by Claire Adams
"Relax, Ben. Like I said, it wasn't a serious wound. Look at me; I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about?! Listen to you man! Now we’re getting shot at? I’d say that's plenty to worry about! I want to stop these guys, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to get killed doing it. I don't know, Everett, I don't know. Maybe we should rethink this. We aren't cops, and we aren’t trained soldiers. And this seems to be turning into a war zone. Maybe, maybe we're getting in over our heads here."
"Ben, if we don't stop these guys, who will? Look at Captain Smith! He's not going to do a damn thing about this. Hell, it's obvious he's likely in on the whole thing! He doesn't want to catch these guys. Look, I understand you might be scared. I mean, sure, any reasonable person would be. And... and I understand if you want to bow out now. There's no shame in that. You're right; you're not a soldier, you're not a cop. And yes, we're in way deeper now than we thought we would be. But me? I'm not giving up. I'm not going to allow this Mr. Mask scumbag and his henchmen to walk all over us, to ruin the lives of the kids at JFK High. If Captain Smith isn't going to do anything about it, well, someone has to. And that someone is gonna be me. I won't sit back and watch these guys destroy so many young lives. I don't care what the risk is to myself; I won't sit back and let it happen."
Ben nodded, his jaw tightening with determination and new courage flaring up in his eyes.
"And that's why we got you here," he said with quiet determination. "That's why we got you here. You're right. We're the only ones who can do this. And we have to do it. We have to save these kids and stop these bastards. I'm sorry for being a coward. I'm with you all the way, Ev…all the way."
I put my arm around his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.
"You're no coward, Ben. Not at all. You're braver than many men who carry guns every day. I guarantee you that."
"Thanks, I appreciate you saying that. I just want to do what's right, you know?"
"I know, I know. We're both on the same page," I told him.
"Well, what did you find out last night then – besides how it feels to get shot?"
I chuckled dryly. "Yeah, that wasn’t my favorite part of the evening. The dealer in the building, I saw him hand over a big briefcase filled with a ton of cash to Mr. Mask who, in turn, handed him a bag full of drugs. I wanted to kick myself; if I had caught that on camera, it would have been the hard evidence we need. Unfortunately, I didn't – and that's when I got shot."
"Well, you must have at least spooked them. Now they know we're aware of where they're dealing from."
"I figured that much. They're going to move their operation elsewhere for sure."
He nodded, frowning. "Yeah, one step forward, two or three steps back."
"Remember, we still have Panetti informing for us, though. He'll be able to help us find out where these guys have gone."
"And now we have more leads if Kendrick can help us ID the kids who were buying here at the school earlier," Ben added.
"Yeah. We'd better get to the hospital to see how he's doing."
"We'd better do that, yeah. Maybe we'll be able to get there before he goes into surgery. I'll get the yearbooks, you drive."
"Sounds like a plan."
Chapter Fifteen
Vivienne
I watched Everett go with a mixture of sadness and pride. Obviously, I wasn't pleased that our time together had been interrupted, but I knew it was for a good reason. And seeing the determination on his face when he talked about catching the drug dealers made me feel proud of him, proud to have a noble, honorable man like him in my life.
I also felt guilty about misjudging him before, about making assumptions and thinking that he’d ditched me and stood me up to go drinking with his friend. Now that I knew the truth, I felt bad.
I'd been only too happy to volunteer to help him with Jane if he needed me to. He had a lot on his plate at the moment, and I wanted to do what I could to help ease the burden.
I really felt like talking to someone about all of this, so I decided to call up Kerry to see how things were going. The thought of calling Angie to see how she fared with that guy last night did cross my mind as well, but I figured she might be pretty hungover after all the drinking she had been doing. I shot Kerry a text to see if she had time for quick a Skype session. Seeing her face when we talked always made it feel like she wasn’t so far away. She immediately returned my text, and so I made my way to my laptop and booted up my computer.
"Hey girl!" I said as she answered.
"Hey there, Viv," she replied, smiling. I turned my webcam on so that she could see me, too.
"Wow," she remarked. "You're looking happy! What's going on?"
I chuckled and blushed a little.
"I know that look. It's a guy, isn't it?" she continued.
"Yeah, it's a guy."
She beamed a broad ear-to-ear grin at me. "It's that hot guy from across the street, am I right?"
I nodded, and couldn't help beaming out a huge smile myself.
"Wow, Viv! What was his name again? He was that high school principal guy, right?"
"Everett. Everett James."
"Ooh, that's a sexy-sounding name."
"Yeah, well it fits then because he’s sexy as hell," I informed her.
"Well go on! Don't hold back, give me all of the juicy details!"
"I don't know about juicy, but there are plenty of details. Remember I told you I babysat his kid?"
"Yeah, I do."
"She's such a little cutie pie, seriously."
"You told me that already. I want the details about the dad. And what about her mom? Did you find out anything about that?"
"I did. Seems her mom was...well, she was an alcoholic, apparently. She walked out on him and Jane."
"What?! Wow, she must be one cold-hearted bitch. No way I could ever leave my kids," Kerry stated adamantly.
"Right? Well anyway, as horrible as that is, at least Jane has a loving father."
"I guess. So, what have you and he been doing? Details, remember?" she teased.
"Well, we were supposed to go on a date last night, but he, uh, he stood me up – kinda."
"Say what? What kinda decent guy stands a girl up on the first date? And if that’s the case, why the hell are you smiling like that?"
"No, no, it was just a big mix-up. He got an emergency call and had to leave 15 minutes before our date started. And he forgot his phone, so he couldn't call and let me know about it."
"Hmm. What kind of problems does a high school principal have that are emergencies on a Friday night?" Kerry asked.
"Actually, there's some pretty serious stuff going on at his school. There's a massive drug problem."
"Well…shouldn’t the cops be handling that?"
"He’s very involved. That’s all I know. And then his daughter got sick, and he had to rush her to the hospital."
"Okay, that's a legit reason…and terrible. How is she?"
"She'll be okay, but they are keeping her to get the meds in her through an IV. He and I got to spend some time together this morning. He brought me flowers to apologize, then we chatted a lot, and uh..."
Kerry gave me a knowing glare. "And uh what? Spill it!"
"He kissed me," I admitted.
"And?! How was it?!"
"It was...yeah. Let's just say he's a really, really good kisser."
"Judging by the look on your face, I bet he is! And, what else? Are there any other juicy details I need to know about?"
I laughed. "No, nothing else you need to know. But he is going to take me on another date – and this one he won't stand me up for."
"He'd better not! A guy should only get one free pass when it comes to stuff like that."
"Oh, believe me, he knows; he knows."
"Well, I'm really happy for you," she said, smiling. "I mean, it's been so long since you've, you know...since there's been a man in your life; and this one, he sounds like a decent guy."
/> "He really is, Kerry. At least that's the impression I have of him."
"Well, I hope your impression is accurate. I seriously do. So, when do Carl and I get to meet this hunk, huh?"
"Let's not move too fast now!" I said with a laugh. "But, you know you guys are welcome here anytime."
"I wouldn't mind getting down there for a weekend, actually. Maybe we'll make a plan to come down soon."
Despite the light-hearted nature of our conversation, something more serious was gnawing at the back of my mind, and I had to ask Kerry about it.
"Kerry, did Carl hear anything else about Simon's whereabouts?" I asked.
She frowned and shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid not. He really has gone off the radar. Carl has been calling people and looking online, but I don't know...it's like he's just vanished into thin air."
Worry and anxiety began to gnaw increasingly at my insides.
"I really hope he... you know, he hasn't..."
"He hasn't found you, Viv. Trust me. You're safe there. He might be smart, but we've taken every precaution we can to make sure you're hidden and safe."
"I just know how determined and persistent he is, Kerry. He's obsessed; he's not going to just give up."
"Look, don't worry too much about it, Viv. Carl's on it, and we will find Simon eventually, I promise you that. And besides, you're living a whole new life now. You're in a place where nobody from your past knows you, where—"
"Actually, there is someone from my past here," I said, interrupting her.
"Wait, what?! Who?!"
"I bumped into Angie Wells here."
"Angie Wells, from high school?"
"Yep, that Angie Wells."
"Wow... and she recognized you?"
"She did. She even called me by my old name."
"You did correct her, right? And tell her about the Simon thing, and why you need to maintain a high degree of secrecy and privacy?"
"I told her. She knows, and she understands. She's not going to go around announcing that she's hanging out with Alicia from high school."
"Wow... it's weird to hear you say your old name like that."
"I know... and it was even weirder to hear it shouted across a crowded bar, totally unexpectedly."
"Damn, that's how it happened?"
"Yeah, that's how it happened. We—"
Our conversation was interrupted by my phone ringing. I picked up the phone and saw a number on the screen that I didn't recognize.
"Oh, hang on, Kerry, I need to get this; it might be Everett calling about Jane."
"Sure thing," Kerry replied.
I answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Miss Vivienne Andrews?"
"Speaking, yes. Who is this, may I ask?"
"I'm Lieutenant Todd, Irvine Police Department."
A sudden jolt of uneasiness blasted through me; what if something had happened to Everett? What if the drug dealers had shot him again? What if... no, even if something had happened, they wouldn't be calling me.
"Good evening, Lieutenant, what is this about?"
"You are the proprietor of ABC Daycare, correct?"
"I am, yes."
"You might want to come down here, Miss Andrews."
"Um, can I ask why?" My daycare was closed on weekends, so I knew there wasn't an issue with a child or one of my staff. So, why on earth would the police be there?
"There's been a break-in. Our guess is that it happened last night sometime. A passer-by saw that one of the windows had been smashed and that it looked like someone had forcibly entered the building. They called us and reported it, and we went to investigate, and we can confirm that the building has indeed been broken into. We need you to come here and check the situation out, and see if anything of value has been stolen. Also, uh, the intruder left a message. Our guess is it's not for you, but maybe when you see it, it'll ring a bell. It might be meant for someone who works here. You're going to have to come see it, and we'll have to ask you some questions about it. Are you able to come down here now?"
"I am, yes. I'll be there shortly."
"We'll be waiting for you, Miss Andrews."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll see you soon."
We said our goodbyes, and I put my phone back in my handbag and stared at the screen with an expression of shock splayed across my face.
"What's wrong, Viv?" asked Kerry, sounding worried.
"Someone... someone broke into my daycare last night."
"What?! Why? Who would break into a daycare?"
"Whoever it is, they left some sort of message."
"A message? Saying what?"
"I don't know... but I'm about to find out. I'll call you later and let you know what happened."
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at my daycare with a strange and uncomfortable mix of emotions sloshing around inside me. I was worried, more than anything, but I there was also a twinge of fear bubbling through my veins. Two patrol cars with blue lights flashing through the darkness were positioned at the entrance to the parking lot.
I pulled up to the main gate and used my remote to open it then proceeded into the parking area. The cops had apparently climbed over the wall to get in. As soon as I parked, I got out and made my way to the playground where three cops were standing amongst the playground equipment. One was making notes in a notebook, and another was taking photographs of the place. The one writing in his notepad saw me and walked over to me.
"You must be Miss Andrews," he said.
"That's right; I'm Vivienne Andrews, owner of this daycare."
"I'm Lieutenant Todd. We spoke on the phone."
I shook hands with him. "Thank you for informing me of the situation, Lieutenant."
"No problem. Now, before I show you the damage and where the guy got in, I do need to ask you a few questions," he said, positioning his notebook to jot down my responses.
"Sure thing, fire away."
"How long have you owned this place?"
"Well, I've been at this daycare for two years, since I moved to Irvine."
"Alright, two years," he said, writing in his notebook.
"No, Lieutenant, I didn't say I've owned this place for two years. Sorry for the confusion."
"I see. So how long have you owned it then?"
"I bought it from the former owner around a year ago."
"So you were first an employee, and then you bought it and took over ownership?"
"That's correct, yes."
"And would you mind providing me with the name of the former owner?"
"That was Mrs. Dianne Satterstrom. She was retiring from the daycare business, and she knew I really loved this place and working with kids."
"Uh-huh. Is the former owner still alive?"
"Yes, Dianne definitely is. She and I meet up for coffee every few weeks. In fact, we just got together about a week ago."
"I see. Alright, and are the parents who bring their kids here generally happy? I mean, do you get along well with all of them? Any recent incidents?"
"Yes, they're all very happy with my daycare, as far as I know. I have a very good relationship with all of them. We haven't had any complaints."
"And there's nobody who has had, maybe, financial problems here? Someone who was behind on payments? Or maybe someone who, I don't know, you kicked their kid out of the daycare because of behavior problems, something like that?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing at all like that. I mean, sure, kids act up all the time – that's what they do, they're kids. I've had to call in parents a few times about their kids' behavior on occasion, but it hasn't happened too many times over the past two years. And in all the cases, the parents involved were sympathetic and non-confrontational, and we solved the issues in a rational way."
"So, nobody was left with hurt feelings, a grudge perhaps?"
"No, definitely not. Everything was resolved on good terms."
He wrote all of this down in his notebook.
/>
"Alright, I see," he continued. "Well, then I guess I can rule out the possibility of the culprit being a parent of one of your kids here."
I nodded. "Yes, definitely. The thought that it might be one of the parents who bring their kids here never crossed my mind."
"Okay, well then it has to be related to a matter outside of the business."
"So, you think this is personal?" I asked. "Not just some random thief looking for valuables to steal?"
"Well, we don't know if anything was stolen; that's why you'll need to have a careful look around. But in my opinion, no, I don't think this break-in was done for financial gain. Come on, let me show you what we've found."
"Alright."
The officer led me over to the side of the building where one of the windows was broken out.
"This is where the guy got in. See, away from the view of the street, nice and convenient for him, no passers-by could have seen what he was up to."
"I see."
"Me and the boys had to go in through the window as well, so maybe now that you're here, you can open up the place for us? Just to make it a bit easier to get inside."
"Sure."
I got my keys out, opened the front door, and we headed in. The place didn't look like it had been broken into; it was still neat and tidy, and most things seemed to be in their places.
"So, where's this message you told me about?" I asked.
"This way," he said. "Maybe when you see it, you can make some sense of it. I have to admit I was a little surprised when you told me the name of the previous owner was Dianne."
"Uh, why?"
"Come through here, and you'll see."
We walked through to the girls' bathroom, which had a large mirror on the wall – and as soon I stepped in, my blood turned to ice and terror shot through me. Scrawled across the bathroom mirror, with a red liquid that looked alarmingly like blood, was the message: "I bet you thought I'd never find you again... But you were wrong. Very, very wrong. See you soon, Alicia."
Chapter Sixteen
Everett
We reached the hospital where Kendrick was around 20 minutes after leaving the school.
"I sure hope this kid is still awake," I said to Ben.