by PJ Fernor
“We have a little girl missing,” I said. “And you’re harassing Melanie. I have a theory on how they connect. But I’d love to hear your theory as to why they aren’t connected first.”
“Jessie… the missing girl…” He gasped. “You think I…” He shook his head violently. “No, no, no, no, no… I would never…”
He let out a groan and stepped back into the living room and plopped down into a recliner.
He looked shocked. Caught. Embarrassed.
“Tell us the truth,” I said. “Right now.”
“I had nothing to do with that little girl,” Jeff said. “I swear on my life. You can check anything you want.”
“What about Melanie?” Ben asked.
Jeff’s eyes filled with tears. “I… I fell in love.”
“She doesn’t love you,” I said.
“I know,” Jeff said. “But I can’t help it. I love her so much. And time does things to people. I’m the one who shows up to see her. Not those other guys. Those losers she dates. They’re the ones who show up, flirt, ask for a date… and you know what happens then?”
“They have a nice night?” Ben asked.
Jeff jumped up. “They use her! They use her! They use her for pleasure. And you know what I would do?”
“Jeff, calm down,” I said.
“I would give her pleasure,” Jeff said to Ben. “My entire life would be about making her happy and giving her pleasure…”
Jeff looked ready to snap.
Was he capable of something dangerous?
Yes, he was.
Would he have kidnapped Jessie?
My gut said no.
“So you admit to stalking her,” Ben said. “Showing up. Asking personal questions. Making gestures at her. Writing about her. What else did you do, Jeff? Huh? What else would a sick guy like you do?”
Jeff looked ready to fight Ben.
I watched as his eyes moved for a split second to the left to the couch.
Then he jumped toward Ben.
Ben knew it was coming.
In a split second Ben had Jeff on the floor, face down, hands behind his back.
“Well that was stupid to do,” Ben said. He reached for a set of cuffs. “You sure you don’t want to talk?”
“She loves me!” Jeff yelled. “She loves me. She’s afraid because of her parents. Her parents abuse her. Okay? That’s what they do. They won’t let her live on her own. She can live right here with me.”
“Shut up,” Ben said.
He sat Jeff up and stood over him.
“He looked at something in the couch,” I said.
“Don’t touch it!” Jeff yelled.
I flipped the cushion and there was a notebook.
I opened the notebook and saw detailed notes about Melanie. Dates. Times. The weather. And everything she did. The way she wore her hair. The clothes she wore. He kept record of when she would wear the same shirt again. That was followed by a narrative about how she deserved enough clothes to last more than eleven days.
Jeff wrote down what she ate. How she chewed her food. The types of drinks she had at work. And every conversation she had with another male who came into the cafe.
At the back of the notebook there was a date in the future, which was their wedding date. At the bottom the book was dated and labeled as Book Four.
“Tell me now,” I said to Jeff.
He swallowed hard. “Closet.”
I started opening doors until I found the closet.
When I pulled the chain for the light, I lost my stomach for a second.
It was a shrine to Melanie.
There were pictures of her everywhere. Small, medium, big, and poster size. The bigger they got the grainier they were. Each picture was taken with his cellphone.
There was a stack of boxes with something on top.
That something was a napkin.
Dated.
A napkin that Melanie used to wipe her mouth with.
It was more than enough for me to see.
I backed out of the closet and when I looked at Ben, I shook my head.
“Call Mulvaney,” I said. “Get him and some backup here. Have the place torn apart just to be safe. The closet is full of pictures of Melanie. And plenty of other stuff he shouldn’t have. Right down to a napkin she used.”
“Are you serious?” Ben asked, looking down at Jeff.
Jeff hung his head.
If I had to guess, there was more than just a used napkin in that closet.
Ben touched my arm and moved me away from Jeff.
“Sick,” he said.
“Very,” I said.
“You’re not feeling this, are you?” Ben asked.
I looked at Jeff.
He hung his head and wept, whining Melanie’s name.
I shook my head.
“He’s definitely going to jail,” I said.
“But?” Ben asked.
“But he had nothing to do with Jessie’s kidnapping.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
It was the first time I stepped through the apartment door and felt the smallest sense of home. A place where I was meant to be at that moment in time. Which really wasn’t my line of thinking. A good part of me wanted to be out there looking for Jessie. To literally just start knocking on doors, which I was still tempted to do. The balance of work and life never bothered me because I never had much of a life. It was always about work.
But now…
Lo came rushing from her bedroom to sort of greet me.
A look of relief spread across her face when she saw me.
“I told Miss Kesslier I was fine here alone. I begged her to trust me. Okay? She’s right next door. There’s nothing to worry about. I didn’t touch the stove. I didn’t light any candles. I’ve been doing my homework, reading, and texting.”
“I didn’t say a word,” I said. “How was your day?”
“It was fine,” Lo said.
She looked like she wanted to ask me about mine but she held off.
I tried to figure out what she must have been thinking and feeling. Her mother had been this brilliant woman, able to survive on her own, have plenty of money, have plenty of time, and her entire world revolved around Lo.
And then there was me.
Aunt Allie.
The cool cop.
The rebel detective.
From a distance, it really had that aura of coolness.
Lo pictured me chasing down bank robbers and purse snatchers, driving my car really fast, tackling people, putting them in cuffs, making the world a safer place. Almost like a superhero.
Except now, she was close enough to see it wasn’t really that at all.
“Did you make anything for dinner?” I asked.
“What?” Lo asked.
I laughed. “I’m joking. Pizza?”
“Sure.”
“You buying?” I asked.
“What?”
I shook my head. “I’m kidding.”
Oh-for-two, Allie.
Lo slowly turned and walked back to her room.
I shrugged my shoulders and ordered two pizzas.
While waiting for the food to be delivered I helped myself to a much needed hot shower and a change of clothes.
The pizza came and my hopes of Lo sitting with me were shattered when she took her plate into her room.
I took two slices over to Miss Kesslier.
“I kept a close eye on her,” Miss Kesslier said when she opened the door. “A little independence, right?”
I wasn’t too keen on the idea with someone out there was kidnapping little girls, but Miss Kesslier was the only help I had.
She took the pizza and I was thrilled I didn’t get stuck talking to her for hours.
I sat at the kitchen table and before I could open the folders I had about Jessie and Lucy, my phone rang.
It was a number I didn’t have in the phone.
“Detective Down speaking,” I said.
&nb
sp; “Detective Down,” a voice said. “I’ll never get used to hearing that.”
“Hello?”
“Allie… it’s Leah.”
“Leah,” I said. “Sorry.”
“I hope I’m not bothering you,” Leah said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be working or not. I kind of got your number by calling around. Looking for the new wild detective in town.”
“It’s fine,” I said with a smile. “Sorry I had to dart out like I did.”
“Hey, I get it. If Ben called me I’d dart out too,” Leah said.
“Really?” I asked.
“What? Come on. You’re back in town now. It’s a whole different time.”
“Exactly. Different.”
“Right,” Leah said. “I wanted to see if you wanted to get together sometime. Dinner. Lunch. Coffee. Drinks. I don’t know. Whatever works for you. I was going to see if you wanted me to give everyone else a call. It might be nice to get everyone together again. You know? Share old stories. Laugh a little. Forget about reality for a minute.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said. “I’d like that.”
“Really?”
“Of course, Leah. I know things…” I swallowed hard. “There was a lot going on in life back then. And now. I’m here and I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
“Believe me, we’ve all been through something at some point,” Leah said.
I thought about her mother.
She had to bury her mother and I wasn’t there to be her rock. Like I used to be.
And she knew about Alex’s passing and she wasn’t there to be my rock. Like she used to be.
“If you want, give Emilia and Dana a call,” I said. “Let me know what they’re thinking and I’ll make it work too. I can’t promise I won’t get a call and have to leave.”
“As long as it’s Ben, we’re good,” Leah said.
“Goodnight, Leah,” I said as I laughed.
“Night night,” she said in a flirty voice that brought me back to us being sixteen, sharing a sleeping bag on her trampoline because we told her mother we wanted to count the stars but in reality we wanted to try smoking cigarettes.
I looked toward Lo’s door, wondering if she had tried cigarettes. Or other things.
I poured myself a drink, ate another slice of pizza, and went through Jessie and Lucy’s case files.
Or at least what I had.
Ben called a few minutes later.
“News?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “Our search parties are going to keep dwindling. A lot of people have to get back to work. And any other parts of the woods to search we’d need to bring help in. I talked to Laura about it and she’s going to make some calls. But the idea of Jessie being up in the mountains or whatever…”
“It’s unlikely,” I said. “I know. Which means there’s a chance he grabbed her and left town. Maybe that’s what he did with Lucy too. And when Lucy died, he knew he couldn’t go back to the same town. So he chose this town. Or maybe he was just driving around, figuring out what to do.”
“And he saw Jessie,” Ben said.
“Yeah. She fit what he wanted so he grabbed her.”
“And when he realized he got away with it, he brought Lucy back.”
“There’s a lot of holes in the story though, Ben.”
“It’s our job to fill them in.”
“And we will,” I said.
I looked up from the files and saw Lo standing there.
“Hey, Ben, I’ve got to get going here,” I said. “Call me if anything changes.”
“Have a good night, Allie Down,” he said.
“Lo,” I said.
“Can you come say goodnight to me?” she asked.
I didn’t hesitate for a second as I followed her into her bedroom.
She crawled into bed and I pulled the covers up to her chin and sat next to her.
“Want me to do that egg cracking thing on your forehead?” I asked. “You used to giggle like crazy.”
Lo laughed. “Please don’t.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
I shut my eyes and sighed.
“I’m proud of you, Lo,” I whispered. “You’re such a strong young woman. Just please know you can talk to me about anything. Anytime. Anywhere. And I mean anything. Now get some sleep before we get too mushy here.”
“Good idea,” she whispered back. “You suck at mushy stuff.”
“Thanks.”
I kissed her forehead again.
I walked to her doorway and turned off the light and watched her roll over.
She was a teenager. And I was in for one hell of a ride. But in that moment I saw her as my little niece begging to hang out with me.
I shut the door and went back to the table.
One roller coaster of emotions were traded for another.
I looked down at Jessie’s file and I picked up the most recent picture of her.
So innocent and beautiful.
Stuck between her parents nasty divorce.
And now she was taken.
I blinked fast, trying not to let too many emotions mix at once.
I looked up to catch my breath.
“Jessie… where are you?”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Jessie
“Where am I?” Jessie asked.
It was dark everywhere again. Which meant it was nighttime.
Another day had come and gone.
Another day without her being home.
Her real home.
Where her family used to live.
Before her mother left.
Not that mother’s apartment wasn’t okay… it just wasn’t home.
She wanted her parents to find her so they could fall in love again and be together again.
“That’s not going to happen,” Jessie whispered. “Nobody is going to come for me. I’m going to end up like that other girl.”
Jessie shut her eyes and pictured it all.
The walk they took.
She tried to think about where they walked. The path they took. The way the ground felt. The trees. Twigs. Sticks. The rocks. If they went up a hill. Or went down a hill.
The time the man stopped and told her to keep quiet so he could listen and think.
Then he told Jessie to hold his hand tight because they were going somewhere very dangerous.
And the entire time the man carried that other girl.
But she was already…
Jessie whimpered.
She couldn’t bring herself to say the word dead. Or even think it.
Her mother told her that whatever you put out into the universe it came back to you. Meaning if you thought bad thoughts then bad things would happen. And if you thought good thoughts, good things would happen.
Jessie always wanted to ask her mother if she thought about her being divorced.
Because why else would they get divorced?
Before they got divorced…
The basement door opened.
All thoughts vanished from Jessie’s mind.
“Here I come!” the man called out.
Jessie lowered her head.
She slowly fell to the side and curled up to pretend she was asleep.
At least the man was in a good mood at the moment.
“I hope you’re…”
The man’s voice stopped.
Jessie tried to open her eyes a little to see the man.
The man walked toward her and crouched down, sticking his fingers to her neck.
To check for her pulse.
“Alive,” he whispered. “Just sleeping. Like the perfect angel I knew she could be.”
Jessie pretended to moan and moved her neck.
She hated when the man touched her neck.
His fingers were clammy and rough.
“You just keep sleeping,” the man said. “I wanted to talk to you about Milton. Okay? Can we do that now? It’s been a long time since we’ve talked a
bout him. I have a way to make everything okay.”
Jessie pretend to stay asleep.
The man let out a hmmph sound. “She’s really tired. That’s good. I guess it is bedtime after all. Better than staying up all night like she used to. Walking the hallways of the house. Trying to scare us all the time. That means this is working.”
The man touched Jessie’s head.
It took all her might not to cringe and scream for help.
“You just keep resting,” the man said. “I promise. It won’t be long now. You make me happy. Just the way I knew you could. The way it used to be. Before… well, whatever. It doesn’t matter now. Sleep. Just keep sleeping. I’ll make us a big breakfast in the morning. The biggest ever.”
The man stood up and left Jessie and the basement.
It was another night alone.
In the cool basement.
In the dark.
Where Jessie would shiver until she fell asleep.
Where her dreams were always nightmares.
The true nightmare being the man turning into a cockroach and trying to eat her. The other nightmares being a dream about her parents because she feared she’d never see them again.
Jessie opened her eyes.
She started to shiver.
She had to get out of the basement. And the house.
And then just run.
Just run free.
But it still came down to that one question.
Jessie whispered it again.
“Where am I?”
Chapter Fifty
I didn’t like the idea of being called into Laura’s office first thing in the morning. To say I was tired by then was a complete understatement. When solving a crime that involved someone who was already gone, that was a much different feeling than knowing there was a chance someone was alive. Every second my eyes were shut, I felt guilty. Every second I thought about Lo or talked to her, I felt guilty. The same with even talking to Leah or going into her boutique. I tried to convince myself there was a balance between it all, but in this case, there wasn’t a balance.
There was a second girl! You have to listen to me!
Without enough sleep or answers, the past tried to introduce itself once again.
I shook that away and met Ben and Garrison at Laura’s office door.
“You’re in trouble,” Garrison said. He cackled. “I bet she’s going to fire you.”