by Sally Mason
Furiously, she scribbles down something on a notepad. I glance at Marcel, who is slumped on the barstool in total misery. He was right—she is absolutely pissed. Now I wonder if we would have been better off taking him to Tyrone. This stunt might have cost him his one chance with her.
She hands Finn the page from the notepad and 2 twenty-dollar bills. “Go to the drugstore down the road and get me this.” Her chin points to Hallie and me and then to the door. “You two wait upstairs. I get nervous when people stare at me while I work.”
I glance at Marcel with sympathy before following Hallie into her room with slumped shoulders. Twenty minutes later, Finn joins us; he has been banned from the kitchen as well. We talk with hushed voices, trying to listen to the noises from below.
A few muffled curses drift up on occasion, but otherwise, it stays quiet. Marcel must still be pretending to be tough and eating up the pain. I watch the clock on Hallie’s nightstand as the minutes pass by. My phone vibrates a few times in my pocket, yet the worry about my friend prevents me from picking up. It can only be Luke or my mom, who will want me to come home, but I’m not ready to leave Marcel until I know he’ll be okay.
It’s already getting dark when Donna comes upstairs. “He’s sleeping now. I stitched him up and it will take a few days, but then he should be almost as good as new.”
I can’t even imagine how he will look like without his ear, though I know firsthand, since the incident with Jed and Roxy, that there are reconstructive surgeries for this type of injury.
Finn gets up and stretches. “I’d better get going. Thanks for everything, Donna.” He grabs his jacket off the chair, not even glancing at me. “Marcel is a really nice guy. What happened today was not his fault.”
Donna grumbles something that sounds close to “He’s still a criminal.”
My eyes follow Finn as he strolls out. I want to call him back and ask him to take me home, but the words refuse to leave my mouth. While we were waiting, Hallie had told him about Drake. It would have been easy for him to get exonerated right on the spot. He didn’t offer and I didn’t push the subject.
Instead, the conversation went from awkward to dead, the atmosphere growing more pressing as the hours passed by. In the end, it was painful to be cramped together in the small room. Every time I glanced at him, my heart threatened to tear apart. Only Hallie’s forced chit chat kept me halfway sane, though it also prevented me from reaching out to him. Not that I would have known what to say, so it was probably for the best. We might have gotten into another argument if I had opened my mouth.
With a sigh, I pull out my phone and dial the familiar number of the one person who has always bailed me out as long as I can remember.
Luke answers on the first ring. “Hey, Kels. I was worried about you. Where are you?” He tries to sound calm, but there is a panicked undertone.
“I’m in Portland at Hallie’s house and need a ride.” I step to the window and watch as Finn gets into the truck, taking off with too much speed. A part of my heart goes with him. I wonder if we’ll ever put our stubbornness aside and work things out between us.
Luke’s voice shouts in my ear. “Kels, are you still there?”
I swallow the building lump in my throat. “Yeah.”
“What’s the address?”
A few tears spring loose and I allow them to drop off my chin. With a last-ditch effort, I pull myself back together. “112 Chestnut Lane.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He cuts the line and I stare out in the dark, trying to will Finn to come back.
When I turn around, Donna is gone, but Hallie stares at me with sad eyes. “It’s gonna be okay. As soon as Napoleon is captured, you and Finn can kiss and make up.”
I want to cry again, but I’m simply too exhausted. The events of the day have utterly worn me out and I long for just one ordinary day in my life—a day where I don’t have contact with a law representative, don’t see any blood, and don’t worry about rape suspects. That would really be nice for a change.
CHAPTER 31
Marcel stays at Donna’s house for a couple of days before quietly disappearing, probably trying to salvage whatever is left of his career. He doesn’t contact me and I leave him and Finn alone, determined to give them their space. Marcel has already done plenty, and I am mad at Finn for not valuing our friendship enough to get himself exonerated. How hard can it be to drop your pants for a few minutes to put matters to rest once and for all?
Hallie and I focus on our ultimate mission to find Napoleon, zooming in on Jackson next. He has been hitting on Hallie since the night he found her in the cabin, texting her almost daily and asking her out on dates. Personally, I have never liked him after he dropped a frog in my shirt during one of Luke’s family barbecues when I was thirteen, which also elevated him to the top of my brother’s shit list. In Jackson’s defense, he was nothing more than a boisterous eleven-year-old, but the memory of squealing hysterically in front of everyone until Luke rescued me is too horrific to just ignore.
When Hallie gets a walking cast, we are ready to strike. In my book, he is the most likely suspect since I find his presence at the cabin too odd a coincidence. Yet Hallie likes him, so I keep my opinions to myself, especially after Larouge couldn’t find any connection to the kidnappings. According to him, they are still checking him out, which is police code that Jackson is not a prime suspect in their book.
I’m surprised how well Hallie copes with the rape. Not once does she try to kill her pain by cutting; as a matter of fact, she never talks about it. Instead, she tells me how cute guys are and that she wouldn’t mind having a boyfriend. Dr. Stromberg told me that everyone deals with trauma differently and that she’s probably suppressing the memory. It still makes me bitter since I’ve struggled so much over the years—her nonchalance slowly drives a wedge between us.
“Jackson, this is Hallie Garvey,” she coos into the phone. “I got your flowers and just wanted to call and thank you. They are totes amazing.”
I roll my eyes at her suggestive laugh.
“Guess what, I got a walking cast.” She listens to Jackson’s response and giggles. “Yes, that’s why I’m calling. I’d love to go to dinner with you.”
She giggles again. “Friday night sounds great. And yes, I love Italian.”
She certainly sounds convincing, and he eats it up, promising to be at her house at seven.
She beams at me after she hangs up. “That’s set. Now who is going to accompany you on the stakeout?”
The plan is to lure Jackson to the restaurant and pull a Drake on him by ambushing him in the bathroom. Since he will likely not be too cooperative, a little help from a guy couldn’t hurt. Otherwise, I will be on my own.
Hallie refuses to reveal that she is in on the plan, afraid that this will ruin her chances with him once he is cleared. After my friendship with Finn was destroyed in the exact same manner, I can relate to her fear.
“I think we should ask Marcel,” she says. “He owes us since my sister bandaged him up.”
Marcel is out of the question. If he was still interested in helping us, he would have called. “Let’s ask someone else. He might still be too hurt to be of use.”
“True.” Hallie wrinkles her nose. “Are you sure you don’t wanna ask Finn?”
It irks me that she constantly brings up his name. “Yes, no Finn.” The only other person is my brother. “I’ll ask Luke. I’m sure he’ll help us.”
Later that night, I visit Luke in his room. College started back yesterday and he’s sorting through his new textbooks, a pen firmly tucked in between his teeth. He freezes when he notices me, giving me a stupid grin.
“Hey, Kels.”
The words sound funny with the pen in his mouth and I snicker. “I need to ask you a favor.” Flinging myself onto the bed next to him, I gaze at him with my best puppy dog eyes.
“Oh, oh, I don’t like where this is going.” He pulls up a chair. “I only get this look from you whe
n you’re trying to get me to do something, so spit it out.”
I grimace; he really knows me too well. I feel awful getting him entangled in this. “As you know, Hallie and I have been playing detective.”
“Yes, and as you know, I think it’s a really bad idea. That’s what we have the police for.”
“The cops aren’t doing jack shit.” I twist my lips into a pout which makes him laugh. “Come on, Luke. If you don’t do it, I have to go alone and I’m sure you don’t want that.”
He twitches and I know I got him. “Okay, what do I have to do?”
After I fill him in on the plan, he has second thoughts. “I don’t know, Kels. This sounds a little farfetched. Jackson is still my cousin and kidnapping someone doesn’t compare to planting a frog in your shirt. Besides, I have plans with Rhonda on Friday night.”
I frown. “I thought she broke up with you after your arrest, because she couldn’t be bothered with a boyfriend in jail.”
“She did, but we’ve been trying to reconcile. Friday night was supposed to be our first official date. She’ll be mad if I cancel.”
Ever since Rhonda abandoned my brother in a time of crisis, she has been on my shit list. “I really think you shouldn’t just give her another chance. She acted like a total bitch.”
After some more desperate puppy dog eyes, he grudgingly agrees to postpone his date. Everything is set for our trap. If Jackson turns out to be innocent, only two names will remain at the top of the suspect list—Roy and Finn—and I will be forced to make some pretty big decisions.
~~~~
Luke and I go grocery shopping on Friday afternoon—if we’re going to have a stakeout, we want to do it in style. After the mandatory soda and water bottles, six different flavors of potato chips get added to the cart, together with an assortment of gummy bears, caramel popcorn, and tons of candy bars. At the checkout, I throw in a pack of gum. If we’re already going to indulge in a sugar revelry, we could at least watch our dental hygiene.
“How did Rhonda take it?”
“She threw a hissy fit and told me she never wants to see me again. I don’t think we’ll work it out.”
I snort. “You don’t look very heartbroken.”
He flings his arm around my shoulders, pushing up his chin. “Who needs a nagging woman when you can spend a night with your sister, eating junk food in a cramped truck while watching a couple eat in a romantic restaurant with binoculars? This will be epic.”
I laugh, just about to tease him, when my phone rings. I realize it’s Marcel and an immediate prickling sensation spreads across my scalp, making me edgy.
“Hello.”
“Kelsey, it’s Marcel.” He pants like he has been running, his voice no louder than a whisper.
I step to the side of the beeping cash register, sticking my finger in my other ear to hear him better. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” There’s a moment of silence. “Listen, it’s going down tonight. You have to get Finn away from here, or he’s gonna be screwed.”
I nibble on my lip, uncertain how to convince Finn to come up to Stonehenge. “He might not wanna come.”
“Kelsey, I don’t think you realize what’s at stake.” I can hear him breathe heavy on the other end. “If Finn gets caught up in this, he’ll go to jail for a very long time. This thing is huge and Tyrone will point his finger at anyone in his organization to get himself a good deal. Finn is still on probation and the DA won’t even plea bargain. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, he’ll get twenty years just by mere association. He can’t be in Portland tonight, period. You’re his only hope.”
With his sex-offender conviction, Finn wouldn’t survive a year in prison. “Okay, I’ll figure something out to get him up here.”
“He needs a solid alibi,” Marcel stresses.
“Yeah, okay, I got it.” The prickling in my scalp is getting stronger. “I’ll take care of it. You better worry about yourself. I kind of like having you around.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry about me, kiddo. In the meantime, stay safe. Once this bust is over, I’ll promise we’ll catch that jerk who raped you, but I need you to stay put until then.”
He cuts the line before I can object. I trot over to Luke, my mind on Marcel’s instructions. This is getting complicated. I’m not sure if a stakeout will count as a solid alibi, even with Luke in the picture, and maybe we should just wait for Marcel to join the hunt. He is an expert after all.
“Who was that?” Luke asks.
“Marcel. We have to change our plans for tonight.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
I give him a crooked smile. “Sorry, but I can’t tell you.”
His eyebrows rise, deepening the creases on his forehead. “You’re keeping secrets from me now?”
“It’s not that.” I start to load the purchases onto the belt. “It’s a promise I made to Marcel.”
A shadow crosses his face. “I told you before, I don’t like the guy. He’ll just end up getting you into trouble. You should stay away from him.”
I hardly listen, pondering how to get Finn to Stonehenge. “Marcel got you off, didn’t he? Without his statement, you would still be in jail.”
Luke goes rigid before exhaling with a huff. “That’s the problem.” He glances around. “The DA told my dad what he said, Kels, and it was a lie. There was no knife.”
I stare at him—Marcel is a cop. If he lied about the knife, he could be dirty. “Are you absolutely sure?”
He nods. “Positive. I mean, I’m thrilled I got out and don’t have to go to trial, but what he told Hutchinson was definitely untrue. Jed was choking you and I panicked, so I took the shot. Marcel had a much better handle on things. He knew it would’ve been enough to pull Jed off you. He took me aside that night and told me he had my back. Not sure why. Truthfully, I think he’s got a crush on you. That’s probably why he’s helped you all this time. Hell, for all I know, he could be Napoleon.”
“Now that’s ridiculous. I didn’t even know him when I was abducted the first time.”
“It’s a small world, Kels.” He fishes the wallet from his pocket and hands the cashier his credit card. “I know it’s unlikely, but he could’ve been friends with Jed back then and kept his identify a secret because that’s what career criminals do. I mean, have you never wondered why a man who is almost ten years older than you is helping you like that?”
The credit card slip is placed in front of him and he signs while I muse over his theory. Marcel’s behavior has been a little odd, though I always thought he helped me because of the deal we made in Connecticut. He’s never even so much as flirted with me, but maybe that doesn’t mean anything.
Yet none of this helps me with Finn. Absentmindedly, I dial Hallie’s number to inform her about the change in plans.
She is more than miffed. “What am I supposed to do all night? I was really looking forward to getting out of the house.”
I smile when an idea begins to form. “Why don’t you call Finn and ask him to bring you up here? If you tell him he owes you for Donna stitching up Marcel, I’m sure he won’t blow you off. We could all catch a movie with Luke, and later on, go to the house and eat junk food. You could even sleep over. It’ll be fun.”
She likes the idea and I kill two birds with one stone. With his sense of loyalty, Finn will feel obliged to repay Hallie for Donna’s help while he would flat out refuse to come to Stonehenge at my request. Hell, he might not even answer the phone if I call.
I fill Luke in while we are loading the groceries into the car and he agrees with a grunt.
“I hope you’re not expecting me to be nice to Finn.”
I slap him on the back of his head. “Behave. He’s my friend.”
With a chuckle, he opens the door for me. “Are we at least gonna share the popcorn like we used to?”
I smile fondly at the memory. He and I haven’t been to the movies in ages. “We sure are.”
&nbs
p; This would be at least as much fun as the stakeout, if not even more, and maybe I will even get a chance to work out some things with Finn. If I apologize and don’t push the subject, he might volunteer to prove his innocence in front of Luke. My brother will probably have a heart attack if he has to inspect Finn down there, but afterward, we can all laugh about it.
“I’ll drop you off at home,” Luke says when he starts the truck. “I have to quickly run over to the library and pick up a book for class. Shouldn’t take longer than an hour or so.”
I mumble my agreement—that will give me some time to get ready. Since we are going to a restaurant and the movies, the sweats I was intending to wear won’t cut it. It will be painful to pick a nice outfit, but with Finn coming, I have the urge to look at least halfway decent.
Hallie calls a few minutes later and confirms that Finn will pick her up at five thirty to take her to Stonehenge after she stirred his guilty conscience. Her plans with Jackson have been postponed to next weekend, and by then, Marcel will have returned to the team.
Unless . . .
I don’t finish the thought, determined to confront him the next time I see him. He’s easygoing enough not to take it the wrong way when I share with him Luke’s Napoleon theory, and he will have some serious explaining to do about the knife. I hope Luke is wrong with his suspicion and that Marcel will turn out innocent in all respects—because if he doesn’t, I fully intend to take him down.
CHAPTER 32
Hallie and Finn arrive just before seven and we decide to take Luke’s truck over to the shopping center in Lewiston since it has a bigger cabin. Hallie claims the passenger seat because of her cast, forcing Finn and I to squeeze into the back. The ride is more than uncomfortable, both of us trying our best to keep our knees from touching while silently staring out opposite windows.
Luke pops in a CD and the first verses of an old Meat Loaf song drift through the truck before he strikes up a conversation with Hallie about school. I listen with one ear as they discuss some history assignment about Hitler, a hot debate soon erupting about whether the Internet would have made any difference back then. After a while, Finn butts in, and I realize that they are all history buffs. Figures.
