by PJ Fernor
“When I dropped my bracelet…,” Trevor said. He licked his lips. “Maybe someone took it. And they put it up there to frame me.”
Ben laughed. “So you think someone framed you?”
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “What else could it be?”
“Do you want me to tell you what it could be?” Ben asked.
“Wait a second,” I said. “Everyone take a breath.” I gave it a few seconds. “Trevor. You’re telling me that you heard a noise, freaked out, lost your bracelet… and Lo can back up the story?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t want her to get into trouble. That’s why I lied at first. But I don’t want to go to jail for murder. I didn’t kill anyone. Plus, by the time Lo went back inside… I even texted her. You can see it on her phone. What time I did. There’s no way I could have killed someone and put their body on the fire road. No way.”
“If it was a well-planned idea…,” Ben said.
“I was scared,” Trevor said. “I’m admitting that. Do you know how hard that is for me to admit? I’m not supposed to get scared. I’m the bad guy all the time. But that night I was scared.”
“You didn’t think it was an animal, did you?” I asked.
“No,” Trevor said. “There was a person there. Who? I don’ t know. What were they doing? I don’t know. But there was a person in those woods behind Lo and I.”
I pushed away from the table.
“Trevor, the bracelet is the only solid piece of evidence we have,” Ben said. “I appreciate your story and all, but-”
“I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” Trevor snapped. “I know the truth. So does Lo. Look up the phone records. Look up my location at the time. I know you can do that.”
“How so?” Ben asked.
“TV shows,” Trevor said. “I do nothing but sit around and watch TV all day now. I hate it. I hate everything about this.”
“Then maybe you should have just left Lo alone,” I said. “Lesson learned, huh?”
“I’ll never leave her alone,” Trevor said. “I love her.”
I moved toward the table and Ben put his arm out.
He stopped me but I wasn’t done.
“I’ll slap that look off your face,” I yelled. “If what you’re saying is true, then you put my niece in danger. I swear on my life, if you ever do anything like that again-”
“Allie, stop,” Ben growled into my ear. “You have to stop. You’re going to mess this whole thing up.”
Trevor curled his lip.
Was he a murderer?
I didn’t think so.
Was he a smug punk teenager?
Definitely.
That, sadly, wasn’t a crime.
“Allie, just get out of here and catch your breath,” Ben whispered.
I listened and went to the door.
I looked back at Trevor one last time.
“I hope for your sake this is all true,” I said. “I’d hate to see a young life go to waste. Then again, I hope I never see you or talk to you again. And stay away from my niece.”
I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Before I could exhale, I spotted Laura in the hallway.
Arms crossed.
Her face, angry.
Now,I was in big trouble.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“My office. Now.”
Those three words didn’t bother me as much as what had happened with Trevor.
His admission proved a few things to me, including the one about Lo and how she was now a beautiful and slightly rebellious teenager. And while Miss Kesslier was right about me being the same at Lo’s age, there also wasn’t a murderer somewhere in or near town. When I snuck out, Tommy and I would go up to the tracks and have fun. Did I sip a drink here and there? Of course I did. But I never went too far. Did I kiss Tommy? A lot? Yes I did. But, again, I never went too far.
Now, why did I think Lo would end up going too far?
Because I loved her. Because I worried about her.
Because I was raising her and for some reason that motherly instinct hit me like a freight train and I couldn’t fight it off.
Laura’s heels clicked on the floor and then the steps as we went to her office.
I stayed behind her, almost feeling like I was being personally escorted to the principal’s office in school.
Except this was far from school.
This was serious.
My job was on the line, and with each step I took, time may have been running out on Detective Allie Down.
Even if Laura took me off the case - even if she fired me - I wasn’t going to stop working. And I felt as though Laura knew that.
She opened her office door and held it for me.
I walked to a chair but didn’t sit right away.
I waited for her to walk behind her desk.
She pointed and said, “Sit.”
I slowly lowered down and folded my hands.
Laura stared at me with disappointed eyes.
“Normally I would just lose it at this point,” she said. “I wouldn’t even give the time of day to bring someone into my office. Why bother? Right? I’m not in the mood for excuses. I don’t have time for it either. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since this all started. So close to Halloween and I want nothing more than the children of our town to be able to dress up and go have fun. They deserve it, right? You know what I love the most about Halloween, Detective?”
She called me Detective. That wasn’t a good sign. Talking to me so generic…
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It ushers in the holidays. The rush of the changing seasons and weather. The enjoyment of being spooked one day and then the next there’s that mix of fall colors and Christmas. There’s nothing like it. So to have that compromised… it feels wrong. I’m angry right now. Someone killed Nikki Pearson and hid her body on that fire road. And here I am, talking to you, not sure what to do next.”
“My advice is go with your gut,” I said.
“That’s the problem. My gut says to let you talk right now. And you talking is going to make me trust you. When in reality I want to pursue Trevor and get this case wrapped up.”
“Trevor’s innocent.”
“I told you not to talk to him,” she said. “I told you not to cross that line. You’re too close to him. Rightfully so. If my niece was dating someone who was being questioned in a murder… I’d feel the same as you.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t about making Lo happy. This is about the truth.”
“Then let’s hear what Detective Allie Down is thinking,” she said.
“Mind if I stand?” I asked.
“The floor is yours.”
I pushed myself to my feet. “Trevor was protecting Lo. That’s why he gave us a hard time when we questioned him. Lo snuck out twice to see him. That’s something I have to personally deal with. In my gut there’s no reason for Trevor to be involved in this. There’s no connection to him and Nikki. What there is a connection to though is what’s happening under that bridge. Those girls. Women. Whatever you want to call them. Something bad is happening, Laura. And getting to the truth is going to be like digging through thick brush to find a quarter.”
Laura put her hands flat on her desk. “Keep going.”
“We questioned Nikki’s friend, Chelsea. Then she ended up dead. An apparent overdose, but I have someone who insists Chelsea did not use drugs. Then we have Annie, who called about seeing a young girl in her basement? She ended up dead too. An overdose. Now, she had prescription pills. But it’s too strange for me.”
“So you’re telling me that someone is following you? Or the case?”
“Something is going on,” I said. “And it’s deeper than we all think. I talked to another woman, Martha. She helps the girls under the bridge. They come to her for food and shelter. She’s called the police dozens of times. They try to help the girls but the girls don’t want help. I think they’re being
used. Bought and sold. I just… I’m trying hard to wrap my head around this. I think this might be some kind of trafficking thing, Laura. There was a really young girl who showed up at Martha’s. When she saw me, she took off. I’m keeping an eye on Martha, but I think we need to hit that angle hard.”
Laura slowly sat down. “So Nikki Pearson was part of this… what?”
“I don’t know how her death plays into it,” I said. “I’ll figure that out. But the pieces are all leading me to what I’m thinking. I think Nikki maybe fought back. Resisted. So she was beaten and stabbed. Left to die. And she wrote that message… WE’RE ALL HIS.”
“I knew this was going to happen,” Laura said. “I knew you were going to have some wild theory… and I knew it was going to make sense.”
“I don’t want to be right,” I said. “But I’m getting a vibe. I don’t know where this ends, Laura. Are the police involved? Is there corruption somewhere? Or are they just doing their job? Chasing the girls away and letting them come back. You can’t force them into a shelter or to get help. They’re all adults.”
“You mentioned a young girl,” Laura said.
“That’s the part I don’t know about yet. I just have a feeling…”
“So Trevor didn’t do it. Yet his bracelet was found at the scene.”
“He said he lost it in the woods that night. Maybe someone found it and set him up.”
“That’s a far stretch of the imagination, Allie,” Laura said.
Great. I was back to Allie now.
“I know it is. I’m not saying he’s free and clear.”
“Good,” she said. “He can continue to park his behind at home where he belongs.”
“And he needs to stay away from Lo. That’s why I went in there.”
“I know why you did what you did,” Laura said. “I just can’t take big risks and have this case get blown up in the wrong direction.”
“I’m not talking to Trevor anymore,” I said. “At least professionally. If he comes near Lo again, then we’re going to have problems.”
“Anything else?”
“Lo had a friend. Her name was Steph. But she was also known as Leslie. I can’t find Steph-slash-Leslie anymore. She’s disconnected her phone and disappeared. She’s tied into this thing somehow too. I feel like it’s everywhere.”
“Wow,” Laura said. “There’s a lot happening at once here.”
“There really is,” I said.
Laura sighed. “Now what?”
“Now I get back to work,” I said. “As long as I still have a badge and a job?”
“You have both,” Laura said. “For now. Go.”
I didn’t waste a second as I hurried toward the door.
I spotted the good coffee at the table in Laura’s office and even skipped that.
When I opened the door, she called my name.
I turned my head as I held the door open.
“Your niece,” Laura said. “Lo.”
“Yeah. What about her?”
“Keep an eye on your niece,” she said. “Keep her home. Safe. Watched.”
“I always do,” I said. “Thanks.”
I left the office.
I heard what Laura said again in my head.
It sent chills through my body.
Chapter Fifty-Four
I called a private meeting to talk to everyone.
And by everyone, I meant Ben, Muldavey, and Garrison.
They sat while I paced.
I went back and forth for about a mile before Ben stood up and blocked my path.
“What are we doing here?” Ben asked.
“Digging deep,” I said. “This is getting to me. There are young girls involved. And teenagers. I don’t want to hear that eighteen and nineteen are adults. They’re babies. They don’t know what they’re doing. Or why. They’re refusing actual help.”
“They don’t want the help,” Garrison said. “Put yourself in their shoes. They don’t know who to trust. And if they’re hooked on bad stuff…”
Garrison shrugged his shoulders.
“Then what?” I asked. “You just give up? You’re as bad as Preens. This is why this is happening. Nobody does anything to actually stop it. They just have their status quo and that’s it. Why go the extra mile?”
“Hey, that’s not fair,” Garrison said. “And you know it.”
“He’s got a point,” Ben said.
“Don’t stick up for Garrison,” I said.
“Nobody is sticking up for anyone here,” Ben said. “We’re trying to solve a murder.”
“It’s not just a murder,” I said. “That’s the issue here. We need to think bigger than we ever have before. How? I’m not sure.”
“Does this mean I get a break from catching the pumpkin kids?” Garrison asked.
“No,” I said. “I’m just using you to irritate me because I think better that way.”
“Wait a second,” Muldavey said. “Could that hiker have anything to do with it? It’s kind of weird how he stumbled across the body.”
“Everything on him checked out,” Ben said.
“I wouldn’t leave anything behind though,” I said. “But I think Ben is right.”
“So she’s left there to die but doesn’t,” Muldavey said.
“Or she faked her death,” Garrison said. “Survival.”
“Right,” I said. “She faked her death, wrote a message in blood, and crawled as far as she could before actually dying.”
“That’s just a sick way to go,” Ben said.
“But then you have her tied to Chelsea,” I said. “Chelsea is part of the girls that are always under the bridge on Depot. They get broken up by the cops. It’s got to be known there’s bad stuff happening there. I talked to Chelsea and she ends up dead. Overdose. Not sure if that’s actually true or not.”
“We know this, Allie,” Ben said. “Same with Annie. We go to her house and she ends up dead.”
“Exactly,” I said. “This isn’t just a regular murder investigation. We’ve bumped into something. Something bad.”
“Sounds spooky,” Garrison said. He wiggled his fingers. “Total Halloween vibes.”
“Are you trying to irritate me?” I asked.
“That I am,” he said.
“It’s working.”
“Or…,” Garrison said as he stood up. “The girls under the bridge are who we think they are. They’re users and losers. Sorry. That’s the truth. And as users and losers all they want is the next high or hustle. So let’s say Nikki met her match. Maybe she and Chelsea has some scam going on, right? And it backfired. So some big name, big shot, I don’t know… someone with money and power maybe… he gets mad and kills Nikki. The case stops right there.”
“And Chelsea’s death?” I asked.
“An overdose is an overdose,” Garrison said.
“Not if someone forced it on you,” Ben said.
“Which you have no proof of,” Garrison threw back again.
“This is getting tense,” Muldavey said.
“Can’t take it?” Garrison asked.
“I just think we’re going off course,” Muldavey said.
“Muldavey is right,” Ben said.
“Who else is right to you?” I snapped at Ben.
The office went silent.
I walked behind my desk.
“Sorry, Ben,” I said. “That was wrong of me.”
“No big deal,” he said. “We’re all emotional. So let’s split it into pieces. Garrison, go run with your theory. Find someone that would fit the part. Don’t just say it. Do something about it. Prove that Nikki and Chelsea were up to something bad and got caught.” He looked at Muldavey. “What’s your take?”
Muldavey thought for a moment. “I’m still thinking about the bracelet. I know we don’t want it to be Trevor…”
“Nobody said that,” I said. “Whoever is guilty is guilty. I’m not going to try and twist the story.”
“I just don’t get that
part,” Ben said. “Someone saw Trevor and Lo…”
“A setup,” Muldavey said. “A moment of opportunity. Maybe the person thought they were caught. So they grabbed the bracelet and left it so Trevor would get into trouble. Even if they didn’t know who Trevor was, they could have easily assumed he has a past because it’s late and he’s in the woods with his girlfriend…”
“That works,” Garrison said. “Doesn’t help. Trevor is squeaky clean then.”
“And on my end, I’m thinking about the girls. I’m not giving up there either. We should talk to Martha. All of us. Or at least Ben and I. That woman knows a lot more than we all realize. She’s tried to do the right thing but it’s impossible. So she helps them however she can. She can probably give us names, dates, locations. Maybe she’s seen something too.”
“Then let’s go,” Ben said.
“What do you want us to do?” Muldavey asked.
“Nothing yet,” I said. “Just keep to your theories and see what else happens. We still need to figure out who’s destroying those porches too.”
“It’ll all end after Halloween,” Garrison said. “It’s nothing. I’m tired of these rich people breathing down our necks. This isn’t a rich town. This isn’t-”
“I don’t care what this town is or isn’t,” I said. “We have a job to do. So go do it.”
I walked back to my desk and saw I had a few missed calls.
From Johnny.
I looked right at Ben.
Then I looked away.
I grabbed my phone and called Johnny back.
“Thought you were ignoring me,” he said when he answered.
“I was in a meeting,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Preens wanted me to call you.”
I laughed. “He can’t call me himself?”
“I think he’s afraid of you,” Johnny said. “He’d rather deal with me than you.”
“Wow, that’s saying a lot,” I said.
“Right. You might want to sit down for this, Allie.”
“I’m fine standing. What’s going on now?”
I turned and Ben was looking right at me.
“You talked to Martha, right?” Johnny asked.
