MAD AS BELL

by Jeremy Waldron

  Naomi’s gaze drifted to the order counter. “Oh my god, is that Mr. Helton?”

  Jenny’s hair flung around her neck as she quickly turned to look. “Damn. It is him.”

  Everything went quiet as they stared. Then Naomi asked, “Do you think he knows how good looking he is?”

  Jenny snapped her neck and gave Naomi a look. “Shit. Of course he knows. He probably gets tons of ass.”

  Naomi giggled, feeling a bit weirded out when she thought of her teacher having sex.

  Jenny’s eyes lit up. “We should talk to him.”

  Naomi raised both her eyebrows and shook her head. “No we shouldn’t.”

  Jenny’s expression pinched. “There is nothing to be scared of.” Naomi watched Jenny open up more of her shirt, fix her hair. Her eyes glimmered as she wet her lips with her tongue. “We talk to him all the time. Now’s not any different.”

  “Now is totally different,” Naomi argued. “We talk to him at school. Ask him questions about homework problems—”

  “And now we’re going to ask him about his night.” Jenny leaned closer and lowered her voice. “He’s just a teacher who happens to be extremely hot. Relax. Let’s just go talk to him.”

  “Jenny, no.” Naomi pleaded. “C’mon. It’s late. Let’s just pretend we didn’t see him and go.”

  Jenny bit her bottom lip and had a look in her eye that suggested she had something else up her sleeve. “And miss an opportunity like this? I don’t think so.”

  Naomi thought Jenny really was losing her mind as she watched her friend prance across the restaurant, calling out to Mr. Helton. Feeling embarrassed, and slightly regretting her decision not to say hi herself, Naomi turned her attention out the window, hoping Mr. Helton wouldn’t see her too. She watched Jenny through the reflection in the window when suddenly Naomi locked eyes with the stranger who had been staring at her before.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Naomi’s heart raced as she pretended not to notice him. The stranger’s face was stone-like, his beady little snake eyes penetrating through the glass. Behind the cold stare was a handsome face. Naomi hated herself for thinking it, but it was true. Once again, he was intently watching her as if she was the only person inside the restaurant. Could it be he thought she was attractive?

  She looked away, pretending she hadn’t noticed, and turned to see Jenny still talking to Mr. Helton. Gathering her things off the table, she met up with her friend, finding safety in numbers.

  Mr. Helton greeted Naomi with a friendly smile. He asked, “Is something wrong?”

  Naomi knew her face was pale, but she turned to Jenny and put on face. “I’m fine.”

  “Mr. Helton,” Jenny looped her arm through the crook of Naomi’s, “don’t you think Dylan and Naomi would make a great couple?”

  Everyone knew Dylan Sanders. He was the star athlete and one of the most popular boys in the high school. Mr. Helton said, “Depends if Naomi likes him, too.”

  Naomi opened her mouth but Jenny beat her to the punch and answered for her. “He’s messaging her but she won’t message him back. Don’t you think she should message him back?”

  Mr. Helton looked Naomi in the eye and said, “I think you should play hardball.”

  The corners of Naomi’s eyes crinkled. “I like that idea better.”

  The lady at the counter called out an order number. Mr. Helton turned and retrieved his tray of food. Naomi took her chance to whisper her secret to Jenny. “I asked him to send his first,” Naomi said.

  Jenny’s eyes opened with excitement—her jaw dropping with forced exaggeration. “You naughty girl.”

  “I don’t know what you two are referring to, and I don’t want to know,” Mr. Helton filled his cup at the soda machine, “but just remember, you have more say than you realize.”

  “Thanks, Mr. H.” Naomi smiled.

  Mr. Helton turned toward a table. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

  “Dream about you,” Jenny whispered to Mr. Helton as she led Naomi by the arm out of the restaurant. Naomi couldn’t believe Jenny’s courage. Once outside, Jenny asked Naomi, “Did Dylan respond?”

  Naomi stopped and glanced to where she’d last seen the stranger sitting in his truck. The tips of her fingers went cold. She didn’t like the feeling of being watched by a stranger. Jenny snapped her fingers in front of Naomi’s eyes. “Hello.”

  Naomi’s vision focused and her attention was back on her friend. “Huh?”

  Jenny licked her lips and cocked her head. “I said, did Dylan respond?”

  Naomi found herself once again staring at the empty parking spot. “I saw him again.”

  Jenny’s eyebrows squished. “What are you talking about?”

  Naomi told her—the queasy feeling in her stomach spreading. Jenny looked around. “I don’t see him anymore.”

  Naomi brushed a hand over her head. “No. I guess he moved on.”

  “There is nothing to worry about.” Jenny tugged on Naomi’s arm and they headed toward Naomi’s car. Once buckled in their seats, Jenny said, “Brian is having a party tomorrow night.”

  “The college boy Brian?”

  Jenny’s eyes sparkled as she nodded. “I was thinking we should go.”

  Naomi put the car in reverse, backed out, and turned right at the street. “I’m in.”

  “Of course you are. If I’m going, you’re going. But we should try to score some liquor ourselves, have a pregame party before we arrive.” Jenny received another text.

  Naomi glanced to Jenny’s phone. “Are you going to tell me who you’re texting with or not?”

  “It’s complicated,” Jenny said, telling Naomi to pull into a gas station. She needed to refill her vape pod, or at least that was the excuse she gave Naomi.

  “And my situation with Dylan isn’t?” Naomi clucked her tongue as she turned off the road. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sure I know who it is, anyway.”

  Their eyes met, Jenny looked to see if what Naomi said could actually be true. Naomi’s phone chirped with a message and Jenny picked it up and read the text before Naomi could get to it first. “It’s Dylan.”

  Naomi’s chest bloomed with heat. She reached for her phone. “Give me it.”

  Jenny said, “I don’t think so.”

  “Then at least tell me what he said.”

  Jenny held up the phone and read the message. “Holy shit. This dude wants you so freakin’ bad.”

  “What did he say?” Naomi parked out front—the music still playing through Bluetooth.

  “Don’t be ashamed of your body.” Jenny put on her best Dylan imitation. “You’re so beautiful. I just want this to be between us. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” Jenny snapped her neck and locked eyes with Naomi. “You have to do this. If you won’t, I will.”

  Naomi stole her phone from Jenny’s grip and read Dylan’s text. Her thoughts scrambled. The idea sounded fun and spontaneous, but did she have what it took to follow through? She didn’t think so. Her body was already jolted by the idea of sending him a picture of herself. When she looked to Jenny, Jenny nodded. Then Naomi said, “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  Opening their car doors with a squeal, they ran inside the convenience store, giggling their way to the back bathroom door. Once there, Jenny asked, “Want me to take it?”

  Naomi shook her head. “Sorry, no threesome allowed tonight.”

  Jenny laughed. “Okay, but if you chicken shit your way out of this, I really will send him a picture of my boobs and tell him they’re yours.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m doing this.” Naomi swallowed her nerves and entered the bathroom alone, locking the door behind her.

  She stood in front of the mirror for a long pause and let her hair cascade down around her shoulders before adding a new layer of makeup and lip gloss. Then, with her heart hammering, she removed her shirt and bra.

  She didn’t particularly like what she saw, but her thoughts didn’t matter with Jenny standing on the other side of the l
ocked bathroom door. After thinking how much she wanted Dylan to notice her, Naomi lifted her phone, pointed it into the mirror, and began snapping pictures of herself to send to Dylan Sanders.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Five minutes later, Naomi exited the bathroom with her favorite three pictures saved to her phone. She was light on her feet, full of excitement. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she was expecting to have Jenny jump into her arms as soon as she opened the door, insist she see the pictures herself. Instead, Jenny wasn’t there and Naomi wondered where her friend had gone.

  Naomi cast her gaze to the front of the store. Nothing.

  “Where did you go?” Naomi whispered as she looked around, expecting to see Jenny pop out from behind an aisle any second.

  Glancing at her cellphone, Naomi went looking for her friend, calling out to her as she weaved through the aisles. “Jenny. Where are you?”

  Naomi stopped on the next aisle and knitted her eyebrows. A woman browsing the chips barely looked up and Naomi kept searching. She circled back to the bathrooms, stuck her head inside the women’s room again. It was empty—left with only memories of standing in front of the mirror with her shirt off, feelings of insecurity filling her head with doubt.

  She checked her phone again. There still was nothing from Jenny.

  Thinking she’d missed Jenny say she would meet her at the car, Naomi made her way to the front. Passing the clerk at checkout, she asked him if he’d seen her friend leave.

  “Yes,” the man said. “She paid for her purchase and left.”

  Naomi rushed outside, hoping to find her friend vaping near the car. Still, Naomi didn’t find Jenny. Beginning to worry, she pressed her phone to her ear and called. When Jenny’s voicemail answered, Naomi said, “Jenny, I’m at the car. Where the hell are you? I took the photos, now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Chapter Twenty

  I was in the shower when I heard Cooper barking like mad.

  “Mason,” I yelled around the curtain, “what the heck is going on?”

  There was no response. It wasn’t like Cooper to act crazy unless something was wrong. I turned off the faucet, wrapped the bathrobe around my body, and stepped out to hear someone banging on my front door.

  Who the heck is this?

  Padding down the hall, I glanced to Mason’s room. His door was shut, his school bag gone from its hook. I assumed he left for school early without saying goodbye. A Post-it on the unsigned permission slip confirmed it. I promised myself to talk to him about leaving without saying goodbye, but first I had to answer the door.

  Another quick rap and I picked up my pace.

  I told Cooper to cool it. It was too early for visitors, but it sounded like an emergency. When I peeked through the curtains, I saw King impatiently rocking on his heels as the soft morning light warmed his back. As soon as I opened the door, King said, “I was beginning to think you weren’t home.”

  I folded my arms and held my robe closed. I waited for him to hug me, press his lips against mine. When he didn’t, I masked my annoyance and asked, “What is it?”

  His brow wrinkled. “I need a favor.”

  I raked my eyes over his clothes. He had the five o’clock shadow and glossy-eyed look of having pulled an all-nighter. It was a familiar appearance, and I suspected I might know what this was about.

  “Does this have something to do with last night’s Jane Doe?” I asked.

  “You heard about it?”

  King acted genuinely surprised. “I was at the scene,” I said. “Where were you?”

  “It’s a long story.” King’s lungs deflated and the look he gave me said it was something he preferred not to share. “But it’s why I’m here now.”

  I wondered what had happened, why it seemed the department dropped the ball on their Jane Doe. Was it done purposely in an effort to cover up another crime statistic by the mayor, or something else I missed entirely? I said, “Care to elaborate?”

  King scrubbed a hand over his face and pointed to his unmarked sedan. There was a girl with beautiful long black hair sitting in the back seat, his partner Alvarez in the front. “Her name is Eva Martin.”

  “Did she know the victim?”

  King gave me an unsure glance. I flicked my gaze back to the girl. She looked away every time our eyes met. King continued, “Something tells me she might know what happened to Megan Hines.”

  My attention snapped back to King. “What makes you say that?”

  “She was abducted.” King filled me in on the details, and though the information was limited, it was enough to paint a clear picture of what we were dealing with. “She’s not saying much. I don’t think she trusts men—”

  “So you want me to build rapport with her, is that it?”

  King gave me a knowing look. “Anything you can get her to say that might help us solve not only her crime, but others, too, would be great.”

  I understood the opportunity that had suddenly fallen on my doorstep, but what I didn’t completely understand was why King was bringing a witness to me. “Shouldn’t you be the one to do that?”

  King said, “We tried. We don’t have the resources to hold her. And she asked me to bring her to you.”

  Now I was the one rubbing a hand over my face. “Let’s say I get her to talk, then what? And doesn’t she want to go home?”

  King’s voice fell to a low rasp. “She doesn’t want to go home because she’s afraid her kidnapper will see her with cops and kill her.”

  My thoughts were on Megan as I stared in Eva’s direction. “Any idea who took her?”

  King shook his head no.

  I wasn’t ready for this, but couldn’t turn it away either. Telling Cooper to sit, I paused to think. Then I asked, “Was her case officially recorded?”

  “Sam,” King sighed, “you know I follow the book.”

  “But does the mayor?”

  King’s head floated up on his shoulders. “Will you help or not?”

  Our eyes locked, and I said, “She can stay here for as long as she needs.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Naomi took her time getting ready for school, making sure her hair and makeup were flawless. She kept her phone close by, hoping Jenny would message and let her know she was okay. Naomi’s last text to Jenny was over an hour ago, and each minute that passed without hearing back, Naomi’s worries rose. She pulled clothes from her bedroom closet, wanting to look her best for Dylan.

  Jenny was a free spirit, and a small part of Naomi was convinced that maybe her friend had plans of her own. Plans she failed to communicate to Naomi.

  All night, Naomi asked herself if it was possible Jenny said she was meeting the mystery person Naomi saw her texting with. The more she thought that might have been the case, the more convincing it sounded.

  But Jenny wouldn’t go far from her phone, and certainly would respond when Naomi messaged. That was the one fact Naomi couldn’t deny and was what kept her stomach tangled in knots. Something wasn’t right.

  A knock on the door.

  Naomi spun around and found her mom, Cindy Moss, at the door. “You got home late last night,” Cindy said.

  “The assignment took longer than we anticipated.” Naomi turned back to her phone and locked her screen in case her mother wanted to snoop.

  Thirteen-year-old Laura Moss ran past Naomi’s room. “Who’s taking me to school?”

  Cindy folded her arms and leaned against the frame. Looking Naomi in the eye, she said, “I need you to do it today.”

  Naomi snapped her head around. “Mom.”

  “I have that meeting across town this morning. Remember?”

  Naomi sighed and turned her back, making sure to tuck away her secret before her mother asked what was wrong. Trudging to her dresser, she sifted through her sock drawer and anxiously waited to hear from Jenny.

  “Is everything all right?” Cindy asked.

  Naomi closed
her eyes, her chin falling to her chest. She wanted to talk, but how could she? If something did happen to Jenny, everyone would blame her. “I can take Laura,” Naomi said softly.

  An awkward pause followed as Cindy continued to stare. “Don’t forget to give yourself enough time to drop Laura off before school. I don’t want you to be late again.”

  Naomi snapped, “I got it, Mom.”

  Cindy wished Naomi well on her day, and Naomi listened to her mom leave for work before she even thought about leaving her room. She felt bad for snapping, but her concern for Jenny was squeezing every ounce of compassion out of her.

  As if on cue, Laura came barreling into Naomi’s room. “Mom knows you’re hanging out with Jenny.”

  “So? It’s no secret.”

  “She thinks she’s a bad influence on you.”

  Naomi brushed past her and headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

  Laura followed. “What were you really up to last night?”

  The image of her standing topless in front of the mirror flashed to the forefront of her mind. Naomi stared at her sister and shifted the conversation. “Are you ready or not?”

  “Not.”

  Laura hurried for her school bag and when she forgot her cellphone charging on the counter next to the fridge, Naomi said, “Don’t forget your phone.”

  “I don’t want it.” Laura moved to the door and gave Naomi a look that said she was ready.

  Naomi arched a single eyebrow.

  “What?”

  Naomi walked through the kitchen and took her sister’s phone into her hand. “What if there’s an emergency?”

  “There won’t be.”

  “Just take it.”

  When Laura refused again, Naomi knew something wasn’t right. Hacking into her sister’s phone, Naomi accessed her messages and began reading.

  “Hey.” Laura jumped forward in protest. Swiping her hand through the air, she attempted to snatch her cellphone out of Naomi’s hands. “Naomi! Stop. Those messages are private.”