“Yeah?”
“They traced it.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Car belongs to someone named Rider Holmes.”
She furrowed her brow. “Never heard of him.”
“Yeah, me either. But I’ve got an address,” said Isaac. “You want to head out there?”
* * *
As luck would have it, when Lorelei and Isaac pulled up to the house where the lead had taken them, a car pulled out of the garage. It was the same one Lorelei had seen leaving her house.
The car backed up and sped off down the road.
Isaac put his car back in drive and went after the car.
“You’re going to follow him?” said Lorelei.
“Why not?” said Isaac. “Let’s see where he’s going. Besides, maybe that’s Ross behind the wheel again. Maybe Ross killed this Rider Holmes guy and has been hiding out in his house and using his car.”
Lorelei swallowed. She hadn’t thought of that possibility, but she had to admit it made sense.
They followed the car at a safe distance, keeping far enough behind that he couldn’t tell they were there as he drove into town. Lorelei had to admit that Isaac was better at doing the following thing than she had been. He seemed to know how to stay close enough to keep the car in his sights but far enough that it wasn’t obvious he was following.
The car pulled into the library in town.
Isaac pulled his car in as well. He parked several rows behind where the car had parked.
By now, someone was getting out of the car.
Lorelei’s jaw dropped. “It’s that jackass who runs the computer lab like he’s Stalin.”
Isaac turned to look at her. “What?”
Lorelei narrowed her eyes. “I should have known that bastard was involved somehow. He’s creepy, and I sensed it. Besides, he’s always reading books about serial killers.”
Isaac was thoroughly confused. “Back up and fill me in.”
But Lorelei was getting out of the car and going after him.
Isaac jumped out and hurried after her. He grabbed her by the arm. “Hold up, okay?” he said. “Explain this to me.”
As quickly as she could, Lorelei explained about the computer lab and the way that the guy—Rider Holmes, she supposed—behaved whenever she was there. “It was my subconscious,” she said, feeling triumphant. “My subconscious knew he was dirty.”
Isaac rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, okay. Maybe. But we don’t really know how this Holmes person is involved. I thought for sure that was going to be Ross in that car. What the hell is going on?”
Lorelei had been watching Holmes, who hadn’t gone into the library yet. He was standing outside smoking a cigarette. “Let’s go talk to him. We’ll make him confess it all.”
“Confess what?” said Isaac. “What do you think he did?”
Lorelei thought about it. “I…” She squared her shoulders. “Well, something bad.” She watched him, fuming.
Then someone came around the side of the building, a tall female figure with long dark hair.
Jordan?
It was Jordan Dawson. Why wasn’t she in school?
Jordan stopped to talk to Holmes.
Holmes got something out of his pocket. At first, Lorelei couldn’t see what it was. Holmes held it out to Jordan.
A cigarette case, Lorelei realized.
Jordan put the cigarette to her lips and Holmes lit it.
“That’s Jordan,” said Lorelei through clenched teeth.
“Who’s Jordan?” said Isaac.
“Mia’s daughter,” said Lorelei. “Mia is my boss. My best friend.”
“Oh, right,” said Isaac. He drew back, cocking his head. “You don’t think…?”
And then Lorelei saw it. She shuddered. “Oh, God. She looks just like the girl on the security stills.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“Why aren’t you in school?” Lorelei demanded. She stood over Jordan, who was sitting at a desk in the library. Isaac was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder.
Jordan jumped. “Ms. Taylor? What are you doing here?”
“Answer my question first,” Lorelei said.
“I just… I have a big test in science in third period and I need the extra study time. First and second period are just art and home ec class. If I skip them, it’s no big deal. But if I fail that test, I might not get an A in science, and my mom would kill me.” Jordan tugged at a strand of her hair, looking worried.
Lorelei surveyed the girl. She couldn’t be sure if Jordan was telling the truth, but she had to admit the story was plausible. She knew that Jordan was under a lot of pressure to get good grades. Mia sometimes talked to Lorelei about how she thought that setting high standards made sure that children rose to them.
Personally, Lorelei had never much worried about grades with Simon. He was a fastidious student and he always got high marks. If he didn’t, he punished himself in ways that she could never top. He was a little perfectionist, in fact. She worried about him because of it. She wished he’d loosen up. She certainly wasn’t going to put any more pressure on her son.
But this was one of the things she never much discussed with Mia. It was because of how dramatic Mia could be. Mia didn’t like to be disagreed with, and Lorelei had learned to simply go with the flow. It was easier that way.
Lorelei pointed into the computer lab. “You were smoking with that man.”
Jordan cringed. “You saw that?”
Lorelei nodded.
“Don’t tell my mom,” said Jordan. “Please, promise me you won’t tell her.”
Isaac cleared his throat. “We don’t care about the smoking.”
Lorelei looked up at him. “Isaac, smoking is a very dangerous habit and a teenager like Jordan—”
“We’re more interested in why you were talking to that man.”
“Rider?” said Jordan. “I was just bumming a cigarette. He usually gives me one. He’s really nice.”
“How do you know him?” said Isaac.
“Just from the library,” said Jordan. “I come here a lot, you know. To study and stuff.” She looked up at Lorelei. “You know this. I’m always coming here with Simon.”
Lorelei folded her arms over her chest. “Jordan, what can you tell us about Dylan Wayne Ross?”
Jordan swallowed. “Wh-who?”
Isaac sat down at the table with Jordan. “Listen, you can trust us. Tell us everything. If someone—like this Holmes person—” He gestured to the computer lab. “Is making you do something, then you can come clean, and we’ll protect you. We’ll keep you safe.”
Jordan shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only ever talk to Rider at the library. I swear.”
Lorelei and Isaac just stared at her, waiting.
She spread her hands. “What do you want me to say? He’s old. Like, really old.”
“Yes, and he’s giving cigarettes to minors,” said Lorelei. “So, that says a lot about his character, doesn’t it?”
Jordan huffed. “You’re going to tell my mom,” she muttered.
Lorelei squared her shoulders. “If I promise not to tell your mother about the smoking, will you tell us everything?”
“There’s nothing to tell!” Jordan insisted. She was whining a little, frustrated.
“Where were you on October seventh?” said Lorelei. That was the day that the woman had broken out Ross.
“I don’t know,” said Jordan. “What day was that?” She got out her phone and scrolled through the screen for a minute.
“It was a Wednesday,” said Isaac.
“Yeah, I was at school,” said Jordan.
“All day?” said Lorelei. “You didn’t skip a class to smoke cigarettes and ‘study’?”
“I don’t skip that often,” said Jordan. “And I don’t even really smoke. It’s just a thing I’m… I don’t know… flirting with. Why, what happened on that day?”
“Have you ever be
en to Stoneyville?” said Isaac.
“We’ve driven through,” said Jordan. “The interstate goes through there.”
“You ever go there on your own?” said Isaac. “Or maybe with Rider?”
“No, I told you, I only see him at the library.” Jordan was insistent.
Isaac got up from the table. He addressed Lorelei. “Maybe we’re going at this from the wrong angle. Let’s try to talk to Holmes instead.”
* * *
“Rider Holmes?” said Isaac.
Holmes was sitting at his desk in the computer lab. He was almost finished with the book about Jeffrey Dahmer if the bookmark in the book was any indication. He looked up at Isaac. “Just sign in, and I need to see your library card. You get a forty-five minute session on the computer, and that’s it. If you want to come back, you have to take at least an hour break before you sign back in. This is a facility for research, not loitering.”
“I’m not here to use the computer lab,” said Isaac. He took out his badge.
But Holmes wasn’t looking at Isaac anymore. He was looking around him at Lorelei. “Hey, it’s you again. The woman who wanted to use Facebook.”
Lorelei glared at him. “We need to ask you a few questions.”
“FBI,” said Isaac, tapping his badge.
Holmes scoffed. “Uh… seriously?”
“Can we talk?” asked Isaac.
Holmes leaned back in his chair, seemingly unperturbed. “What’s this about?”
“Well, we can start with the fact that you’re handing out cigarettes to high school girls,” said Isaac. “What’s your relationship with Jordan Dawson?”
“Jordan?” Holmes looked confused. Then a flicker of recognition. “Oh! Jordan. Right. She’s in high school? I mean, she does look young, and she did sort of shoot up recently. So tall. But I always assumed she was in college. She said she was a junior, and I thought she went to the community college. She’s in high school, huh?” He blew out air. “Sure, I bum her smokes sometimes, but I don’t… there’s no relationship.” He made air quotes around the word relationship.
“Really.” It was clear from Isaac’s tone he didn’t believe the librarian.
Holmes’s lip curled. “Look, why don’t you tell me what it is you’re fishing for here?”
“Why don’t you tell us about how you and Jordan Dawson got Dylan Wayne Ross out of the facility where he’s supposed to be serving time,” said Lorelei.
Holmes cocked his head to one side, interested in an amused way. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No?” said Isaac.
“No.” Holmes yawned and covered his mouth. “And here’s the thing. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I watch a lot of cop shows, and I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to talk to you unless you, like, you know hold me or something. So, are you bringing me in for questioning?”
Isaac sighed.
“Because if not,” said Holmes, “I think I want you to leave.”
Isaac put his fingers down on Holmes’s desk. “Don’t leave town.” He gestured with his head to the door. He and Lorelei walked out.
* * *
“Couldn’t we have brought him in?” said Lorelei. “I mean, you are still an FBI agent.”
“Yeah, but I’m not really operating in an official capacity here. Plus, we have no place to take him. It’s not like we can take him home.” He coughed. “Uh, to your house.”
She smiled. “Actually… I kind of liked that.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I would like it if we had a home together.” She chewed on her lip. “I mean, I don’t know how it would work exactly.”
He glanced at her, and he was practically radiant. “Don’t worry about all that yet.” He turned back to the road. “We can figure that out later. Let me just enjoy this moment for a second.”
She rolled her eyes again, but she was pleased. She looked out the window, and her face felt flushed and she felt a flush inside her too, spreading from the center of her outward. She was happy, she realized.
And immediately on the heels of that thought, she felt a cold shadow cover her. Being happy made her wary.
“Look,” she said, “just because I’d like something to happen doesn’t mean it can.”
He groaned. “Don’t rain all over it, Lorelei. I thought things were going well. I mean, last night was great.” He glanced at her again.
She flushed again, warmth on her cheeks.
“It was great, right? For you?”
“Yes,” she said to her hands, which she was twisting up in her lap. Funny, she felt just like a schoolgirl again, giddy and uncertain.
“Good,” he said, nodding at the road ahead of him. “That’s good.”
“I don’t even know where we’d live,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind leaving bartending here and going back to D.C. with you, but I can’t see uprooting Simon when he’s so close to finishing high school.” Of course, maybe it would be better for Simon to have a fresh start. His only real friend here was Jordan, anyway, and what with everything that was coming out now, Lorelei was very confused about that relationship. She felt as though she didn’t know Jordan Dawson at all.
“I’ll transfer to a field office,” said Isaac. “But I do think we should get a bigger place than that apartment where you live.”
She laughed. “Just like that? You’ll transfer?”
“I’ve got seniority. I can put in for it,” he said.
“You can’t be a senior profiler from a field office,” she said.
“Why not?” he said.
She sighed. “I don’t even know if I want us to stay. Maybe there’s less keeping Simon here than I first thought. I mean, this thing with Jordan, it’s very, very weird.”
“Well, we should be able to check on her at school fairly easily,” said Isaac. “When we get back, let’s do that. You call the school and ask if Jordan was there that day, and I’ll call the police and tell them what we know, see how they want to proceed from here.”
“How will I get the school to release that information?” said Lorelei.
“Just pretend to be your friend. Say you’re Jordan’s mother.”
* * *
“Uh, this is Mia Dawson.” Lorelei licked her lips. She felt nervous to be lying, even over the phone. It reminded her of when she was a kid in high school, working her first job at a fast food restaurant. Calling in and pretending to be sick to get the day off. Her heart was beating too fast and she was sweating on the back of her neck. “I’m calling to check on my daughter, Jordan?”
“Sure,” said the woman on the phone. “She just signed in at the beginning of third period.”
“No, not for today. For another day,” said Lorelei. “Uh, we’ve been having some issues with her being truant. I just want to make sure she was actually in school on October seventh for the whole day.”
“Okay, let me look,” said the woman. “Hold on.”
Lorelei waited. She looked across the apartment to the living room area, where Isaac was sitting on the couch. She liked having him close. His presence was reassuring. She hadn’t realized how much she’d liked simply having him close, how much she’d missed him being there all these years.
She wondered if she was being paranoid. Maybe she really could make a home with Isaac. She wondered how Simon would take it. It had been her and her son alone for so long, and Simon didn’t take well to his routine being changed. If she was going to move forward with Isaac, she’d have to do it slowly. It wasn’t something she could rush into.
And that was for her own protection as well as Simon’s. Sure, it all felt easy right now, but that didn’t mean that rekindling this relationship actually would be.
“Um, excuse me, who is this really?” said a voice in her ear.
“What?” said Lorelei.
“I know you’re not Mia Dawson, because she’s in the office right now,” said the woman on the phone.
“S
he… she is?”
“She’s here to pick Jordan up early from school,” said the voice. “But you appear to be right about the truancy, since Ms. Dawson had no knowledge that Jordan had already signed in late.”
“Uh…” Lorelei didn’t know what to say.
“I have your phone number on the caller ID, and you better bet that I’m going to—”
Lorelei hung up the phone. “Shit.”
“What?” said Isaac from across the apartment.
She explained.
He winced. “Hell of a time for her to show up and yank her kid out of school.”
“I know,” said Lorelei. “Talk about timing.” She made a face. “Anyway, I don’t know if Jordan was lying or not.”
“Well, we’ll find a way to get that information, don’t worry.”
“Maybe you can get someone at the Bureau to step in?”
“Maybe,” said Isaac. “Or maybe, what I can do is—”
Lorelei’s phone rang. She looked down at the screen. “It’s Mia.”
“Answer it,” said Isaac.
She did. “Hello?”
“Lorelei, I think we should get out of town,” said Mia.
“What? What are you talking about?” said Lorelei.
“Listen, we were nearly attacked by a crazed killer,” said Mia. “He came to my house. He was at my window. That is scaring the hell out of me, and I’m not sleeping in that house another night. I can’t let my daughter sleep there either. I just can’t do it.”
“Okay,” said Lorelei. “I guess that makes sense.”
“I just went and got Jordan out of school. We have a house out on the lake, a few hours from here.”
“Sure, you’ve talked to me about it before. You even went up there for a week or two a few years back.”
“Right,” said Mia. She always wanted to go more often, but things were always too busy at the resort for her to get away. “Anyway, it’s remote. It’s actually on a little island in the lake, and there’s only one way in, over a bridge. I think we’d be safe there.”
“Definitely,” said Lorelei. “Well, um, thanks for letting me know what you’re doing. I appreciate the heads up.”
“No, I think you and Simon should come too.”
“Oh.” Lorelei foundered. “Well, that’s very nice of you, Mia, but it’s totally unnecessary.”
Child of Mine: a psychological thriller Page 21