his number down on a napkin. “It's really important.”

  “I figured it was, or you wouldn't be here in the middle of the day.” Karen took the number. “I'll call, but honestly, the crowd you see is the crowd that tends to be here during the day. And like I said, if women aren't working they're not hanging out here.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Because I need the money. I can do my schoolwork back here. I've got a big project due, so if you don't have any more questions I'd like to get back to it.” She looked down as her tablet chimed.

  “We don't have any more questions.” Danny grabbed one of the water bottles and opened it. He reached for his phone, intending to call Amelia, but before he could dial, he saw that he had a missed call. He dialed back, waited as the phone rang and rang. “I hate when Amelia calls me and doesn't answer when I call her back.”

  “She leave a message?” Ace leaned against the bar.

  “Yeah.” Danny listened to it. “Fuck me. They found her. They think she's at the train station.”

  “Wait, the train station?” Karen interrupted. “Sorry to eavesdrop but I just got a news alert, there's two people dead at the train station. They're saying a man shoved a woman onto the tracks and then jumped himself.”

  Danny didn't wait to hear anything else. He started for the door with Ace right behind him. They said nothing as they got into the truck. He tried Amelia again and again. And again. “Don't smash the phone,” Ace warned him. “Just keep on trying her.”

  “What if it was her and Monroe? What if he fucking snapped?”

  “It's not them.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because,” Ace replied. “Hold on, isn't that Monroe's truck?” He took a sharp turn and stopped behind the truck. “And this is where Jillian works.” Danny jumped out, ran over t
o the truck and saw Amelia in the front seat.

  “What the fuck? Amelia?” The window was up, her eyes were closed and she was covered in blood. He tried the door and it opened. “Amelia!” He shook her shoulder and her eyes opened.

  “Hey.” She smiled. It was a weak smile, but still it was a smile.

  “What happened? Why are you here? Where's James?”

  “He went inside to get Jillian.”

  “Are you hurt? Where's all this blood from? What the fuck happened?”

  “Missy's dead. Royal's dead too. He... he jumped off the platform as he pushed her... the train... this is... from when the train hit. Well, some of it is at least. They're dead.”

  “And you're hurt. Is that why James is getting Jillian? Where the fuck is she?” Danny demanded. “Fuck. You should be at a hospital.”

  “Too many questions at a hospital and you know that.”

  Danny looked over. “What the hell are you waiting for?” He demanded when he saw James and Jillian coming out the front door.

  “Sorry, but I had to clean out my cubby in the back before I left, since someone came busting in to my place of employment, made a scene and got me fired.” Jillian replied.

  “Get in the truck,” Danny told her.

  “I'm getting a little sick of being told what to do,” Jillian replied. “And I'll help Amelia because I like her. After that I'm done with all of you. Got it?” The woman was practically shaking. He wasn't sure if it was with rage or if it was because she was scared.

  “Fix my girl and I don't give a fuck what you do after,” Danny replied. “She's covered in blood. I think in shock.”

  “She's bleeding. I did what I could to stop it,” James informed him. “She tangled with Missy, got stabbed a few times.”

  “Stabbed?” Danny looked over at Amelia. “You didn't think to mention that?” He demanded.

  Ace whistled sharply, drew all of their attention. “Why don't we continue this somewhere else? Say your place, Danny? Jillian can take a look at Amelia and they can fill us in on what happened. Right now, we're pretty much just making a spectacle while your Old Lady bleeds all over Monroe's truck.”