Nine

by Rachelle Dekker

  Hammon stood and started pacing again. “I don’t have to tell you what will happen if the information regarding the Grantham Project isn’t recovered.”

  “No, sir,” Seeley replied. He bit into the hard candy thinning in his mouth and swallowed the fractured pieces, the mixed flavor of peppermint and tobacco swirling across his tongue.

  “Olivia wouldn’t make idle threats. There was a plan here, and we need to know what it was. And we need the girl.”

  “We’ll find her,” Seeley said.

  “We have to control this. That girl might as well be running around with launch codes. I need it buttoned up, Seeley.”

  “Understood.”

  A hard knock sounded at the door, and a moment later Dave McCoy, a technical analyst who’d joined the Grantham Project only a year earlier, stepped inside.

  “We found something,” he said. He walked across the room, a black folder in his hand. He opened it and laid it on Hammon’s desk, revealing several enlarged black-and-white photos. “These were taken outside a commercial gas station along Highway 75 near Sherman, Texas.” McCoy pointed to a blurry figure under a streetlamp that appeared to be across the street. “Facial recognition pings her at a 65 percent match for our missing girl.”

  Seeley moved to the desk and pulled one of the top photos off to examine it more closely. He could barely make out the girl’s face since it was mostly a side view, but it could be Lucy.

  “When?” Hammon asked.

  “Just over an hour ago. Could be nothing,” McCoy replied.

  Could be something, Seeley thought.

  Hammon looked up at him. “Worth sending a team to check it out.”

  Seeley nodded.

  “Approach with caution. We have no idea how she’ll respond. Move quickly but carefully.”

  Seeley turned and headed for the door.

  “Alive, Seeley,” Hammon barked.

  Seeley didn’t turn back as he exited the office. He understood what was at stake and would get the job done. There was no other choice.

  FOUR

  THE REMAINDER OF Zoe’s shift slipped by in a muffled state of watching Lucy and wondering where on earth she could have come from. They talked a bit more here and there, Zoe asking questions and getting answers that should have made her more wary of Lucy’s motives but somehow caused her to feel even more protective of the girl.

  “Where did you come from?”

  “The forest.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “I ran.”

  “And you’re headed to Corpus Christi?”

  “Yes, to find Summer Wallace.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Olivia told me to.”

  “Who is Olivia?”

  “I can’t remember, but I trust her.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  With each question Zoe found herself becoming more invested. What she gathered was that Olivia had told Lucy some crazy story about taking her memories and Lucy being the key or something.

  None of which actually sounded plausible. Who was Lucy? Dozens of scenarios had been rolling around in Zoe’s mind to answer the question. Maybe she’d been kidnapped as a girl and escaped? Maybe she had amnesia? Maybe she was on a new cocktail of drugs? Maybe she was playing a very well-executed prank? Maybe she was mentally ill and trapped in some strange psychosis? Maybe she was dangerous, and Zoe was just gullible?

  Multiple times she told herself to walk away. Get the girl out of the diner and wash her hands of this insanity. But then Lucy would smile at her, the smile that reminded her of the little brother she once knew, and she’d be in deeper than she was before.

  The clock struck ten and Zoe untied her apron. Working a minute over scheduled time was punishable in Joe’s book. She clocked out and grabbed her stuff from underneath the counter.

  “You’re taking her with you, right?” Jessie asked.

  “Where am I supposed to take her?” Zoe asked.

  “I don’t care, as long as when you go, she goes with you. I’m not interested in entertaining some druggie for the next several hours.”

  “She’s not on drugs,” Zoe said.

  “And you know this from your extended history with her?”

  Jessie was right to question her logic. It was more likely the girl was tripping on acid than running from someone who had erased her memories. Was that even possible?

  “You could take her to the community center in town,” Pete offered from the kitchen. “They run a homeless program. They might have a cot for her.”

  Zoe glanced back to where Lucy sat. She was finishing her second strawberry swirl milkshake after devouring a basket of loaded cheese fries, a hamburger, and an order of chicken fingers. All of which Zoe had paid for and had cost her more than she’d made in tips during her shift.

  “And if they don’t have any room left?” she asked.

  Pete shrugged. “Seems like that’d be your problem.”

  “Feed a stray and they’ll just keep coming back,” Jessie said. “That’s what my mama would say.”

  They were right. Zoe was creating a situation she was unequipped to resolve. What was she going to do with Lucy now? She’d gotten sucked into the girl’s puppy eyes, and now she couldn’t just leave that puppy out in the cold. Could she?

  She slipped into the single bathroom, her mind flip-flopping on what to do next as she washed her hands. She stepped back into the diner and looked up, surprised to see someone had joined Lucy in her booth. A man Zoe didn’t recognize. He was smiling at the girl, his hands resting on the table, his fingers inching toward Lucy’s.

  Lucy giggled and tucked her hair behind her ear. Zoe’s stomach turned. She walked back to the counter and grabbed her coat.

  “Looks like crazy made another friend,” Jessie teased. “You may be saved after all.”

  Zoe pulled on her coat. She didn’t owe the girl anything. She’d already done more than most would have. Fed her. Given her shelter for the last few hours. They were strangers, and Lucy was nearly an adult. She was capable of making her own choices. Even if they were bad ones. But Zoe didn’t like the way Jessie was smirking, or the way the strange man was tenderly touching the back of Lucy’s hand.

  Lucy nodded as the man stood, and she moved to do the same. Zoe gritted her teeth. She should leave it, then she’d be free. But she couldn’t. Maybe Lucy needed to be protected. Hadn’t Zoe once needed the same thing and never been offered it?

  Zoe walked over to intercept the couple.

  Lucy glanced up and smiled at Zoe. “Dash is going to give me a ride,” she said, truly unaware of what might be expected in return for such a favor.

  “Out of the goodness of your heart,” Zoe mocked, glaring at Dash.

  “This doesn’t concern you, unless you want to join,” Dash said with a wink.

  “Gross,” Zoe said.

  He wrapped his arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “Come on, honey.”

  “Get your hands off her,” Zoe said, reaching out and yanking Lucy away from the predator.

  “Back off,” Dash snapped.

  Zoe stepped between him and Lucy. “Unless you want me to call the sheriff of this very small community town and tell him that an outsider is harassing young women at the diner, which would bring the entire department down here, you need to walk away.”

  “You better do as she asked,” a male voice hollered from behind, and Zoe glanced back to see Pete leaning out the kitchen pass-through, drilling Dash with a deadly stare.

  Dash cursed at Zoe so the whole diner could hear, then turned to Lucy and said, “Your loss, sweetheart.”

  The bell dinged his exit, and Zoe turned back to Lucy. “What were you thinking?”

  “He said he would give me a ride,” Lucy said. “He said he was nice.”

  Zoe huffed in frustration. “If a man says he’s nice, he’s usually not.” She walked to the front window and watched Dash climb into his truck cab and driv
e off. “You can’t believe everything people say, Lucy.”

  “Why not?”

  Zoe turned back to her, stunned. This girl was going to get herself killed. She really was a puppy, and without a leash she’d run right out into the middle of the street.

  “Do you have anywhere you can go?” Zoe asked.

  “I don’t remember,” Lucy said.

  Zoe exhaled. “Come on.”

  She stepped outside, Lucy right on her heels. They descended the steps into the cold evening air. The rain had passed, but the sky was still heavy with dark clouds, blocking out the stars and making the night black. A cold wind whirled by and Zoe shivered, pulling her coat tighter across her chest. Lucy’s clothes hadn’t dried out and her hair was still damp, yet she didn’t seem to notice the chill at all.

  “Are you sure this Summer Wallace isn’t here?” Zoe asked as they crossed the parking lot.

  “You said this is Sherman, and she’s in Corpus Christi.”

  “Because Olivia, who you can’t really remember, told you so? The same one that took your memories for your own protection? You realize how crazy that sounds, right?” Zoe said.

  “It’s the truth.”

  “How do you know if you can’t remember?”

  Lucy opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. She thought about it for a moment, then said, “I trust her, like I trust you.”

  “Why?” Zoe asked. “You don’t even know me!”

  “You said I could.”

  “Lucy, people lie. People lie more often than they tell the truth. Like Dash. Who knows what would have happened to you if you’d gotten in his truck. It’s woven into the human condition. People say one thing to your face and then do another behind your back. They make you believe their intentions are good when they are selfish. The world will chew you up and spit you out until you understand the only person you can rely on is you.”

  Silence fell between them as Lucy weighed Zoe’s words. Then she locked eyes with her, and Zoe could see the pain in Lucy’s expression even in the darkness.

  “You lied to me?” Lucy asked.

  Zoe sucked in a short breath. The simplicity and directness of Lucy’s question punched her in the chest. She wasn’t sure what to say.

  Lucy dropped her eyes, and after another drawn-out moment of silence she started walking toward the highway. Zoe wanted to make her understand, but she couldn’t formulate words that made sense. Lucy walked with decisiveness, not slowing as she reached the road and followed the graveled shoulder.

  Zoe watched her for several moments as Lucy put distance between them. A large semi whizzed by, honking at Lucy as it passed. Probably because a teen girl walking along the highway in the middle of the night was dangerous and stupid. And the road was filled with people like Dash.

  Zoe let out a frustrated huff and ran after the girl. “Lucy, wait,” she called.

  “I need to find Summer,” Lucy yelled back, not slowing her pace.

  Zoe eased to a walk as she closed the distance, now trailing Lucy by a few yards and yelling after her, “And you’re just going to walk there?”

  Lucy didn’t respond. She was determined, Zoe would give her that.

  In that moment Zoe had to make a choice. Leave the delusional girl to her own devices or help her. This was the perfect moment to walk away, take care of herself as she’d always done, follow the promises she’d made to herself not to get involved when there was potential pain. Yet even as the thoughts washed over her, her heart was already making a different choice. A choice she would probably regret, but the reality was clear. There was no way she could bring herself to abandon this strange girl to the wolves.

  “Lucy, please stop,” Zoe called. “It’s freezing out here, and dark.”

  Lucy continued to ignore her.

  Zoe pushed on. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have said those things.”

  Lucy spun around. “Is that also a lie?”

  “No, it’s the truth. What I said before, it was just me being . . .” Zoe paused to find the right word.

  “Mean,” Lucy finished.

  Zoe exhaled and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I have to get to Corpus Christi,” Lucy continued.

  “I know, but walking there is not the way.”

  “I can run. I’m pretty fast.”

  Zoe chuckled. “Don’t tell me you have super speed?”

  Lucy just stared at her.

  “Right. That’s probably another pop-culture reference you don’t understand. Trust me, there are better ways.”

  “Can I trust you?” Lucy asked for the second time. Just like before, the authenticity of it shook Zoe to her core. The teen’s eyes demanded honesty, and Zoe gave it.

  “Yes. And I will help you find Summer Wallace, but tomorrow. Tonight you can stay with me, okay?”

  Lucy walked toward Zoe. “Can we get more milkshakes?”

  Zoe smiled. “We’ll see.”

  “They’re very good,” Lucy said, reaching Zoe’s side.

  Zoe chuckled as they turned together and headed back down the highway, Lucy’s delight in something as simple as milkshakes softening Zoe’s hardened shell with each step.

  FIVE

  LUCY PLOPPED DOWN on the end of Zoe’s double bed, her hair wrapped in a white towel. Zoe had given her a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt to wear while she dried her damp clothes. After a quick tour of her single-room home—consisting of a bed, two nightstands, a dresser with TV atop, a mini stackable washer/dryer set, a small kitchenette, and a writing desk with matching chair—Zoe pointed Lucy in the direction of a hot shower.

  Lucy was in the shower for twenty minutes, an eternity. Zoe tried to busy herself with things around her place. Her mind ran in circles from one troubling thought to the next. Had she really brought a stray home? Armed with very little information about her and hoping for the best? She must have lost her mind.

  Zoe had simple but inviolable life rules. Number one: Keep your head down, stay out of trouble, trust no one. Number two: Always refer back to rule number one. With a pair of baby-blue eyes and a dopey smile, somehow Lucy had convinced Zoe to break her life rules. She wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or terrified.

  Lucy sat cross-legged on the bed and looked at Zoe, who was rinsing a coffee mug and placing it on the small shelf that contained the few dishes she owned.

  “You enjoy your shower?” Zoe asked.

  Lucy nodded. “It was very warm.”

  “Say what you want about this place, but the hot water never seems to run out.”

  “I like this place.”

  Zoe turned and leaned back against the sink, crossing her arms. “It suits me fine.”

  “It’s nice.”

  Zoe raised her eyebrows and huffed. “You clearly haven’t been very many places.”

  A confused, pondering look washed over Lucy’s face. The girl seemed to get lost inside herself, as if searching for answers in her own mind. The expression was haunting and sad. Zoe wished she had said something else.

  She pushed off the sink and headed for the remote that sat on the nightstand. “You wanna watch some TV?” She grabbed the control and flicked the black screen to life. Reruns of Deal or No Deal filled the frame. The playfully charming Howie Mandel interacted with a young girl who was just getting an offer from the bank, as perfect girls in little black dresses stood in rows holding numbered silver briefcases.

  “This okay?” Zoe asked. She looked to Lucy, whose eyes had gone wide with wonder.

  Lucy adjusted her small frame to get a better view of the screen and became engrossed with the images as they played across the monitor as if she’d never seen a TV before. But then maybe she hadn’t? Or couldn’t remember. Another unbelievable fact to add to the list of puzzling truths about this strange girl.

  Zoe’s cell phone buzzed against the small wooden desk across the room, and the screen lit up. She dropped the remote onto the bed and stepped toward the vibrating phone. She reached
for it, saw it was the diner, hit ignore. She’d worked a ten-hour shift; she was not going back in.

  Lucy had pulled the wrapped towel from her head, and her long hair lay in wet chunks around her shoulders. Zoe stepped into the bathroom to grab her hairbrush. The mirror was still cloudy from the steam of Lucy’s shower, and Zoe wiped it clean. Her tired reflection stared back at her. Fair skin, brown eyes, short black hair that she dyed herself. She noticed her light roots poking through. Time for a touch-up.

  She left the bathroom, flicking the light off on her way out. Her phone was buzzing again. She glanced at it. The diner. Strange they’d keep calling. She tossed the brush onto the bed beside Lucy and reached for her phone. Lucy looked at the object as it landed beside her and then back up at Zoe.

  Zoe pointed to her own head to indicate what the item was for and watched as Lucy carefully reached for the brush and began to run it through her hair. Zoe’s phone stopped vibrating in her hand, and she unlocked it to dial the diner back.

  Jessie answered before the first ring finished. “Why aren’t you answering your phone? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, but I’m not coming back in to cover for you,” Zoe started. “I don’t care who died—”

  “I didn’t call about that,” Jessie snapped, then dropped her voice. “Is that girl still with you?”

  “Why?”

  “Look, I don’t know what kind of trouble she’s in, but two government men just showed up here lookin’ for her.”

  “What?” Zoe stepped back into the bathroom and out of Lucy’s earshot. “What do you mean, government men? Like, agents?”

  “Yeah. They were showin’ us pictures of her and asking if we’d seen her. They said she’s dangerous, Zoe.”

  “How do you know they were really with the government?”

  “They had badges, FBI.”

  “And they were real?”