by Sean Black
Ty let go of one of the bags. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. “Cut this shit out right now. You hear me?”
“You’re hurting me,” she said.
He wasn’t holding her wrist that tightly. It would be uncomfortable, but no more than that.
“Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
“Yes,” she said.
He kept hold.
“I understand.”
He dropped her hand from his, and picked up the bag again.
“I’ll drop these off. Why don’t you get back to class, or whatever it is you have next.”
She dug into her pocket. “You’ll need the key.” She handed a key attached to a small brass key fob to him.
She was staring at the ground. Ty felt bad for her. He didn’t know what had happened to this kid to make her act out like she just had, but something had. Something that wasn’t good.
“Go on,” he said. “I’m not going to say anything about this.”
She looked up. She was close to tears. She gave a little nod, all her bravado stripped away.
“Thanks.”
She started to walk away. “Hey!” Ty called her back.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her.
He wasn’t sure because the sun was behind her, but he thought she gave him a smile that looked like the first honest expression that had passed across her face in a long time.
46
Ty couldn’t believe that anyone, least of all a school for teenagers with problems, would think it a good idea to place two teenage girls in a barn with no supervision, and then lock the door. What if there was a fire? Or some other kind of emergency.
It went beyond irresponsible. It was downright dangerous. Not to mention what had happened before in this barn, with a girl hanging herself.
He pulled off the padlock, and yanked the barn door open. He called out to the two girls inside.
“Hey!”
When there was no immediate response, he walked in.
After the blinding sunshine, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. The place was a mess. He wouldn’t have locked a dog in here, never mind a couple of kids.
He glanced over as someone moved to his right hand side. It was Mary. She walked out of the darkness like a ghost. Her skin was pale, her face drained of color, her expression was blank. Ruth appeared from behind her. She at least looked normal.
Ty held up the bags. “I brought you lunch.”
Mary didn’t even look at them. She walked past him, over to the dirty mattresses that were dumped in a corner, and lay down.
Ruth walked over to him, and took the bags. “Thank you. We have some stuff that maybe you could take away. Mary wasn’t hungry, and I don’t want to leave stale food in here.”
“Sure,” said Ty. “Pack it up, and I’ll take it with me.”
Ruth walked over to the other side of the barn, and began unpacking what he’d brought.
“I’m the new member of staff,” Ty said.
Neither girl said anything to that. Ty read it as fear. He could appear intimidating at the best of times. They didn’t know him. And, on top of all that, they had good reason to be fearful of the staff here. After all, they’d just been locked in a barn for nothing.
Ty had learned over the years that if you wanted to establish trust with another person, or an animal for that matter, you did it by actions, not words. Anyone who told another person to trust them tended to come off like a used-car salesman.
He walked over to where Ruth was, and began to help her. Mary stayed where she was, mute and withdrawn.
After a few minutes of helping her unpack, Ty asked Ruth: “Is she okay?”
Ruth shook her head. “This is the worst I’ve seen her.”
“I’m going to try to speak to someone. See if I can’t get persuade them to let you guys out of here.”
Ruth looked over at him. Her expression was one of genuine shock.
Ty didn’t blame her. All she had experienced from adults since she’d been taken from her home was harsh treatment and betrayal. She probably sensed some kind of a trap.
“I can’t promise anything,” he continued. “But I’ll do my best.”
Ruth started suddenly as the barn door creaked loudly on un-oiled hinges. Ty stood up as Chris walked in. “There you are. Rachel told me you were down here.”
This time it was Ty’s decision to remain silent. Inside he was churning with rage. How could anyone think this was a good idea? This was the way you might treat an enemy, not a couple of kids who hadn’t actually, at least as far as Ty could see, done anything wrong.
Chris headed over to them. He glanced across at Mary. “What’s her problem?” he said.
All Ty wanted to do right now was send the two girls out, and have them lock him in the barn with Chris for five minutes. See how much of a tough guy he’d be when faced with a grown adult.
That was what he wanted to do. But he knew that he couldn’t. He had to keep playing the role he’d been assigned.
The barn door padlocked shut, Ty walked with Chris back up towards the dorm buildings. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up. When Lock had asked him to go in undercover, he’d anticipated none of this. He knew the regime at Broken Ridge would be harsh. He hadn’t seen anything wrong with that. But what he hadn’t anticipated was the element of sadism he’d encountered.
“The barn always gets them,” said Chris with a smile. “They might go in there all defiant. But they come out like little lambs.”
Or dead, thought Ty.
47
On the drive back, Lock turned over in his mind what he’d been told. Did he believe Jennifer’s mother? Had her daughter been murdered? Presumably, by someone at Broken Ridge.
Apart from inside a courtroom, was there even that much of a difference given the circumstances of what had happened? In juvenile detention centers, in jails, in prisons, there were strict protocols for anyone who was suspected of having a mental health problem. Even the hint of someone being a suicide risk and they were closely monitored. Not locked away in an outbuilding with no supervision.
The outcome had been the same. Jennifer was gone, leaving behind a shattered family.
But if she had been murdered, that meant it had been covered up. And a murder wasn’t an easy event to cover up. It involved a lot of people either helping out, or at the very least turning a blind eye. Either way, with Ruth Price inside Broken Ridge, it was bad news.
The real question now for Lock was what to do about it. From what he’d been told less than an hour ago, Broken Ridge was less a place of safety than one of danger. Having counseled Don Price to hold tight, and let them gather intelligence, now Lock wasn’t so sure.
If it was his daughter, he would want her out. But that still wouldn’t get around the legal issues. It would still only be a stop gap.
Everything hinged on Don’s ex-wife. If they could win her over then she could withdraw Ruth with no comeback. She would probably lose most of the money she had already spent – Broken Ridge’s policy was to take most of their fees upfront – but her daughter would be safe.
The problem, as Lock saw it, was that she was hardly likely to listen seriously either to her former husband, or for that matter, to someone he’d hired. What Lock needed was someone to speak with her. Someone who could present the information they had gathered but appear as a broadly neutral third party.
Lock had someone in mind. He slowed his car, and pulled off the road so that he could make the call.
They answered almost immediately. Lock introduced himself. The person on the other end of the line asked how they could help him. Lock explained that it was more a matter of how he could help them.
“I have a story for you.”
48
Ty knew that someone had been in his room as soon as he walked in. They hadn’t taken much trouble to conceal the fact. Or if they had, they were incredibly sloppy. Or he’d interrupted the
m, and they’d gotten out without him seeing them, which seemed unlikely. It wasn’t exactly ransacked, but his bag had been moved, and the zip was still open.
Kneeling down, he unzipped the bag the rest of the way. He dug his hand in, past the clothes lying on top, feeling for the secure carrying case for his SIG Sauer.
Nothing. He peeled the clothes away, laying them on the floor.
Still no sign of it.
Finally, he stood back up, grabbed the bag, turned it over and tipped the contents out.
No sign of the case. His gun was gone.
Although he already knew someone had come in and taken it, he did a sweep of the room. He headed out of the room.
One of the kids in his dorm was walking down the corridor. Ty stopped him.
“Hey, Aidan, have you seen anyone going into my room?”
Aidan looked terrified by the very question. Ty knew that staff quarters were strictly off limits to the kids. Not that being off limits was something that would stop your average teenager.
“No, sir,” said Aidan.
“Where is everyone?”
“In class. Working.”
“Come with me,” Ty told him.
Aidan followed him down the corridor and into the classroom. The rest of the boys were sitting, heads down, in silence, dutifully going through their workbooks.
Ty clapped his hands together. “Okay, stop what you’re doing and listen up.”
They all turned round to stare at him. They looked as scared as Aidan had.
“Okay, someone was in my room, and took something from my bag,” said Ty.
He was looking for some kind of reaction from one of them. A snigger. A flushed face. Some kind of a tell.
“If it’s returned to me right now, I won’t take any further action, and the whole thing will be forgotten.”
Now he really did feel like some lame ass old schoolteacher. But he wasn’t sure what else he could do. All he wanted was the gun back. No one would be able to get into the case to get at it, but that wasn’t the point.
“Anyone know anything about this?”
Blank expressions. No one snuck a look at anyone else. Nothing.
“Like I said, if you tell me now that’ll be an end to it. This doesn’t have to be a big deal.”
It must have sounded to them like a strange thing to a group of kids who were punished if they walked two steps rather than three behind the person in front of them. This was a place where the most minor infraction was made to be a big deal. So maybe they didn’t believe him.
“Okay, everybody up,” Ty said.
The boys all stood. Now they really were scared. One of the younger boys was literally trembling, hands down by his side, his fingers drummed against his pant legs. That was too bad. Ty needed to find that gun case, and fast.
“Follow me.”
They followed him out of the classroom, down the corridor, and into the dorm room. “Okay, I want everyone to stand by the bed of the person who’s to their immediate right and look under their bed and then check their locker.”
They shuffled into position and began to search. Ty stood in the doorway and watched.
“We’re looking for a hard plastic black carry case about this tall and this wide,” he said, showing them the broad dimensions with his hands.
Gretchen’s voice came from behind him.
“Is everything okay here, Mr Cross?”
49
As Lock turned into the motel parking lot, he noticed a Sheriff’s Department cruiser parked outside the office. Sheriff Dwyer was walking out. He waved at Lock, flagging him down. Lock pulled alongside the cruiser and got out.
“Didn’t think you’d still be here,” said the Sheriff with a smile.
Lock returned the smile. “Just taking my time with everything. I’m very thorough.”
The Sheriff tugged at the brim of his hat. “Good to know. Well, you have a safe journey home.”
“Thanks,” said Lock, getting back into the Explorer as the Sheriff got back behind the wheel of his vehicle.
Lock watched him reverse out, pull a u-turn in the parking lot, and head back out onto the road. The manager was by the window of his office, watching the Sheriff leave. When he saw Lock looking at him, he quickly ducked back out of sight.
Parking in back, Lock headed to his room. He opened the door and stepped inside. A quick check confirmed his suspicion that someone had been here since he had left. Not that there was anything incriminating for them to find. Lock had made sure to take his gun, and laptop computer, with him.
Nothing was missing. Nothing was damaged. But the message was clear. Both from this and what the Sheriff had said. They would prefer it if Lock packed up and got out of town.
Sadly for them, they were going to be disappointed. He thought about talking to the manager, but there would be no point. If he had let the Sheriff into Lock’s room, which was the most likely scenario, he wasn’t going to admit it. Lock challenging him directly would only get him kicked out. It was best left alone.
Lock headed back out. As he drove past the manager’s office, he gave him a friendly wave. The manager nervously returned the favor, the look on his face all but confirming Lock’s suspicions.
The Sheriff turning up to search his room told Lock that someone was nervous. That anxiety meant that they had something to hide. Or something to lose. Very probably both.
Not only was he not going to leave anytime soon. He was going to poke the hornet’s nest a few more times, see what reaction he got.
50
To Ruth’s relief, Mary seemed to have rallied. Whatever catatonic state she’d been plunged into had lifted, as quickly as it had come. Where there had been dark, brooding storm clouds, there now seemed to be blue skies.
Not only was Mary talking, she had helped Ruth sweep the barn with an old broom they had found at the back of the hayloft. They’d also found a pack of playing cards at the bottom of the bag the new member of staff had brought to them.
The cards were an inspired gift. Now that they had both gotten past the shock of being locked in here, Ruth had realized that the great enemy they faced was boredom.
They spent the afternoon playing endless games of Crazy Eights and Hearts. The time passed much quicker. Mary’s mood seemed to improve with every game.
For once, they were free to talk without fear of anyone reporting what they said to Gretchen or one of the other members of staff. Mary wanted to talk about the injustice of it all. Ruth tried to steer the conversation towards what they would do when they left. Whenever that was.
“You’re not scared about leaving?” Mary asked her.
Ruth studied the cards she was holding. “Scared? What do you mean?”
“I get scared that I won’t be able to cope,”
“You will. You’re a lot stronger than you think,” Ruth said, trying to reassure her.
Although she wouldn’t admit it, she knew what Mary was getting at. Here, everything was decided for you. From the time you got up until the time you went to bed, every waking moment was scheduled. You didn’t have to make any decisions.
The outside world was different. It was full of decisions. Punishment wasn’t just being locked in this old barn. It was the removal of all that structure.
But, they had coped. It had been rocky, but they had come through.
Mary shook her head at the suggestion. “No, you’re strong, Ruth. I’m not. I’m really not.”
“You are! Look how you were when we were put in here, and look at you now.”
The sadness flickered across Mary’s face again. She started to tear up. Ruth’s heart sank. She put her arms around her friend and hugged her tight.
“This will all be over soon. I promise you.”
Mary pulled away. She tried to smile. “I know.”
They both turned towards the barn door as the padlock rattled. A second later the door opened. A wedge of late afternoon sunshine splashed across the floor. Rachel walked in, lade
n down with another bag.
Ruth and Mary got to their feet. Rachel walked over, put the bag down on the ground and gave them both a hug.
“How are you doing?” Rachel asked them.
“Okay. Thanks for the cards,” Ruth said.
“No problem. I can’t stay too long. Everyone’s going nuts up there. Apparently someone went into that new guy’s room, and stole something. Gretchen’s out for blood.”
“At least we can’t get the blame for that,” said Mary.
Rachel looked at her. “You’re feeling better.”
Mary brightened again, the mini meltdown of a few moments ago forgotten again. “Yeah.”
“Okay, well look, I’ll come back in the morning. There’s enough to get you through until then.”
Ruth handed Rachel the bag that they’d been brought at lunchtime and gave her another hug. “Hey, what got stolen? Does anyone know?” she asked Rachel.
“No idea. But they’re losing their mind over it. I know this place isn’t great, but right now it’s better than being up there.”
Rachel headed back out. The door closed. The padlock clicked back into place.
“I’m going to take a nap,” said Ruth. “Then we can have something to eat, and play more cards.”
“Great.”
Ruth walked over to the mattress in the corner and lay down. She’d found sleeping hard while Mary was still so on edge. She hadn’t trusted her not to do something stupid.
A few minutes after closing her eyes, she had dozed off.
Mary waited until she was sure Ruth was asleep. Quietly she opened the bag that Rachel had brought them, and began to search through it.
She found what she was looking for at the very bottom. She pulled it out, handle first.
She ran the pad of her thumb along the blade. It wasn’t very sharp. She pressed down harder until she pierced the skin. She squeezed her thumb against the side of her index finger until blood blossomed in a thin line.