by PJ Fernor
“Lo, those are questions I can’t answer,” I said. “But I won’t stop until I get answers. No matter how painful those answers might be. You shouldn’t be thinking about this right now, but I understand why you are. How can you not? I try to not bring it home with me, but it’s there.”
“I wasted your time tonight.”
“No, you didn’t. There are a lot of people working on this case. You… you’re family, Lo. You’re always the most important. Always.”
I kissed her forehead again and left the bedroom.
I heard the sound of a gentle tapping at the apartment door.
A long sigh went through me as I ran a hand through my hair as I walked to the door.
When I opened it and saw Ben standing there, I wasn’t sure what to think. Or feel.
Stick to the case.
“How is she?” Ben asked.
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you for your help tonight. I’m sorry…”
I noticed his tie was gone. His top two buttons undone. His shirt untucked.
Almost casual.
“Did you go on your date?”
“No, Allie,” he said. “I told you I cancelled it.”
“You didn’t have to. I told you to go back.”
“I went to check on some things. Confirmed where Lo’s phone was. Just in case. Then swung back home to check on Dad.”
“How is he?”
“He’s sleeping,” Ben said. “So I came back out. To check on you.”
“No need for that. You could have texted me.”
“Allie…”
“Tonight was hectic. I probably said some things I shouldn’t have said. And felt things that shouldn’t have been there. That’s on me. Not you. It’s not my business to pry into your personal life. Whether it’s your father or the woman you’re dating.”
“Are you done?”
“With what?”
“Trying to justify things?”
“No.”
“Well, just stop it,” Ben said. He stepped toward me into the apartment. “I didn’t tell you about my father because it just wasn’t the right time or place. I didn’t want pity. Not from you. I want to find Jessie and end this. It’s getting more and more frantic out there now. With Lucy’s parents telling their story, it’s becoming a media circus. As far as my dating life goes… I don’t know what I was thinking. Okay? There was a woman I had seen a few times. Not dating. Just casual. She had been asking me to go out. And I just thought I could take a night and slip away.”
“And I ruined it,” I said. “Because I panicked. It was instant panic, Ben. That’s not like me.”
Ben reached for my chin and half smiled. “Just shows you are who I thought you were.”
“Meaning?”
“You care about Lo. Not as an aunt. You care as a mother. A mother figure. However you want to look at it. She’s in good hands with you, Allie Down. Don’t ever forget that!”
I swallowed hard.
I stepped back so Ben had to stop touching my chin.
“I said something about the past tonight…”
“Ben, stop,” I said. “This is just too much right now.”
“Just listen for a second,” he said. “You can’t go back, but you can think about it. You can relive it in your mind. And if you ever get a chance to… I don’t know, have it again… I mean, it’s okay to start over. There’s no shame in it. To start where you left off. Or right from the beginning.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ben backed up to the door and stuck his hand out. “Detective Down, I’m Detective W… Ben. Call me Detective Ben.”
“Or just Ben,” I said as I shook his hand.
We both smiled at each other.
He turned and walked out of the apartment.
He paused and looked over his shoulder. “I’d love to tell you more about my father someday. I’m still getting used to it all.”
“I’ll be right here,” I said. “And we’re going to find Jessie. Safe. Alive.”
“I know we are,” he said.
Ben winked and walked away.
I shut the door and put my hands flat to it.
My heart raced.
The past and present hitting together… it was why I left Sandemor to begin with and why I said I was never going to come back.
It wasn’t easy to go back. To the past. To start over.
It wasn’t…
“Start over,” I whispered.
I pushed away from the door.
The apartment was silent.
I nodded.
Maybe that was the answer to it all.
Somewhere along the way…
I knew what I had to do next to find Jessie.
I had to start completely over.
Chapter Sixty-Three
After making sure Lo was okay and off to school for another day of learning (or at least that’s what I told her in front of Megan, which made her embarrassed - score one for me in the mother column), I went to the station and dug through both case files for Jessie and Lucy. I knew I didn’t have everything on Lucy’s case, but I went with what was there.
Not a single thing jumped off any of the pages.
Even the tips that started to come in.
Most were tossed away in an hour.
A few officers and detectives in other towns and cities looked deeper into the calls and they all came up short.
I dug into the PI Cat hired and he was clean.
And in my gut I knew to leave Connor alone.
He was a grieving father.
And if I went after him one more time without something concrete, Laura would have my shield.
I wasn’t worried about Connor though.
Or Cat.
I wanted to go back to where this seemingly began.
Which took me back to the beginning.
I pulled up to Steve’s house just before noon.
My plan was to be casual. And avoid being near the front window of his house because of what happened last time.
I could still hear the sound of the rock shattering the glass.
The window had since been replaced.
I rang the doorbell and waited.
Steve opened the door and quickly took his glasses off.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Detective…”
“Please,” I said. “Allie.”
“Allie,” he said. He put his glasses back on. “I can’t…”
“I just want a minute of your time, Steve,” I said. “I hate to admit this, but I’m desperate.”
“Did you bring money for another window?”
“Another window?”
“Nothing,” he said. “It was a bad attempt at a joke.”
“Oh. Right. I see you got the other one fixed.”
“Surprisingly, Detective Barby helped me. After you left, he stopped by to first apologize for you being here. Which makes me wonder just how desperate you really are to be here again. I did nothing wrong. I’ve been cleared several times. What more do you want?”
“To just talk,” I said. “Casually. Off the record.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Steve said. “Come in.”
He stepped back and I entered the house.
This time we skipped being near the front of the house and the windows.
Instead, he took me to the kitchen located at the back of the house.
“Water? Coffee?”
“Nothing, thank you,” I said.
Steve poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’m in the middle of a big project.”
“I am sorry that I’m here again,” I said. “I wanted to look at things from the beginning.”
“Well, then I’m not the guy you want to talk to,” he said.
“I know. You didn’t take Lucy. Or hurt her. And you didn’t take Jessie. Believe me, Steve, I’m not here to play any mind games.”
“Right… I’ve also heard that before.”
“
I’m sorry for any tactics Detective Barby…”
“Please don’t do that,” Steve said. “What do you want to know?”
“I’m running this through my head,” I said. “Someone stole your credit card. Your identity, in a sense…”
“Right. And because it was my credit card and because I’m the guy who lives in the big house alone, I’m the weirdo. I work on computers so that instantly makes me a bad person too. You know? Like you see on those cop TV shows. They expected to find hidden files of god knows what…”
I nodded. “I understand. Is there anyone that would have done this to you on purpose?”
“Me? You mean revenge? That’s quite the path to revenge. Kidnapping and murdering a young girl? Then kidnapping another girl? I’m sorry, was my name used in the second kidnapping?”
“No. I was just curious. That’s all. I’m trying to put it all together. That day. You lost your credit card. Or it was stolen from you. Something happened. Now this person had planned on taking Lucy… maybe he already did and he needed your credit card… I don’t know. Why not use cash? Why not…”
“Forgive me, Allie, but what is this?” Steve asked. “I admire the work you do, but I’m not in the mood to watch you work. I’ve got a big project waiting for me. I don’t mind giving you some time to talk. Whatever it takes to keep you and Detective Barby out of my life…”
“Sorry,” I said. “Tell me about that day.”
“That day?”
“Something had to have happened.”
Steve laughed. “Wow. Okay. I woke up at five in the morning. I was going to make coffee here but decided to go out. Treat myself. How silly is that? Or do you want more detail? Want me to get the shoes I wore? Oh, better yet, how about how many traffic lights I saw? Oh, I’ll tell you about the air in my tire. My back driver’s side tire. It needed air. Is that a clue to you?”
I sighed. “I’m just-”
“Wait,” Steve said. He sipped his coffee. “It gets better. I used the bathroom before I bought my coffee. Oh, and I got a sandwich too. It was a bagel. With sausage and cheese. Very good. The coffee was so so. I bet the bagel sandwich would have been better if I didn’t get stuck talking to that random guy. Then again, he was the one who told me about the tire. Funny how life works. Who the hell worries about someone else’s tire?”
“Steve,” I said. “I get it.”
“I mean, the guy was crouched down and everything,” Steve said.
I put my hand out. “Wait a second. What?”
“What?” Steve asked right back at me, confused.
“The guy. You said this guy was crouching down next to your vehicle? And he mentioned your tire?”
“That’s right,” Steve said.
I started to think.
“What did I say?” Steve asked.
I put my hand to my mouth for a second.
“I need to know where you got that coffee and sandwich…”
“Why, are you hungry?” Steve asked.
I shook my head.
I looked Steve dead in the eyes.
“I think you just solved this thing.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
I stood in the foyer to Steve’s house and waited impatiently for Ben to pick up his phone. When it went to voicemail, I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
We have him. Well, not yet, but we have something. Something so solid…
I called again.
Same result.
Voicemail.
I turned and Steve was in the hallway just outside the kitchen.
“Are you sure you don’t want coffee or something to drink?” he asked.
“Tell me about the guy,” I said. “The one you saw.”
“Tell you about him? Like what? I didn’t get to know him. I didn’t even get his name. I was just being a jerk to you.”
“Yeah, well be a jerk again, Steve,” I said. “You said he was looking at your tire?”
“Yeah. He kind of just popped up on me. Scared me. Showed me my tire. Gave me a quick speech about it. Looked around. And he walked away.”
“That was it?” I asked.
“That was it. Why? Who was he? Do you think he took my…” Steve’s face dropped. “You think he did all of this?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Listen, I’m going to need the name of the place this all happened.”
“Sure, it’s the-”
My phone started to ring. “I have to take this. Write down the name and address.” I looked at the screen and swiped. “Ben, we’ve got something big here.”
“Define big? And where are you?”
“I’m at Steve’s house again.”
“Allie…”
“I think I met the guy who did all of this,” I said.
“What? Is it him? Steve?”
“No,” I said. “It was never Steve. He was just used in this. Just like me.”
“You? What happened to you?”
Everything started to rush through my mind.
I turned the corner and walked into the old room where I had been with Steve the first time. When the rock was thrown through his window with a clear threat that everyone in town believed he kidnapped and killed Lucy.
“Ben, there was a guy outside my apartment one morning,” I said.
“A guy…”
“Just listen to me. Lucy and Jessie look alike. Blonde hair, blue eyes. So our kidnapper and killer has a type. Looking for a specific type of little girl. He didn’t mean to kill Lucy. We know that through the reports. Fine. So Lucy accidentally died. And this guy needed to replace her.”
“What are you getting at here, Allie Down?” Ben asked.
“Directly across the hall from me. There’s a mother and daughter. Janice and Janelle. Janelle is her daughter. Ben, she’s beautiful. A gorgeous, young girl. Guess her age? Guess her features?”
“Christ,” Ben said. “Lucy and Jessie’s age? Blonde hair? Blue eyes?”
“Exactly,” I said. I felt sick. “And one morning I walked out to my car and there was a guy crouching down. He told me I had something wrong with my tire. I pulled my gun on him… it was just one of those moments. I was used to the city and how everyone was a suspect. I talked to the guy and he told me he walked through there a lot. I can’t believe this… it was him.”
“Wait a second,” Ben said. “How do you know that?”
“Ben, just listen to me,” I said. “Janice and Janelle… he was looking for Janelle. I think he was following them. Watching their routine. The entire thing just stuck in my head and I talked to Janice. She told me what he said was true though. So I let it go. I’m used to the city. And I can’t even tell you how fast I was to pull my gun on this guy. Last thing I needed was that… to have him…” I shut my eyes. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. I sound pathetic. I let him get away. He left and must have grabbed Jessie that night.”
“Back up,” Ben said. “How does this tie into Steve? Lucy?”
“I’m getting to that point next,” I said. “After what happened with Lo and you and I talking about the past, starting over, going back… I decided to do that. Start from square one with these cases. So I came over here to talk to Steve. The poor guy has been through so much thanks to your buddy Johnny.”
“Whoa,” Ben said. “Don’t go throwing me under that bus.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I pushed at Steve a little. I told him there had to be something he remembered. His credit card was lost or stolen, whatever you want to call it. Something was off… so he got pissed and started rambling about his day. There was a guy outside some little gas station, breakfast place thing who said the same about his tire as he said to me.”
“So you think… wait…”
“Ben, it’s got to be the guy. He was there. Looking at something. Someone. Plotting his next move. And Steve surprised him. So the guy made small talk about Steve’s tire and took off.”
Ben exhaled a long breath. “Wow. I mean, it’s not nothing… but… wo
w…”
“It has to connect,” I said. “My guess is Steve dropped his credit card or maybe this guy was a quick pickpocket and grabbed it. He purposely wanted to use Steve’s credit card to push the attention to Steve. Which would have given him time to get out of there with Lucy.”
“Okay,” Ben said. “I’m following everything you’re saying, Allie. If this is what we have, then it’s what we have. We need to move forward then. Steve needs to give us a description of this guy. Or you do. I’m sure you remember more than he does.”
“Let me talk to Steve and call you back,” I said. “Stay by your phone, Ben. This is it. We’re getting the truth today.”
“I’m leaving now to meet you at Steve’s house,” Ben said.
The call ended and I turned to see Steve at the doorway to the room.
“You saw that same guy?” Steve asked.
“I believe so,” I said. “I believe he was stalking someone. Maybe Lucy. Maybe someone else. And you just stumbled across him. Which is what happened with me. I stumbled across him. And I think he was stalking my neighbor. Who has a young daughter that looks a lot like both Lucy and Jessie.”
“So in a way you saved your neighbor’s daughter’s life,” Steve said.
I shook my head. “No. I just pushed him away so he could take Jessie.”
My stomach churned with a vicious sickness.
There was no silver lining here.
It was a dark lining… on top of another darkness that was probably one of the worst I could imagine. One family suffering through their daughter being kidnapped with the ending of murder tied to it. And another family living the same fate, hoping for a different ending.
“Here,” Steve said as he stuck his hand out. “Take this.”
“What’s that?” I asked, nodding to the piece of paper in his hand.
“The name and address of where I saw the guy that day.”
Chapter Sixty-Five
Hey, Gio! was located about two miles from Steve’s house. It was an interesting looking place, as it had both the appeal of a gas station and a restaurant all in one. The long building was split in half for that exact reason. One side of the lot had the gas pumps, including the store. That had all your essentials of a gas station store, but without the interesting choices of food like sushi. In fact any of the real food and coffee came from next door at Hey Gio!. That was where the small restaurant Steve had gone to get his bagel sandwich and coffee stood.