Michelle tried to shake free as tears streamed down her face, but Asher held fast.
“Let her go,” Cole said. “She won't say anything.”
“How do you know that?”
“I'll make sure. We'll talk to her after we get out of here. Let's go.”
“Fine.” Asher released his grip. “Before we go, we need to get the children out of here. Make sure they're safe, because I sure as hell am not going to call the cops now. And fingerprints. We need to wipe down anywhere we touched.” He looked down at the gun still in his hands. “Oh, great.” Using the hem of his shirt, he wiped the handle of the gun and gently placed it back in the open drawer from where it had most likely come. Then he shut the drawer, being careful not to touch anything.
“Cole,” he said. “Go back through the house, step by step, and wipe down anywhere that you touched, and try to find out anywhere that she touched.”
“I don't think I touched anything,” he said.
“No, nothing? Think about it. You have to be sure. How about the banister on the staircase? Or the door?”
Cole shook his head. “No.” He gingerly placed his hand on Michelle's arm. “Hey,” he said softly to her. “Did you touch anything when you came in?”
She blinked and met Cole's eyes. “No, I'm not stupid. We broke into a stranger's house. I made sure not to touch anything.”
Cole almost laughed from his surprise at her answer. “Okay, great. How about you, Asher?”
Asher closed his eyes. “No, no I don't think so. Come on, there can't be too many rooms in this house.” He sped out of the room without giving the body a second look.
“Are you all right?” Cole said once they were alone.
“What do you think?” Michelle's attention had been drawn back to the body. “That poor man.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “Are you taking his side on this? He murdered someone. We might already go to jail as accomplices, and if we cover it up we could be in even more trouble.”
“I don't know when you showed up but that man pulled out a gun and was about to shoot us. Asher was only trying to stop him. This... was an accident.”
“He had every right to shoot us,” Michelle said, her voice rising. “We broke into his house. Oh my God. Oh my God. We're going to jail. I don't want to go to jail. I should never have come.” She began breaking down into hysterics. “I can't stay in this room with that another second. I have to get out of here.” She stumbled out into the hallway.
“Hey, hey, it's all right. Calm down,” Cole said, following her.
“Calm down? How can I calm down? Tell me that.”
Asher popped his head out of a doorway. “Cole, you need to handle this.”
“I'm not a thing that needs to be handled,” Michelle shouted.
“I'm sorry, that came out wrong,” Asher said, stepping fully into the hall. “Please calm down and we can talk about this.”
“We can talk about it after we leave the house,” Michelle said. “At this point I might as well see this through. I swear to God, those missing kids had better be here.”
“They are,” Cole said. Mom, please tell me where they are so we can get out of here.
They're in the basement, came the defeated reply.
Thank you. “In the basement,” he said, leading the way down the stairs. “Do not touch anything on the way.” He searched the bottom floor for the way to the basement, opening each door with his shirt. At last, through a doorway, he found a flight of stairs leading down. He moved his hand to flick on the light, but caught himself and used his elbow instead.
Taking the lead, Asher a step behind, and Michelle taking up the rear, they descended into the cement gloom. The basement was mostly one large room, sparsely furnished with dumbbells, an exercise bike and boxes filled with miscellaneous items. In the far corner was a smaller room with unpainted walls and a shiny new door that looked as if it had been constructed recently.
Silently, the three approached, listening for the slightest sound. Cole closed his covered hand around the doorknob, his breathing ragged, fearful of what he might find, and hopeful that he might still come out of this a hero. He twisted, but it was locked from the outside with a deadbolt. He unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Coloring books and candy were scattered across the dirty floor, and a sleeping mat was laid against the wall. From the corner of the room, two pairs of terrified eyes stared up at him. Without a shadow of a doubt, Cole knew that these were the two missing children. As he took a step toward them, they winced. Their hair was greasy and they looked filthy and exhausted. He knelt down in front of them while Asher and Michelle stayed back.
“It's all right now,” Cole said.
Asher appeared next to him. “You're safe with us,” he said in a confident, booming voice. “We've come to get you out of here. You can go home.”
Their eyes widened and the boy began to cry. “I want my mommy,” he whimpered.
“You're scaring them,” Michelle said, coming forward. “Hey, there,” she said to the boy in a soft voice. “Follow me. We're getting out of here.” She squatted on the floor and beckoned them toward her.
Slowly, the two children pushed themselves to their feet and came up beside Michelle. “I can see my mommy and daddy?” the girl said with big eyes.
“Yes, very soon. Are you hurt?” They shook their heads. Michelle stood, offering a hand to each of them. They clasped her hand and she led them from the room.
“Well done,” Cole said.
“Yeah, great, but what's the plan?” she whispered.
Cole, suddenly realizing he had no idea what to do next, looked to Asher, hoping he had a plan in mind.
“We could bring them to someone's doorstep, ring the bell and run?” Asher said.
“And hope those people aren't kidnappers,” Michelle said.
“You got a better plan?”
“I guess not. I assumed you had a plan,” Michelle said angrily. “Figures, you had no idea what you were doing. So this was it then, the extent of the plan? Run in, kill a guy and run out?” She realized that both of the children had started to cry. “Oh, oh, I'm sorry,” she said, her voice returning to a soothing tone. “Everything is all right.” Then back to Asher she said, keeping her voice calm, “I guess placing an anonymous call to the police is out of the question?”
“I'm not risking it,” Asher said. “Besides, it's very unlikely that a crazy person lives next to another crazy person. They'll be fine.”
With no further arguments, they led the children out the door, toward the parked car down the block, stopping at the closest house that had lights on. Michelle looked up at the house and then at Asher. “Start the car. I'm going to ring the bell and jump in. We'll drive as far as we can without losing sight of the house, make sure that someone answers the door, and then drive off. Got it?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Asher said, startled at her authoritative attitude. He climbed into the car, started it, and pulled in front of the selected house.
Michelle knelt down to talk to the children face to face. “I'm going to bring you up to that door, and then I'm going to have to go away, but don't worry, you go in with the person who opens that door and they will help you find your parents, okay?”
The girl teared up and hugged Michelle. “Don't leave us. Please.”
Michelle bit her lip. “I'm really, really sorry. I have to. But I promise it will be okay. You will get home to your parents.” They nodded, unhappy but trusting. “Good. Be brave. It's all over now.” She led them up to the door, took a deep breath, rang the bell with her knuckle, and bolted down the stairs into the waiting car. She craned her neck to watch the kids as they drove off. Obediently, they watched her go but waited, and a moment later the front door opened. “Someone answered! Go! Drive, before they see us!” she shouted. The car roared around a corner and the house was gone.
They all let out a co
llective sigh. Cole felt as if he was breathing again for the first time in an hour. He had watched the events unfold before him with bated breath, unable to believe his eyes. This whole night had entered the realm of fantasy. Now that they had driven away, it was hard to believe it had happened at all.
When they had traveled a fair distance, Asher found a secluded street and pulled over, shutting the engine off. In the distance could be heard the sound of sirens.
“I hope that's for those kids,” Michelle said, looking out the window in the direction of the sirens.
“We need to talk,” Asher said.
Michelle turned to face him. “Oh yeah, what do we need to talk about? You wanna tell me again that I need to swear not to mention this to anyone?”
“Yes, that's exactly what I want. You understand this can't get out. It could be the end of all of us.”
“But worst for you,” Michelle said. “We could get in more trouble for covering it up. I'm sorry, but it's hard to sympathize with a murderer, even a murderer of a kidnapper.”
“It was an accident!” Asher said, growing crimson with frustration. “Please, believe me, I never meant to kill him. I was trying to save those kids.”
“Well, that's too bad because I haven't made up my mind what to do yet. I need some time to think. What are you gonna do about that?”
Cole sat in stunned silence. He had never seen this side of Michelle before and he had no idea what to make of it.
Asher's face scrunched up in barely controlled anger, and he spoke each word deliberately, never taking his eyes off of Michelle. “Cole, can you please talk to her? I don't know what to say and she's freaking me out.”
“Yes, I think that would be for the best,” Cole said. “Michelle, can I talk to you alone outside for a minute?”
Michelle glared at Asher for a moment and then opened the passenger door. Cole followed her out. Once they were alone, Cole took her a few paces behind the car to talk in private.
“Where did you find this creep?” Michelle said in a hushed tone. “What an asshole. You can't seriously be thinking about covering for him?”
“I honestly don't know what to do,” Cole said, glancing back at the car. “He never touched that man. We can't prove it was him. It would be your word against his. What could you even say that he did to him?”
“I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'll say that he broke in and scared him so much he had a heart attack.”
Cole thought about that for a second. “He could just as easily say you did it.”
“Yeah, good luck convincing a jury of that.”
“He could also say I did it.”
Michelle bit her lip at that, and rubbed the toe of her sneaker along the ground.
“And do you really want to spend all that time in court?” Cole added. “What if you got something on your record? We were safe. We didn't touch anything. No one is going to find out it was us.”
Michelle closed her eyes. “I can't believe this is happening. How did I get myself into this mess?” There was a long silence, and when she opened her eyes they were watery. “I still need time to think about it.”
“Fair enough. Can you at least talk to me before doing anything?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Thank you,” Cole said. “Now, ready to go home?”
“I want to get away from him. I never want to see him again, and you shouldn't either. But I don't know how I can go home like this. I'm still really shaken up. Never thought I'd see a dead body.”
You get used to it, Cole wanted to say. “I know. It's rough. I'm shaken up too. Just try not to think about it.”
Michelle nodded grimly. “Let's get this over with.”
They returned to the car. When they were both inside, Asher said anxiously, “So, how's it going?”
“We came to an understanding,” Cole said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, don't worry, I won't make a peep about this,” Michelle said, unable to prevent a shred of sarcasm from finding its way into her voice.
Asher slammed his fist into his seat in a sudden fit of rage. “You'd better not be lying to me. You saw what I'm capable of. You do not want to cross me.”
“Hey!” Cole shouted, bolting upright. “Don't you dare threaten her.”
Asher turned around to face him. “I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, that was wrong of me to say. ”
“Say that to her,” he said, anger bubbling to the surface.
Asher took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax, and turned to Michelle. “I'm sorry I threatened you. I would never hurt you.”
Without responding, Michelle climbed out of the car, and opened the back door. Cole slid over to make room for her as she joined him in the back seat. Cole buckled his seat belt, looked over at Michelle, and was overcome by a knot in the pit of his stomach. Michelle's head was down and tears were streaming down her cheeks as she wept silently. She sobbed out loud once, but Asher either did not notice or pretended not to.
“Let's get you home,” Asher said. “Direct me where to go.”
“I don't want him knowing where I live,” Michelle whispered, wiping her cheek with her sleeve.
“We're both going back to my house,” Cole said.
“Got it.” Asher started the car and drove the rest of the way without another word.
Cole, overwhelmed by Michelle's misery and fear, took her hand and squeezed. “I promise I would never let him hurt you,” he whispered in her ear.
Michelle squeezed back. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back.
By the time they arrived at Beth's house, Michelle had recovered, a red tint in her eyes the only sign that she had been crying.
Asher put the car in park and turned around to Michelle. “Hey, I'm sorry again about what I said. I feel really bad. I say stupid things when I'm scared. I'm not a bad person. Trust me, I wish more than anything that things had turned out differently tonight.” He paused. “Anyways, I'm sure it doesn't seem like it, but it was nice to meet you.”
Michelle did not answer him. She opened the door and left, walking up the path to the front door of the house without looking back.
“Hey, you know I didn't mean anything,” Asher said, a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Yeah, I do,” Cole said, though he was uncertain himself, and was now a bit uneasy with him sleeping over. “Would you mind getting a motel room tonight? I can give you directions.”
“Spending the night with the lady friend?” Asher winked.
“This isn't funny. I think you really scared her.”
“That was a stupid joke. My bad.” He pressed his lips together in depression. “Sure thing. I'll get out of your hair for the night. See you in the morning?”
“Sure. Give me a call.” He gave Asher directions to the nearest motel, and as Asher drove away, Cole met Michelle on the porch by the front door. She had taken a seat in one of the rocking chairs and was idly swaying, staring out into the night. Cole took a seat in the other rocking chair. “Did you call to get picked up?”
“Not yet.”
They rocked in silence for a few minutes, soaking in the calm of the night. At last, Cole said, “How are you doing?”
“I don't know. I can't get my head straight. What about you?”
“I'll survive.” They rocked for another minute. “He really wouldn't hurt you.”
“And how do you know that? How well do you know him? You sure he would never have another 'accident'?”
Cole wasn't sure how to respond. In a way, she was right, though he didn't want to admit it. “You don't have to see him again. He'll be gone by Sunday night and he lives far away.”
“You're going to hang out with him all weekend?”
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do.”
“You can tell him to go home.”
“I might.” He sighed. “It's getting late. I don't want your family to worry. I can ask Beth to drive you home.”
“
No, that's okay. I'll give my parents a call. God am I going to have nightmares tonight. I can't stop seeing that poor man's twisted face. He died a painful death. I know he was a kidnapper, but I don't think anyone deserves that. He deserved to be arrested and thrown in jail.”
“Yeah,” was all Cole could say.
Michelle pulled out her phone, took a few breaths, and dialed. “Hi, Mom... Yeah, I'm ready to be picked up. I'm at Cole's house... Okay, thanks, see you soon.” She hung up. “She'll be here in about fifteen minutes.”
“I'm really, really sorry about how tonight turned out,” Cole said. “I thought it'd be fun. I thought we'd feel like heroes.”
“Yeah, I wish tonight had gone differently, too. Now, if I'm lucky, the best outcome is that I'm just scarred for life.”
“At least we did save those two kids,” Cole said, trying to sound optimistic. “There's that. Without us they may have been killed, or at the least they may never have seen their families again. We gave them a chance.”
“And hopefully it worked out. I'll have to check the news stories first thing in the morning. Seeing that they got home safely might help.”
“I'm sure they did.” He listened to the sounds of insects chirping in the peaceful night, and then stood up out of his rocking chair and came over to Michelle. “Hey, it'll be all right. If you need to talk about anything, you can talk to me.”
“Thanks, you can be my psychologist.” She thought for a second, and added, “Maybe this is why there are no real superheroes. Maybe people shouldn't have superpowers. They just lead to their own destruction.”
“I'll admit, it's as much of a curse as anything. I used to be trying to think of a way to get rid of it, and I think I should start doing that again.”
“Do whatever you want to do. Just leave me out of it next time.”
Cole tried to shrink into the nearest corner and disappear. “I'm so sorry I dragged you into this. I should never have told you about it.”
“No, it's fine. It's not your fault. I forced myself into your little search. I have no one to blame but myself.” She let out a long sigh. “I'm ready to stop talking about this.”
“Yeah, okay.” With a sick feeling deep inside, he watched Michelle who was staring out into the street and continuing to rock slowly.
Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3) Page 15