I knew it was a bit early for Tyler when I walked inside his home without even knocking. I found him in the entryway in mid-reach, grabbing his keys with his backpack hanging off his shoulder. He glanced up, surprised to see me.
"Baby?" He smiled, his eyes lighting up realizing it was me. "What are you doing here so early? I was just about to head across the street to get you."
I shrugged, walking into his arms, circling my own around his waist. "I was ready early. Decided to come on over."
"It's nice. I like you coming over to me," he reasoned as he leaned down for a brief kiss.
He sighed, pulling back before he swatted my thigh. "We could do this all day, but we need to get going." I slapped his side as he let go before following him out to his Jeep. I loved my morning already.
College was very much the same as it was any day. Minus my shadow. Tucker seemed to have given me a break.
Mr. White’s class was the same as always while Mrs. Shambles gave a lecture on personality disorders and I seemed to breeze right through it. And then I was off to humanities, but before I got there, I bumped into Van, Tucker's brother.
Well, to say I bumped into him was really an overstatement. It was more like I'd seen him across the hall looking at me, or rather past me. I had briefly twisted around, trying to pinpoint what held his attention, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. When I’d turned back around I found Van gone.
It was kind of unusual.
I knew Van taught here, but it never occurred to me how close his lecture hall was to Humanities. I shook my head, dismissing whatever notion I was entertaining and proceeded on to my lecture.
When lunch came around, and all of us had arrived at the diner, we quickly headed inside, hoping our spot wasn't taken. It wasn't, and we immediately claimed it. I glanced out the big picture window as we settled and couldn’t help but peer over at the antique store. Tucker's car and a few other were there, but it was the one motorcycle that had me worried.
Was the biker gang there? Did something happen?
I was itching to go over there, but with one glance at my friends, I knew that they wouldn't let me.
In fact, hadn’t I just agreed with Lincoln last night that it wasn't in my best interest to continue to work there? That it would free up some time. Did I actually want to quit the antique store? It probably was a good idea, but I was uncomfortable giving my two weeks notice on the same day I was supposed to be getting my first check. It probably wasn't good form.
But on another note, I did like SSK better. It made me feel like I was doing something good. That I was fulfilling some higher purpose and need.
I also had that brief thought that maybe I could look into the process of adoption for Brady and Sarah. I wasn't sure if SSK kids were adoptable or if there was another location where kids stayed at for that, but I guessed I'd find out. If I was brave enough, I could always bring the subject up with Mr. White.
As all of us sat in our regular booth and ordered, I couldn't help my anxiety with all the thoughts and concerns that plagued me.
I excused myself from the table, needing a moment. I headed into the restroom, but Raina and Wendy followed.
Inside, Wendy went toward a mirror checking her makeup.
"So," Wendy asked, eyeing Raina through the mirror. "How was your first night in the new house?"
Raina's face flushed a little as a slow smile crept upon her lips. "It was... nice," she answered shyly, which wasn't her at all.
"Really?" The ever so vigilant interrogator, Wendy, questioned slyly. "So, did you guys 'christen' every room in your new house?"
I had to laugh when Raina's face went from blushed to flushed then red as a ripe tomato. "You just can't ask somebody something like that!"
"I'm taking that as a yes," Wendy confirmed with a grin, dismissing Raina's outrage.
I snorted, chiming in, "I can't believe you want to know that, Wendy, considering Kane's your brother."
Wendy rolled her eyes and gave me a glance. "Us girls, we have to stick together. And I need to know that my girls are being well taken care of," she said teasingly.
"What are you? My pimp?" Raina shot back, then someone flushed a toilet, and we froze. My eyes went wide as I swung my gaze to the occupied stall, unsure what to do. Whoever was in there heard our whole conversation. Even though the conversation wasn't a private one, we still thought we were alone.
An old lady came out, ignoring us as she made her way over to Wendy and me by the sink. We moved. making room so she could wash her hands, and I glanced toward my friends, unsure of what to do. Did we move? Did we wait? Or what?
Wendy shrugged and went to move, but the lady spoke. "Stop."
Wendy listened, glancing to the two of us. I shrugged, kind of weirded out, but curious too. I looked back toward the woman and took notice of her.
She was wearing a pair of shiny red flats along with black, clean tailored trousers and a red blouse. Pearls lay across her wrinkled neck. Her delicately aged features were covered with makeup that gave her a youthful look. Her hair was salt and peppered and pinned up in a twist. She was a classy grandma. The lady grabbed the paper towels on the wall and turned our way.
"A little suggestion for you three," she stated, eyeing us individually. "One, sex is natural between two willing partners no matter where the deed is done. Two, a woman for a pimp is always the way to go. Good day, girls."
My mouth dropped open as I watched her throw the paper towels into the trash and head out of the bathroom.
I spun back toward Raina and Wendy, who looked equally as shocked, and we busted up laughing.
"Oh. My. Word!" Raina cried, hugging her stomach. "I was totally not expecting that!"
I pushed Wendy away as my body shook with laughter. "She was talking to you."
"Whatever!" she cried, her eyes bright. She pointed over to Raina. "That it was all for her!"
"Wha- no," Raina insisted adamantly as her eyes shined. "It was for my pimp. Big Mama Wendy."
Wendy's eyes went wide with mock horror. "Oh no, you didn't," she retorted with sass.
"Mama Wendy's campaign: Love or Lust, either way, it's all natural." Grinning, I joined in.
Wendy had turned on the faucet to one of the sinks and flicked water my way.
"Hey.”
"Don't worry, it's water. It's Natural."
I shook my head, chuckling. "Whatever, but it was still funny."
I headed into a stall while the two of them teased each other and placed my bag on the back of the stall door. I went to turn, but my phone beeped. I debated on whether I should ignore it, but finally I turned back to my bag, twisting my lips and pulling my phone out.
Checking it, I sucked in a breath and my hands shook. My phone slipped out of my hand as if it had burned me. It was that number again.
"Daniels?"
My palms grew moist as my heart hammered in my chest. How could I have been so happy a moment ago and suddenly feel like this? Bending down as I shook, I picked my phone up before I saw Wendy's shoes just outside my stall door. "Sweetie?"
I swallowed hard, standing up and clamping the phone into my hand, unsure of what I should do. "Uh, yeah. It's... just give me a minute okay?"
I didn't wait for their answer as I clicked the button that would open up the message. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, taking in a deep breath and letting it out before I looked.
Unknown Text: 9-29-2012
Again, I felt like the world had shifted out from underneath me. My hand slapped across my mouth as hot tears gathered in the corner of my eyes. My chest and heart hurt.
Instead of a picture like it had been the last time, it was a calendar date. A date that I could never forget. An anniversary. Two days from today, but from years ago. The same year—the same night—my parents had died.
Staring at the numbers, my chest heaved as I tried to keep my emotions in check. I needed to tell Brady and the guys. I opened the stall door to find Raina and Wendy standing
, waiting. I was greeted by concerned faces, and rightfully so.
"Daniels, what is it? What wrong?” Raina worried, putting a hand on my elbow as Wendy slid my phone from my fingertips. I kept my head down, thinking.
I didn’t want to wait for the messages anymore. “Daniels?” I finally glanced up to meet Raina’s worried gaze.
I could fight back.
“What is it, Wendy?” Raina asked, glancing toward her.
“It’s a date.” Glancing over to where Wendy was holding my phone, I clenched my hands.
“I won’t be a victim anymore,” I told them. “I won’t let this person attack me. I don’t have to take it.”
I looked from the phone to Wendy and held her concerned stare. “I don’t have to be idle. We could do our own investigating.”
Wendy nodded, slowly passing to phone to Raina. “We could.” Raina glanced at the message, confused. “What does this mean to you, Daniels? 9-29-2012?”
My shoulders tensed as I glance from one to the other. “It’s... it’s that day.” I swallowed hard and pushed out the rest. “The day my parents died.”
Raina gave me my phone back then wrapped me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Daniels. I didn’t realize. So close...” she whispered trailing off. I stood stiffly in her arms until she squeezed and let go. “We need to tell the guys.”
I agreed.
Raina kept ahold of my hand and reached for Wendy’s, giving us each a motherly look that made me want to roll my eyes. This wasn’t Raina. “Let's all agree that we’re not going to do anything stupid.”
Yep. There goes the eyes roll. “Sure... Mom.”
She wiggled the hand that she was holding and gave me a stern stare. “I'm serious. This could be dangerous. We just need to be smart when we look around. My brothers will want to help too.”
Wendy seemed eager as her mouth set in a thin line of determination, and her eyes held strength that I desperately needed. “I’m so in. What kind of Pimp Mama would I be if I let you guys go it alone?”
“Jeez, Wendy. Already staking a claim?”
Her face softened as she gave a wink my way. “Claim and Info. Next? The world.” I let the tightness in my chest ease as I chuckled. Wendy was outrageous.
The three of us headed out of the restroom and toward the guys who were joking around at the booth. Even though they all turned when they saw us coming, it was Lincoln who realized something was off first. His eyes searched my face, and he frowned.
I gave him a tentative smile, drawing confidence from my friends as I nodded his way, handing over my phone. He stared at me before taking it with his jaw firmly set and opened my messages.
“What is it?” Tyler asked standing up and tugging me to him. “What wrong?”
“Another message,” Wendy supplied.
We would figure this out. Whoever was behind it. We'd have to, because I couldn't continue living this way.
“Shit.”
Lincoln did have a way with words. He passed my phone to Kayden, who verbalize the same sentiment.
The situation was shit. The person who was doing this was definitely a piece of shit. And all of us together, we’d find person responsible for it. Because shit always had a way of coming out, and when it did, we’d be there to flush it on down.
This shit just got real.
Chapter 4
Tyler immediately called his dad while I called Brady. They both said to stay put. That they would come to us. We listened and quickly finished our food before heading out of the diner to wait. Two police cruisers showed up moments later, and I thought it was kind of excessive that both of them had to come. People who were on the outside of the diner stared, most likely wondering what was happening. At that point, I didn’t care. I wasn’t sure what Brady and Mr. McGuire could do here except look at the message on my phone. It almost seemed pointless but maybe... maybe they had a way to track it.
I watched Brady and Mr. McGuire step out of their cruisers and come over toward us. Both of them looked different in their police uniforms with their gleaming badges and gear. The gear made them look bulkier than they were and more intimidating. I guess it needed to be that way if they were trying to take down the bad guys.
Mr. McGuire glanced my way with a look of pity while Brady, having no reservations, swooped in and gave me an awkward, comforting hug before letting me go. After that, he demanded my phone.
I handed it over as all of us relayed in various stages what had happened. I didn’t have to tell Brady much. He knew when he saw the message why I was upset. Calculating police eyes shot toward mine as Brady passed the phone on over to Mr. McGuire with one question. “Did you tell anybody about this date?”
I shook my head dropping it a little. “Not until today.”
He frowned searching my face. “Whoever this is, it’s not somebody from back home.” He glanced toward Mr. McGuire. “It’s someone here. It has to be,” he reasoned.
“I agree,” Mr. McGuire spoke, handing Brady back my phone. “Because that’s the same phone number that showed up on Linc’s phone”—he glanced toward him—“right, son?”
Lincoln nodded and the two short blonde locks on either side of his face moved with him, “Yeah, Dad but why target Daniels? It makes no sense. Why now? What triggered it?”
“Well, it’s not any of us,” Wendy said thoughtfully as her face scrunched up thinking hard. She tapped her fingers against the air as if she were organizing files on a touch-screen laptop. Her silver rings that she had on her fingers gleamed in the sunlight until her hand dropped. “It has to be someone that’s obsessed with Linc. I mean, it did start with him," she concluded, glancing his way. Lincoln’s shoulders tensed, and his lips pressed downward.
“Lincoln, you have a stalker,” I told him, thinking back to the first time I received a message and then to today. Both times I was with Lincoln.
“But have you received any messages recently?” Tyler busted out, looking toward his brother, then he stopped and clarified, “Have you received any more messages since Daniels first got hers?”
“No.” His eyes grew wide as they slanted toward mine, sobering. He was upset. I could see it. He thought it was his fault that I had to deal with my painful past once again. “No, but I don’t know anybody who would do this.”
I reached over and took his hand in mine, giving in a little a squeeze then just held it. He gave me a pity smile and squeezed back. I didn’t want him to feel bad.
“Son.” His dad stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s probably not someone she knows. It’s most likely someone from your school.”
“School?” He sounded unsure.
“Yeah, maybe, but how is the person able to block us from tracking them?” Wendy questioned.
“Not only that,” Kane joined in gesturing to me, “Why go after Daniels in the first place? I mean, who knows about her at school to have that kind of information?”
“I agree that it’s a little odd how someone knows this stuff about her, but it’s not hard to look her up,” Raina put in. “What if it’s Tucker?”
I scrunched brows in confusion trying to process everything. I wanted to defend Tucker for some reason but didn’t. Even though Tucker was a pain in my butt, I didn’t think he’d go this far. But his brother? Maybe.
“If it’s Tucker, why would he be harassing Lincoln in the first place?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t add up.”
“It could still be about Roxie,” Tyler added.
“No,” Lincoln denied. “The calls and messages to me were more personal. Like things a girl would ask a guy.”
“Maybe Tucker has someone else doing it for him?” Peter suggested. “A girl to throw everyone off?”
“Kids,” Mr. McGuire spoke, “I know you’re all worried and have your own ideas of who this might be, but in my professional opinion, I don’t think any teenager could pull this off. This person is blocking us from tracing the number. It’s something that’s a little more involved than just
teens playing around.”
Kayden scoffed, “Kids nowadays, we can do anything. I knew this kid once that hacked into the government database to get his friends free phone and Internet service on their cells.”
“Was that here?” Brady questioned curiously as his gaze swung over to him. “I don't think I ever heard about that.”
Kayden was a little taken back as his brows furrowed, thinking. “Yeah.”
“It was that Burrows kids, right?” Tyler asked.
Kayden shook his head. “It was Jamison, remember? They took him out of school, and none of us found out what he had done until later.”
“Could this Jamison kid still be around to do something like this?” I asked. “Could he be blocking the tracking signal?”
“I don’t know,” Kayden answered, shoving his hands into his pockets glancing at me before swinging his gaze back to his dad when he spoke.
“This is all speculation,” Mr. McGuire stated, giving each one of us a good stare before landing on Kayden. “There’s no proof. All we can do is lightly look into it and see.”
“Daniels, I’ll need your phone to take down to the station to see if we can track the message. It’s a long shot, but we might have better luck with our IT forensics department,” Brady told me, taking my phone from Mr. McGuire. “You work tonight, right?”
I sighed thinking what more could happen. “Yeah.”
He nodded. “It might be best to take tomorrow and Saturday off. Those days might be rough on you.”
An emotion like none other passed through me, like the world was coming down, but I pushed it to the back of my mind having more important things to think about, like SSK and my assigned kiddos.
I agreed, wondering how I was going to explain it to Mr. White and .
Brady took my phone, and after a brief talk, the girls and I decided to ‘speculate’ some more later at Raina’s haunted house. I had to admit, I was interested in seeing if the house did anything ghostly.
Silent Secrets Page 5
