by PJ Fernor
Hailey looks at her and blinks fast.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
“Are you sure?” Hailey asks.
“I heard him talking last night,” she says. “He’ll kill me if he knows I’ve told you.”
“Where am I going?”
She shakes her head. “That part I don’t know. I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy. Will you fight back?”
“How can I?” Hailey asks. She grabs the cage. “Look at me. Look at this.”
“You have to look for your opening,” she says. “It’ll happen. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve been leaving here a lot.”
“What?”
“I sneak out. I walk around. I have a secret path through the woods. It’s perfect. You can do that too, Hailey. Find your secret path. Find your purpose. Don’t let-”
The door opens.
Julie and Natalia jump back in their cages.
They’re super quiet. Numb to their surroundings. Which isn’t the worst way to live.
Mr. G enters the room.
His hair is slicked back.
He’s in a suit.
“Hailey,” he says. “I have some good news for you. We’re going for a ride.”
Hailey’s hands begin to shake.
“Okay,” Hailey says.
“Lea, let her out,” Mr. G says.
She listens. “Am I coming too?”
“No,” Mr. G says. “You’re staying. This is a much more private event. A much simpler transaction.” He looks at Hailey. “You’re not afraid of planes, are you?”
“I’m not sure,” Hailey says. “I’ve never been on one.”
“Perfect,” Mr. G says. “You can put on the dress and then we can leave.” He snaps his fingers. “Lea. Get in the cage. Now!”
It’s been a while since she’s been in a cage.
Hailey is at Mr. G’s side while she climbs into the cage.
Mr. G doesn’t shut it though. Which is good. That means this is just a warning. A reminder of where she could end up…
She wishes she could have said goodbye to Hailey.
Mr. G leaves the room.
She’ll never see Hailey again for the rest of her life.
She sits back in the cage and lowers her head.
Silently, she weeps.
“What is this place?” Julie asks. “How many of us are there? Why don’t you do something about it?”
“I do all that I can,” she says. “I do all that I can.”
“Fight back,” Julie says. “Kill him. Let us escape.”
She scrambles to get out of the cage and runs to Julie’s cage and kicks it.
Now her foot hurts.
She growls and hurries out of the room, locking the door when she leaves.
She shakes her head.
Julie has no idea what she’s saying.
There is no leaving.
Leaving is death.
Now she can sneak out to get some air. That’s one thing. But there is no leaving. There is no past life. There’s only right now.
Even if she does remember… things.
Remembering is scary.
She’s not sure what’s real or not.
Remembering is really…
“No,” she says.
She inches her way down the hallway to the bedroom.
When she opens the door, she looks at the bed.
It’s freshly made.
There’s flowers on the bed.
It’s all happening soon.
This is what Mr. G has been promising for a while. And he’s following through.
He’s not that bad of a man, is he?
Promises don’t have expiration dates.
They just get completed when it’s time.
And right now, it’s time.
That’s how this all works.
She enters the room and walks to the bed.
The flowers are beautiful.
Red roses. Yellow sunflowers. Purple lilacs.
It’s going to work out just fine.
“This is why he’s been on edge,” she says to herself. “He’s been working hard on this. For me. Well, for him too. But this is mostly for me. I won’t be alone. I won’t need to go out and look for life. I’ll have it here. I’ll have friendship. I’ll have… a sister…”
She claps her hands together.
She feels herself smiling so much it hurts a little.
She has to see this so she looks at herself in the mirror.
The smile is real.
That’s for sure.
Everything is falling into place.
The truth is… Hailey has been lingering for a long time. Her being gone will be good.
Now she can focus on what’s next.
Julie and Natalia will never be her friends.
She doesn’t need a friend when she’s getting a sister.
And to think it all started with an idea from Mr. G.
And, well, her help too…
She looks in the mirror, like she had done so many times, practicing her first line to make this all happen.
“Hey there, stranger! My name is Steph! What’s yours?”
Chapter Fifty-One
I didn’t have time to sit with Jerry. I didn’t have time for anything.
I left Jerry’s apartment against his wishes. All he wanted was for me to sit and talk to him for a minute. I appreciated the gesture, but in his line of work, sitting and talking did the trick. In my line of work, it was about taking action.
Even if I didn’t have the full picture or a true direction, I needed to keep moving.
I wasn’t even a block from Jerry’s apartment when Ben called.
It made me shiver. Almost like he has a little voice in his head telling him I was with Jerry. Not that it should have mattered at all. He had Sandra. He was probably with her right now. In his house. Living their best life together. She took care of his father, he took care of her, and at the end of all the long days, they had each other.
My eyes checked my mirror, wondering if I should have stayed at Jerry’s. I could have had the same thing. A chance to sit and talk to someone. A professional at that. Sort through all these thoughts and ideas. More so, how to handle Lo.
Her poor heart… mistreated once again…
My brain yelled to answer Ben’s call.
I managed to take the call before the voicemail picked up.
“Ben,” I said.
“Were you sleeping?”
“Me? Sleep? You’re funny.”
“You better get down here. To the station.”
“Why?”
“Trevor is here. He wants to talk again.”
My heart sank. “Trevor? My Trevor? I mean… Lo’s…”
“Yes,” Ben said. “I know what you meant. Trevor. There’s only one Trevor we both know, Allie. He’s here and wants to tell the whole story. I’m trying my best to stall so you can get here.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m a little outside Sandemor right now. Try to keep him waiting. I’ll drive as fast as I can.”
“What are you doing out there?”
“Just chasing down leads to nowhere,” I said, slightly lying. “This whole thing is getting crazier by the second, Ben. Is it wrong that I hope Trevor confesses to everything and what I’ve been thinking and looking for just turns out to be a coincidence and my mind desperate to make Trevor innocent?”
Ben was quiet for a few seconds. Then he sighed. “It’s not wrong at all. If Trevor did this and he confesses, it takes the pressure out of all our lives.”
“You don’t think he did it.”
“Neither do you,” Ben said. “I’m following your lead here.”
“Forget me for a second, Ben.”
“How can I ever forget you?”
I swallowed hard.
Flirting? Or being nice?
“I’m serious, Ben.”
“You want my honest reacti
on?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Trevor has a past. He has an attitude. Does he have a mean streak? I’m not sure. Is he capable of murder? Anyone is capable of anything. But do I think he did this? I don’t think he did this, Allie Down. I think he’s a troubled kid with a troubled past.”
“Then what’s he doing at the station?” I asked.
“I’m waiting for you so we can find out,” Ben said. “Drive faster.”
We ended the call with those two words.
I always had the ability to divide my mind into several parts to stay focused. But this was getting to be too many parts at once. And all those parts touched on one another. There was no escaping it.
My phone started to ring again and this time it was Jerry.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Just wanted to check up on you,” he said in a soothing voice. “I know you left in a hurry. I know you’re working. I just wanted to say hey.”
I smiled.
What a sweet gesture.
Something so small…
“I’m sorry I rushed out the way I did,” I said.
“No need. You’re meant to be on the move. I’m sorry I suggested you sit. I just greedily didn’t want you to leave.”
“I didn’t want to leave either, if I’m being honest.”
“That does make me smile,” Jerry said. “Can I be greedy once more?”
“Sure,” I said.
“I hope this all settles soon so I can have you to myself.”
I laughed. “Is that so?”
“Absolutely,” Jerry said. “Greedy, right?”
“I’ll consider it kind,” I said. “Sweet. You obviously like me.”
“Obviously,” he said. “Now we sound like teenagers.”
I laughed again.
He knew how to make things feel calm and relaxed.
I took a deep breath for the first time in hours.
“Thank you for calling,” I said.
“No problem,” he said. “I would love to keep chatting but I know you need to get off the phone.”
“That I do, Jerry,” I said. “Thank you again. You made me smile.”
“Then I can rest with ease tonight,” he said. “But I won’t. I’ll be thinking about you. Please stay safe.”
“I always try my best.”
“Goodbye, Allie,” he said.
“Goodnight, Jerry,” I slipped in before ending the call.
I smiled.
Even in the midst of everything happening.
I kept that smile all the way to the station.
The smile quickly faded when I arrived, knowing something was about to happen with Trevor.
Ben greeted me and we did this awkward thing where we grabbed each other’s arms. Like we wanted to hug but didn’t. And I wasn’t sure if that was for professional reasons or personal ones.
“Come on,” he said. “Laura is getting on me about keeping him waiting.”
“Then let’s move,” I said.
Laura was waiting for both of us.
She wasn’t happy.
But she had to have known Ben was going to call me about Trevor.
“I just have to know what he has to say,” I said to Laura.
“I know,” she said. “Come in here with me.”
She opened a door but I shook my head.
This was my moment to make a move. A dangerous move. One that could cost me my job. At the very least, I’d get kicked off this case.
This was about Lo now.
It was personal to me.
I stepped around Laura.
“Detective…”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I have to do this.”
I opened the door to the room where Trevor was.
Laura didn’t yell my name or threaten me. Her silence was worse though.
I stepped into the room and Ben followed me.
Trevor sat at the table.
He looked at me and looked back down at the table.
“First off, show us your hands,” I said.
Trevor put his hands flat to the table.
I was sure Ben had already checked him, but honestly, I needed to remind him that I was the one in control.
I approached the table, forcing my feelings of sadness and care away.
I kept my face stern. Focused.
“Look at me if you’re going to talk,” I said.
Trevor lifted his gaze. “I didn’t do it.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I was… I was with Lo that night.”
“What’s that?” Ben asked.
I lifted my hand. “Let him talk, Ben.”
“I was with Lo. Okay? I didn’t want to say anything at first because I didn’t want her to get into trouble. Your rules are…”
“My rules?” I asked. I put my hands to the table. “My rules? You mean the ones where I protect my niece from you? Those rules?”
“They’re not fair,” he said.
“Tough,” I said. “You’re a teenager. You’re a kid.”
Trevor swallowed hard. Anger washed over his face. “I’m telling the truth. I did not hurt anyone. In fact, that night… I was the one who was afraid.”
“A little bit of guilt, Trevor?” Ben asked.
“No,” he said. “I was trying to keep Lo safe.”
“From what?” I asked.
“I was the one who told her to run,” Trevor said. “I felt bad scaring her. But I was a little scared myself. When I heard a noise behind us…”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
Trevor swallowed hard and nodded. “That night, when Lo snuck out to hang with me, I heard a noise behind us when we were in the woods.”
“Your entire alibi rests on some noise?” Ben asked.
I waved my hand at Ben again.
Then I looked into Trevor’s eyes.
“Trevor… what kind of noise did you hear?”
Chapter Fifty-Two
I knew I wasn’t supposed to be in the room talking to Trevor.
That meant I didn’t have time to waste.
It was now or never for Trevor.
I needed the entire story. The truth. No matter what it meant for the case. Or for Lo.
Trevor must have sensed that in my eyes because he looked away.
“I’m not playing games anymore,” I said. “I tried to be your friend, Trevor. I respected Lo’s wishes. I met you both in the middle. And you kept walking back. I’m not walking anymore. If I leave this room, then you’re done.”
“I don’t know what the noise was I heard,” Trevor said.
“So we’re back to the I don’t know part of the story?” Ben asked.
Trevor slammed his hands to the table. “I’m telling the truth!”
“Then tell it all,” I growled.
He swallowed hard. “It was my idea for her to sneak out.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I said.
“I wanted to see her. I had to see her. You might not believe this, but she calms me. I like being with her. I love her. When I’m with her, it’s like the world feels okay for a minute. All my problems vanish. And I would never do anything to hurt her.”
“That’s up for debate,” Ben said.
Trevor cleared his throat. “We went for a walk. She told me you went for walks too.”
“I’m an adult,” I said. “I can do whatever I want.”
“I made sure we were hidden, just in case you walked by. See, I wanted to be with her, alone. But I wasn’t going to sneak into your apartment or her bedroom. I would never do that. Plus, Lo said she wanted to go for a walk too. She wanted it to feel spooky since it’s Halloween time. So we went into the woods and sat together and just talked. About our lives. What we liked, didn’t like. That was it. I swear. We held hands. We didn’t even kiss.”
“What about the noise?” I asked.
“It was from behind me. Something was behind us. Something walking. I heard the crunching of sticks and got a
little nervous. I told Lo we needed to go. But we had to go slow. In case it wasn’t an animal or something. I don’t know if that’s the right way to do it. She thought I was kidding, then she heard the noise too. We both looked back and it was just…”
“It was what, Trevor?” Ben asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe my eyes were playing with me, but I thought I saw something. A figure. A person. Who knows. I was completely freaked out by then. Lo started to shake. So I had to get her out of there. She got to her feet first. I stood up and walked backwards for a few steps. I tripped and fell. When I hit the ground, I scrambled and…” Trevor swallowed hard. “That’s when I lost the bracelet.”
“The bracelet,” I said.
Trevor nodded. “I jumped up in a hurry. I was scared. I never get scared. Ever. But something about that night and moment just… it was scary. I knew my bracelet was missing but I wasn’t going to go back right then for it. No way.”
“What happened next?” Ben asked.
“Lo and I got to the sidewalk and it felt a little calmer. Not much. I took her home because she started to get worried about getting caught. Again, I’m not a bad guy. She wanted to go home. I took her home. I made sure she got in safe. Then she texted me to wait for her. To hide until you came home.”
Trevor nodded to me.
My jaw tightened.
I couldn’t believe this had all happened right under my nose. While I was out walking to calm myself from what had happened with Patrick.
I shot him. I killed him. I had no choice but to shoot him. If I hadn’t shot him, he would have killed Johnny.
I shook my head for a quick second.
“After that… you came back home and then Lo snuck out to see me again,” Trevor said. “We hung around the outside of the building for a little while. Just talking. She was nervous about what had happened. I told her not to worry. Even if it was an animal, oh well. Right? It could have been a fox. Or a skunk.”
“But you said you saw a figure,” Ben said.
“I thought I did,” Trevor said. “I’m not sure. I didn’t want to tell Lo that. I didn’t want her to be scared all night. I knew she felt guilty for sneaking out to begin with. She’s a good person.”
“And you’re the one who keeps having her bend the rules,” I said.
“I just had to see her. It’s not fair what’s been going on. I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t hurt anyone.”
“So then how did your bracelet end up at the same spot where Nikki was found?” Ben asked.
