The Cleaner

by Kiersten Modglin

  “We should go,” he told Gavin. “I know you want momma dead. And I know you want me dead, too. But, Gia is waiting in the car. She just wants to know that you’re safe. I owe her that much. We can figure the rest out later.”

  “Why would I want you dead?” he asked, his face confused.

  “I know you tried to rape Reagan,” he said, his jaw tight. “And that’s something I’ll never forgive you for. And I know you hate me for leaving. But I didn’t know what she was doing. Or...maybe I did, in a way, and I didn’t care. And that’s something you’re allowed to never forgive me for. But you can’t do this. You can’t kill anymore. Not momma, not me. Two deaths are enough.”

  “What are you talking about, Gunner? I never killed anyone. And I certainly never tried to rape Reagan. I was drunk that night, man. I would never do that to you.”

  “Come on, Gavin. I know about dad. And I know about Holly.”

  From the ground, their mother spit on the carpet, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She slowly climbed back into her seat, her eyes on them as if she were watching a movie. It took her a long time to sit down, her shaking growing more fierce. She was trying desperately to coerce a reaction from them.

  “What are you talking about? Dad? Holly?” His voice was growing increasingly agitated.

  “Gia told me what happened. About the baby. And the fire.”

  “What did she tell you?” he asked, looking at Gunner like he was speaking another language.

  “That you...she told me that you killed them, Gav.”

  Gavin took a step back as if he’d been punched in the chest. “She...what? She said that I...I…” He blinked rapidly, fighting back tears, his mouth opened as he tried to speak. “No, Gunner, you’ve got it all wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It wasn’t me that killed them.”

  “Who was it?” Gunner asked, his insides growing cold as he feared he knew the answer.

  “It was Gia. All of it was Gia.”

  “What?” He shook his head. “No.”

  “Gia started the fire. She was pissed that you left. She killed dad. She wanted to kill mom too but we didn’t know she hadn’t made it to bed yet. And I could never...never have hurt Holly. I loved her. I loved her so much. We were gonna have a baby.” He teared up, his chin quivering. “We were gonna have a family. Gia couldn’t stomach it. She couldn’t let there be a chance of anyone finding out that we were alive.” His eyes darted to their mother. “Because of her. Because she was terrified of what she would do.”

  “You’re saying Gia killed...everyone?”

  “She’s bad, Gunner. She’s just lost herself. I thought she was starting to come around, but then the evil was back, just like the night of the fire. The moment she found out about the baby, she was the Gia who killed our father all over again. And then, she disappeared. I haven’t seen her in days. I stayed in New York to clean up Holly’s apartment, to say goodbye to her since I knew I couldn’t come to the funeral, but now I have to find her. I have to catch her before she kills anyone else. Especially you. Now that you know we’re alive, she’s going to try to kill you too. No one can know about us, Gunner.”

  His words went straight to Gunner’s chest, sucking the air from his lungs. His knees grew weak, the hair on his arms standing up as he remembered her words. No one can know I’m alive.

  “What is it?” Gavin asked, sensing his panic.

  “Oh my god,” Gunner bellowed, running for the door at full speed. He shoved the screened door open, hearing it bash into the wall behind him, but he wasn’t focusing. He stared at the parking lot. At the exact spot where he’d left the car. At the empty tire tracks in the spot where it had just been.

  No.

  * * *

  Gavin, Gia, and Holly sat in the small apartment, staring into space.

  “You have to have an abortion,” Gia said finally.

  “What?” Gavin demanded. “No way.”

  “You have to, Gav. Don’t you see how dangerous this is?”

  Holly covered her stomach defensively. “I’m not having an abortion. Not a chance. We can run away. We can leave the country. Or I can go back home and tell them I got knocked up by some random guy in college. My parents have money. I don’t need someone to raise this baby with me.”

  “You aren’t doing this alone,” Gavin argued.

  “Are you two hearing yourselves right now? This is a baby we’re talking about. A living, breathing baby. We have been on the run for eight years, Gav. Eight years. Holly, you only see us part of the time. I mean, we appreciate you renting this apartment for us and all, but you still have school and a life. And sure, you can say you don’t need our help now but what happens when you’re suffering from sleep exhaustion and you’re lonely and the baby has no father and Gavin can never ever come around? Are you going to bring the baby on the run with us? You can’t even get married because we’re legally dead. So, we resort to stealing or working under the table. What about that?”

  “I know it’s going to be complicated—” she began.

  “You don’t know the half of it. The bottom line is that if you have this baby, you’re putting us all at risk. It’s not worth it.”

  “You don’t get to make this call, Gia. I’m sorry. We’re having it. We’ll figure everything else out as it comes, but we are having this baby. So, get on board or get out.” Gavin’s words were bullets, striking her hard and fast.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me,” he fired at her. “This place is in Holly’s name, not yours. So, if you aren’t going to help us figure this all out, you can just leave.”

  “You’re going to risk our lives, our family, for her? For a baby you’ve never met?”

  “She’s my family now.” He touched her stomach. “They are.”

  “I think I need to get some air,” Gia said, standing up.

  “Where are you going?” Gavin asked, his tone changing suddenly. “We don’t want you to leave. We want you to be a part of this.”

  “You just made it abundantly clear that I am not a part of this, Gav. And so, that’s that.” She opened the heavy green door and slammed it shut with a bang. No one chased after her. She walked past the door where she knew Gunner would be sleeping, if he were home. He worked strange hours. They’d started studying him to make sure not to cross paths. She considered knocking on his door, throwing her arms around the only brother who might still care about her. She was alone for the first time in her life and she hated the way that felt.

  Being a twin was a strange thing—you spent so much of your life with this one other person. It was the strongest connection she could imagine. Stronger than marriage. Or family of any other kind. She couldn’t allow herself to lose Gavin. She needed a plan.

  She walked down the steps, banging on the door she’d seen junkies frequenting.

  After a few moments, a skinny man with red hair and a patchy goatee opened the door. “Yeah?”

  “I need something,” she said simply, looking for pills or maybe pot to take the edge off. It had been years since she’d been high, always having to stay on alert, but if they weren’t going to worry about getting caught, she figured she might as well enjoy her last few nights of freedom.

  “Whatcha need, baby girl?” he asked, a smile creeping onto his face. His rotten teeth poked out from behind his lips.

  She pulled out a wad of cash she’d stolen from Holly a few nights back. “Whatever this will buy.”

  He eyed her happily. “Step right in.”

  Heroin. H. Smack. Brown Sugar. There were many names for the drug she’d gotten from him, but she had no idea what on earth she was going to do with it. She’d done exactly as he’d told her to prepare it, but now she was at a loss. She wasn’t actually going to shoot up, no matter how mad she was. She wasn’t into hard drugs. In fact, she found them repulsive. But, as she stared at the needle in her hand she began forming an idea.

  “That’s enough to last you a few d
ays,” he’d told her, “so be careful. Build up a tolerance. That’s not the stuff you want to start experimenting with, ya know?”

  It was a warning, but also a prelude to the answer she’d been searching for.

  Plan B. That’s what she would call it. Her saving grace.

  She walked back into the apartment as dawn had begun seeping in through the window. She walked into the bedroom, paying no attention to the blanket they’d left for her on the couch. That was her permanent resting place now. At one point, she and Gavin had rotated the bed. But now that Holly was around more frequently, she was sequestered to the couch on a less than temporary basis.

  She stared at them as they slept, their arms wrapped around each other. She could’ve been dying somewhere, or thrown into the back of a van, yet here they were, sleeping peacefully.

  She pulled the comforter back, shoving the needle in between the girl’s toes without hesitation. Once you’d killed someone, it really wasn’t so hard to convince yourself to do it again. Holly jerked back, sitting up. “What did you do?” she screamed, half asleep, but it was too late.

  “It didn’t have to be like this,” Gia informed her, holding the needle up into the air. Gavin sat up, looking at Holly’s panicked face and then at Gia.

  “What happened?” he demanded. Gia shrugged, waiting. Watching. Gavin jumped from the bed, shaking her shoulders. “Gia, what did you do?”

  On the bed, Holly had fallen limp, her body convulsing underneath the comforter. “What was it? What did you give her?” Gavin demanded, wrapping his arms around her, sobbing openly. “Call nine-one-one,” he screamed. “Please don’t do this.” He hugged her, running his hands through her hair. “Please Gia, please call for help. Don’t die on me, Hol, don’t you dare die on me.” He screamed and cursed, crying out for help that Gia had no intention of giving him. She watched as the girl died in his arms, Gavin helplessly crying out but unable to move from her side.

  When it was over, he turned to her, his eyes filled with deep hatred. “I’m going to call the cops. I’m going to tell them everything you did.”

  “If you were going to call the cops you already would have. You know as well as I do you’d be in jail along with me.”

  “You killed her in cold blood, Gia. Because...what? Because she was pregnant? Because I love her more than you?”

  She slapped him across the face, dropping the needle onto the bed. “If you want to stay here and get arrested, Gavin, that’s on you. One day you’ll see that I just saved us both. And maybe one day, you’ll thank me. Until that day, don’t contact me. We are through.” She sauntered from the room, feeling practically giddy. Problem solved.

  * * *

  “Where could she have gone?” he demanded, facing Gavin.

  “I don’t know,” he said firmly. “I honestly don’t.”

  Gunner grabbed his shirt, pulling him down an inch so they were nose to nose. “Tell me where she could be, damnit.”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to find her.”

  “She has Reagan. And my daughter. We have to find her, Gavin. She’s going to kill them.”

  Gavin went into action, pulling a set of keys from his pants. “Call nine-one-one,” he shouted at him.

  “What?” Gunner asked, climbing into the red car.

  “I already lost Holly. We aren’t going to lose anyone else. Call nine-one-one and have them track Reagan’s phone.”

  Gunner dialed the number. “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “My girlfriend has been kidnapped.”

  “Okay, sir. I hear you. Do you know who has kidnapped your girlfriend? Do you believe she is in danger?”

  “My sister kidnapped her. And yes, she’s in danger. My sister killed her sister a few days ago.”

  If the woman was confused, she didn’t let it show. “And when was the last time you saw your girlfriend?”

  “Just a few minutes ago. My sister stole my car. It had my girlfriend and my seven-year-old daughter in it.”

  “There’s a child in the car also?”

  “Yes,” Gunner confirmed as Gavin turned around a sharp curve. He grabbed the handle above his head to keep from sliding.

  “Do you have any idea where they might be headed?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, where are you now?”

  “We’re in Dale, Georgia. Headed east on route four-forty from the downtown square.”

  “Great. I’m dispatching police to that location. Are you able to pull over?”

  “I’m not pulling over until we find them.”

  “I hear you, sir. This situation is better left for the police to handle. They are en route to your location now. Can you describe the car they are in?”

  “It’s a black corsica, ninety-six model. Rusty. My sister has light brown hair, she’ll be driving. Roughly one hundred and thirty pounds. Five foot three. My girlfriend has blonde hair, they’re both in their late twenties. My girlfriend’s name is Reagan Orrick. My sister is Gia James. Up until two days ago, I believed she was dead. She’s a murderer. She’s very dangerous. My daughter is Nora Orrick. She has black hair. She’s seven. I can give you my girlfriend’s phone number if you can track her based on that.” He shouted random facts into the phone, anything he could think of that might help.

  “I’m taking all of these notes down and sharing them with our officers so they know what to look for. Can you tell us where they would’ve been leaving from?”

  He gave her his mother’s address. “I don’t know where they could be going,” he repeated, his voice cracking. “Please find them.”

  “I hear you sir, we are going to do everything—”

  He hung up the phone, interrupting her. “Where are we headed?” he asked Gavin, hoping his brother had a plan.

  “To save your girl,” he said, nodding his head to point straight up ahead. “She’s taking them back.”

  “Back?”

  “Back to where it all began. All of this.”

  He turned the corner and suddenly Gunner realized what Gavin was saying. “What? You think she’s going to take them to the lakehouse?”

  “Why not? It’s empty now from what we’ve heard. Grandpa moved out of town after Grandma died but they never sold the place. She still has the keys. We always talked about using it as a safehouse if we ever needed somewhere to hide. She’s going to need somewhere secluded.”

  The thought made him sick to his stomach and he leaned forward in his seat. “Drive faster. I’m calling back to let them know where we're headed.”

  They pulled up to the lakehouse, surprised to see that no car was there. “I could’ve sworn she’d be here,” Gavin said angrily, slamming his fists into the steering wheel and beginning to turn the car around.

  “Wait!” Gunner cried, his phone ringing in his pocket. It was Reagan. His heart leapt. “Hello?” he called into it.

  It was mostly static, he could hear what sounded like Nora crying in the background.

  “Nora? Reagan?” He put it on speaker phone.

  “Gun—?” He heard her panicked voice. “Gunner? Can—me?”

  “Hello? Reagan?” he screamed, pressing the phone’s volume button up as loud as it would go. “I’m here. I can hear you.”

  “Can—hear—Gun—car—ake.” Her voice came in short bursts.

  “We don’t have enough service,” Gunner yelled. “Damnit. Reagan, hold on baby. I’m here. I’m here. I’m trying to get where I can hear you.” He looked to Gavin. “Get me somewhere where I have service!”

  Gavin did as he was instructed, driving back down the long, dusty driveway as quickly as he could. They could hear the police sirens headed their way. “Are you still there, Rae?”

  “Car—own—die—ear me?”

  “Keep talking, Rae. I’m getting closer to getting service. Keep talking to me.”

  “Love—ou—ease—car—ake—oat—she’s gone!”

  “Stop!” He screamed as soon as her voice came through clearly. �
��Can you hear me? Did you say she’s gone?”

  “Can you—me?” she asked hysterically.

  “Yes!” he cried. “Where are you?” Tears rushed to his eyes at hearing her voice. She was still alive.

  “We’re—car, Gunner—the lake. We’re go—drown. Sh—eft on a boat—pushed the car—lake. It’s filli—water. We can’t—doors open—tied up. I don’t know what—do. Please, Gun—lease do somethi—”

  He looked behind them. “I’m here, Reagan. Where are you? I’m here. I’m at the lake. I’m coming for you.”

  He could hear their cries coming through the phone. “Reagan, calm down. I need you to talk to me so I can find you. The police are on their way. Where are you?”

  “I—I don’t—ow. Not far from—gra—arents’ house.”

  “Which way did she take you? North or south after you got to my grandparents?”

  “Right. We turned right,” she answered, the answer clear.

  Gavin had already turned the car back around. When they pulled back into the driveway, Gunner broke out of the car in a dead run, his legs getting ahead of him. He held the phone up, though her voice had begun cutting out terribly again.

  “Ple—urry!”

  “I’m hurrying!” he swore to her just as the line beeped, signaling to him that the call had dropped.

  He ran behind their house, scanning the shoreline. The car was nowhere to be seen. He ducked through the trees, hearing Gavin hurrying behind him but he couldn’t be bothered to slow down. He ran through the woods, limbs and weeds smacking him as he went. Blood trickled down his face from a particularly nasty branch, but he didn’t wipe it away. All that mattered was getting to them. He ran, his legs carrying him long past when he thought they would give out.

  Finally, he saw it. The black car sinking into the dark water of the lake. He sucked in a breath, jumping into the cool water. The car was nearly submerged, but he could see their heads peeking up for their last bit of air. He swam to it, water lapping and smacking at his face with vengeance. When he reached the car, he pulled on the door handle, the weight of the vehicle pulling him down rapidly as it sank. They had only seconds left. He screamed, beating on the windows with all of his might. He swam around to the front of the car, climbing onto the hood, and causing the car to sink faster. He cursed as water filled his mouth and he shoved all of his weight onto the glass. It didn’t budge. Suddenly, Gavin was at his side, a large stone in his hands. He struggled to keep it above water as they both kicked and flailed.