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The Video Store Page 9

by S J Sargent


  He wasn’t cut out for this pace. His sweet spot was petty crimes. Teenage vandalism. Noise complaints. The occasional stolen purse. Crimes small enough to keep things interesting. Crimes that only took connecting a few pieces of evidence and wrapping it up by the afternoon. He thought he would enjoy this case more when it came across his desk. Finally something to prove himself. All it had done so far was the opposite.

  Looking down at Molly’s phone record, he wondered if it was even worth calling her in or just letting the poor girl go home. His eyes were heavy. The coffee was fading. His wife’s dinner was already two hours cold. He sighed and looked at the clock, debating if he was going to call it a night and let these poor employees go home.

  What Bolin didn’t realize, though, was that Molly held the single piece of evidence that finally could get this case to start unraveling and unfolding. The single piece of evidence he’d been searching for since Amy went missing.

  20

  Molly & Amy

  Saturday, December 12 – 4:15 P.M.

  Right place. Wrong time. That’s all it was. That’s why it wasn’t even worth Molly telling it to anybody. It would cause them to think something that wasn’t true. That she was covering something up. That’s what happens when the town is in a panic.

  The Saturday night before Amy went missing, she and Molly were getting coffee near Amy’s house. It was a dive of a place called The Country Boy Diner, known for its wonderfully mediocre strawberry rhubarb pie and dusty selection of local poetry. The two girls passed on the sweets and just had some coffee. It was the dead time of the late afternoon before dinner, so they had the whole section to themselves.

  “Molly, I just…can’t thank you enough.” Amy smiled like a kid who just finished a cupcake. “I usually hate calculus. Well, I still do!” She laughed through her enthusiastic grin.

  Molly rubbed her hand. “It’s no problem. I don’t even think of it as tutoring anymore. It’s been fun. I’m glad you asked. I don’t think we ever would have become friends otherwise. Or come up with our dream homes from HGTV! My Pinterest board is way full of stuff I want to put into my house.”

  “It’s sooo contagious,” Amy exclaimed. “I spend way too much time on there. I had to delete the app off my phone so I would actually study!”

  “I need to do the same. It’s the ultimate distraction. Especially during finals week.”

  “Um, like you need to worry about that?” Amy smirked. “You are the curve killer.” That wasn’t the first time someone had called Molly that. “You stress yourself out for no reason. Just relax, girl.”

  “I know.” Molly looked down. “It’s not me…”

  “It’s your parents.” Amy completed Molly’s thought. “It’s always the parents. I can’t wait to be in college next year.”

  “Can we please promise to never be like that when we become parents one day?” Her long, satisfying sip of her lavender latte almost caused her to miss Amy’s sudden mood change. Molly’s words had struck a chord with her. Amy’s eyes were hiding now as they looked down, like a stray dog that had just been punished.

  “…you okay?” Molly leaned in.

  Amy didn’t reply. By the time she eventually did look up, her eyes were full of teenage tears.

  “Amy.” Molly caressed her hand again. “What’s wrong?”

  She just shook her head, caking on a fake smile.

  “Amy. Talk to me.”

  “He told me…he loved me…” Amy hid her face. “And…I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

  “Amy, what is going on?”

  A long pause. Amy drank some water, which just added to the buildup. Molly realized she’d been holding her breath and let out a small gasp. “No one knows…” She paused, hoping Molly would magically know what she was talking about. “Except him.”

  The two locked eyes. And somehow in that moment, Molly realized what she was talking about. Maybe it was female intuition. Or maybe it was because it was Molly’s greatest fear in life. Even though she was a virgin, she lamented the very notion of having to slow down her academic career in order to raise a child. It was her worst nightmare.

  “…how far along are you?”

  Amy shook her head, eyes still on the floor. “I’m too afraid to go to the doctor.” She rubbed the edge of her coffee cup. “We used birth control. I don’t get how it happened. I mean, it said online that 0.3% can still get pregnant. What is that? One in three hundred? I just can’t believe I’m that one. Of all the times I beat the odds, it had to be this…” She paused, long enough for Molly to offer her napkin as a tissue. “I don’t know what to do. I’m scared.”

  Molly nodded, grasping Amy’s hand tightly. The firm affection gave temporary comfort to her shattered world. She knew she would have to tell her parents soon. She couldn’t hide it much longer. And when it did come out, it would change everything. Her reputation at school. Her college career. The rest of her life. Amy feared that she would probably have to raise the baby alone, too. All of her thoughts were too overwhelming.

  Molly swung around and gave her a hug. They shared tears and talked for another hour or so. Until Amy’s water reserves had completely run dry. Even Molly was teared out by the time they gathered their things up to go. The ride back to Amy’s house was mostly silent. Molly’s mind empathized with the horrific feelings that filled up Amy’s reality.

  Pregnant at 17 years old.

  The thought made Molly shudder. Not because she hated kids. Molly loved playing with her little cousins. She just hated the idea of her future being out of her hands. And even more so, Molly hated that Amy felt alone in the venture. Her deadbeat of a boyfriend was less likely to step up as a father than he was to beat out Molly for the highest GPA in the class.

  They parked in her driveway, where Molly finally spoke her mind.

  “I think you need to keep it.” That’s all she said.

  The words just floated in the car for a while. Amy looked at her and half smiled, before she shook her head and shot back at Molly in a tone she hadn’t heard from her before.

  “That’s easy for you to say. It’s not your decision. And I’m not ruining my future by becoming a single mother at seventeen years old. No way. My parents, they would disown me. Everyone would. Even you would, eventually.”

  “I wouldn’t.” Molly reached out, but Amy withdrew.

  “You say that now. Everyone says that at first. He said that at first. Then he called me back in a panic two days later and changed his mind. Blocked my number. Hasn’t talked to me since.” Amy grabbed her door handle and flung it open. Before getting out, she looked back at Molly. “Don’t you get it? I’m the one that has to deal with it. Not him. No one at PHS even knows that we were together. He can ride off into the college sunset while I’m stuck here. The college dropout who quit before she even started…”

  “No, Amy.” Molly reached out again. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’ll do everything I can to help you. Whatever it takes-”

  “Stop! This isn’t your decision. It’s mine. And there are other factors in play here. It’s not just about what you think…” Amy sounded strangely similar to Molly’s parents. “You don’t get to decide!” Amy got out now, clutching her textbook close to her chest. “This is my life. You’re just my tutor.”

  She slammed the door and stormed into her house.

  That’s the last time Molly ever saw Amy.

  21

  Molly’s Interrogation

  Sunday, December 19 – 9:06 P.M.

  “Please answer the question.”

  Bolin’s feet were kicked up on the table as he was trying to wrap up his third interrogation in a row. This one was just about due diligence at this point. He had no reason to believe Molly had anything to do with the murders, but he also couldn’t discriminate and let her go home without giving her comparable questioning to the others. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Bolin checked his old police academy watch.

  9:06. Good Lord.
>
  “Yesterday afternoon.” Molly prayed the conversations didn’t drift to Amy. Being the last person outside of Amy’s family to see her meant she might have to go through countless testimonials, interviews, and news reports. Not to mention the suspect tag that everyone would want to throw on her. Even if her name was cleared as innocent, it would still be tied to the murder case.

  And that doesn’t look good on college applications.

  She wanted to yell across the table and ask Bolin why he couldn’t just release the suspect’s name in custody and finally close the Powers case. That way she would be clear. The town would be at ease. And the big question would be answered.

  “What was the circumstance of the last conversation you had with her?” Bolin continued along with his rehearsed questions, looking down at his notes without even listening much at this point.

  “Christine let Alex go home early. She knew how exhausted we were from a busy finals week. And it was so slow at the store that I didn’t really need to be there.”

  “Exhausted from what exactly? All the news reports?”

  “Finals week,” Molly said back quickly. Too quickly. Bolin noticed. “It was just a tiring week. I’m sure it was for you, too.”

  Bolin avoided the deflection. “Did Amy’s disappearance affect you at all this week? Didn’t you know her from school?”

  Before Molly could dance around another question, the lights went out in spontaneous horror movie fashion. Bolin popped up, eyes racing around the ceiling tiles. Molly froze, her mind searching for a good answer that would pull him away from this line of questioning.

  “Stay right there.” Bolin raced out of the room. And just like that, Molly was alone in the dark.

  She stared at the door. Relieved. Frightened. Heart racing. Mind racing. She dared not move. Yelling from the hall leaked in through the door. Multiple voices. What was happening? Her mind began to troubleshoot worst-case scenarios.

  Being on edge made that easy.

  Bolin raced back. Only moments had passed, but it felt much longer in the quiet, dark station. “Sorry, Molly. We need everyone to evacuate the building immediately.” He peeked down the hallway but kept talking. “Everything is fine.” No, it wasn’t. “We just have a protocol when the power goes out that we need to follow. It’s like a fire drill. Did you ever have those in school?”

  Molly dismissed his obvious question. She darted out into the hallway where Alex and Peter were standing. Peter looked more terrified than she did. One quick glance at Alex taught her that he was hypothesizing. While she was genuinely freaked out, he was excited to figure out what was going on. Like a kid who just found some missing puzzle pieces on the floor.

  Alex reached his hand toward her. She grabbed it immediately. Fingers interlocked. A sudden rush of hormones shot through both of their bodies.

  “Let’s go,” Alex said. He walked with her and Peter toward the exit, hoping they could finally go home. As they made their way for the door, Alex heard a yell from behind him. It came from down the hall. At first, he thought it was Bolin. But then he saw the detective standing ahead propping the door open and waving them to come through.

  “Alex? Alex. Is that you?”

  Alex turned around and looked down the dark hall. He could barely make out anything. His eyes were still adjusting. All he saw was the outlines of three people walking toward him at an efficient pace. The voice spoke up again.

  “What are you doing here, man?”

  He squinted, but it didn’t help. The voice sounded familiar, but the unfamiliar environment made it hard for him to pin it. It wasn’t until the voice walked in front of a window and caught some outside light on his face that Alex noticed who it was.

  Ken.

  Alex stared at him like he was seeing a ghost. The last time he’d seen Ken was the day before when he was escorted out of Movie Madness by Christine. The last time he’d heard from Ken was when he’d called in a drunken frenzy later that day when Alex had been getting coffee with Molly.

  It felt like an eternity ago.

  But now, with a police escort on either side of him, Ken was standing in front of Alex. In handcuffs.

  22

  Ken’s Saturday Night

  Saturday, December 18 – 8:15 P.M.

  Ken cracked open the remaining beer in the six-pack he bought on the way home from work. The last person he’d talked to was Alex on the phone, but that was three beers ago. For most guys, that would’ve been too much to even stay awake. But for this 300-pounder, it was just enough to mellow him out and give him a steady slur in his words.

  He sat in his room watching TV, refusing to take off his Movie Madness shirt. The nightly news was on. Sports highlights. But at the bottom was a bold red bar that read…

  REMINDER: 9:00 P.M. TOWN-WIDE CURFEW IS IN EFFECT FOR THE TOWNS OF PECOS, PEYTONSVILLE, AND SHELBYVILLE.

  It scrolled over and over, enough to distract him from the news report about the best local Christmas shopping tips. While the rookie reporter gave non-essential suggestions for ways to save big during the holiday season, Ken’s mind began debating if he should run out before the town shut down for the night. Anything to distract him from reality.

  It was only a matter of time. That’s what he’d known for months about his job security at Movie Madness. He didn’t do himself any favors with Christine. He was just glad he got out swinging and taking a bullet for Alex. Even though they never hung out, Ken trusted Alex. He considered him one of his closest friends. Alex wouldn’t have said the same. Then again, that’s the difference between a high schooler and a twentysomething that still lives with his parents.

  “I gotta get out of here…” Ken said to himself but also out loud. He turned off his TV and stumbled to his pickup truck. His blurry vision tried its best to prevent him from getting the key in the ignition. After four failed attempts, he somehow jammed it in and turned it. The radio blasted a country song.

  8:25 p.m. displayed in that old green font that’s only found in old car radios made in the analog age. A few minutes later, he was at his favorite bar. Bleachers sports grill. He’d been going there since before it was legal for him to be going there.

  “Sixteen-ounce Coors?” The bartender asked before he even sat down. Ken nodded as he took his seat at the end of the bar. He pulled out his phone and read some discussion forums on the new God of War game he’d rented from the store a few days earlier.

  He ordered food and ate it quickly, which you tend to do when you’re by yourself and you aren’t distracted by someone else’s conversation. There were only a few customers left in the place at that point. The bartender handed him the check along with a friendly reminder.

  “Just a heads up. We are closing now. You got ten minutes to get home. Cops are going to be watching closely tonight. I heard the fine is ridiculous.” The bartender motioned at a cop at the other end of the bar, who was glaring at Ken and eager to write a ticket. Ken laughed and looked down at his empty glass.

  The cop wasted no time taking the seat right next to him. Ken looked up at him. He’d lived in Pecos his whole life. Had plenty of run-ins with the cops. Nothing major, but enough to be on a first-name basis with most of the squad. Ken didn’t recognize this guy, though. Must be a newbie, one that didn’t know Ken’s past run-ins.

  “Might be best for you to wrap up quickly…” the cop said. Ken looked at his name tag. Officer Mahoney. “We want everyone off the road as soon as possible. It’s for your own safety. You understand that?” he said, as more of an expectation than an actual question.

  Ken said nothing back. He took his final sip of beer, then a deep breath. Gently, he set down his glass, interlocked his hands, and glanced up at the sports highlights on the TV in front of him.

  “Do we have a problem here, son?” Mahoney leaned in.

  “Have I done something wrong, officer?”

  “You’re about eight minutes away from doing something wrong…” Mahoney flung off his glasses with vigor. Ken’s
eyes stayed on the TV.

  “That’s rounding up then.” Ken crossed his arms and leaned back. “Can’t really charge a guy for a crime he might commit in eight minutes.” Ken gave his legendary smirk toward the cop, the same one that Christine hated.

  The officer turned his full body toward him now.

  “How far away do you live from here?” he asked.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “It’s about to be my business. Did you know that an officer has the right to arrest a civilian if he or she feels that the person is potentially resisting arrest?”

  The two locked eyes.

  Mahoney smiled. “New state law. It allows us to avoid confrontational situations by eliminating them before they start. If you ask me, this law is long overdue. I’m tired of wasting so much time waiting for morons to inevitably screw up. Well, now, I can just throw them in the back of my car before they do.” Mahoney smiled again with a little more seduction.

  Ken stayed composed. He was enjoying this too much. “If you’re that bored and want to bring me down to the station for kicks and giggles, go ahead. I got nothing else going on tonight. Heck. I’ve been there enough times already…”

  One hour later, Ken’s wish became a reality as he sat at the interrogation table at the Pecos police station. Bolin paced around, eager to grill this tipsy guy. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Ken in the station this year. He looked through his record, reading the best parts out loud for dramatic effect.

  “Trespassing, two counts of vandalism, and…wow.” Bolin stopped and looked right at Ken. “Driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages. That must have been the one that closed the door on the army permanently. Is that right?”

  Ken sat motionless like a clock with no batteries.

  “And now…now, you can’t even keep a job at the local video store. Even seventeen-year-olds can thrive there. But not Kenny boy. Nope. I mean, if you can’t even keep a job there…” Bolin shrugged. He laughed as he took a seat in front of him. “Play along with me for a second. You try to get into the military. Can’t meet your weight goal. So, time to slim up.” Bolin rubbed his stomach, continuing on. “Had a few dumb nights back when you’re nineteen. No big deal. A few fines. Slap on the wrist. But it stays on the record. And you know that. Then, two years later, bam. The big kahuna. D.U.I.” He paused and smiled. “And poof. There goes your dream. Three simple letters ended it all for you. It’s amazing how one night can do that, though…”

 

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