“I started smoking again.” Her mother’s voice broke the silence like the crack of a whip.
Sally jumped slightly. “I could tell.”
“I’m sorry,” her mother replied.
“It’s your life, Mom. I just had hoped that you’d be around long enough for me to enjoy it with you.” Sally sipped her hot chocolate.
Her mother nodded. “I’ll quit again.”
“You said that the last three times.” Sally sighed. She didn’t mean to be dismissive of her mother’s efforts; she just didn’t have much patience after everything that had happened.
Her mother lowered her mug. “If you visit more, I promise I’ll quit for good.”
Sally’s mug cracked against the glass table as she set it down. “Is that how it works now? You’re bribing me?”
Her mother stared into her beverage as if she could pull words from its midst. “I just meant…”
Sally sighed. “No, I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’m just a bit on edge.”
Her mother gave her a worried look.
Needing to change the subject, Sally pulled the acceptance letter from her pocket.
Her mother looked at it, slightly confused. Sally motioned for her to open it. She unfolded the piece of white paper, her eyes moving back and forth as she read the words on the page. “Oh, my goodness! Honey, I’m so proud of you!” She immediately leaned over and hugged Sally.
They talked for a time about graduation plans, preparations for college, and visiting the campus, until a news story came on the television that distracted the conversation. A Republican senator had been chosen as running mate for the frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election.
Sally rolled her eyes with disgust. “He’s actually going to be our vice president?”
“The election is still a few months away,” her mother commented. “No matter what he’s done in the past, he’s still your father.”
Sally scoffed. “Some father!”
Her mother gestured around the apartment. “We have all these things because of him.”
“What good are all these things when I don’t even know the man and can’t tell anyone who he really is?” Sally crossed her arms. “I wish I’d never found out about him.”
Because of her obsessive curiosity as a child, Sally had discovered a letter that revealed the truth about her father and mother’s affair, the result of which was Sally. Her mother had been working as his secretary at the time, and after his wife found out, he fired her mother, but in exchange for their silence he made sure they were well taken care of; it was what allowed Sally to go to Hidden Lake School.
Sally stared at the man on the TV with an angry expression. “If it weren’t for him, maybe things would’ve been better.”
“Don’t say that,” her mother pleaded, her tone changed. “You’ve got a good life and a good education.”
“Sometimes a kid needs more than that.” Sally changed the channel.
Their conversations drifted on to other topics, lasting into the morning hours until Sally could hold her eyes open no longer. She told her mother goodnight and headed to bed. Her mother, as usual, turned up the television and took up residence on the couch. Sally yawned and dragged herself to her room when she noticed there was a message on her phone.
[6:02PM: Hope ur doing okay. No news yet. I’ll try to get into Billy’s room tonight and hit up Lamb in the AM. Sleep tight.]
Sally smiled, reading the words a second time until a new text appeared on her phone. Then her smile vanished.
[2:45AM: You’re not gonna believe what I found.]
CHAPTER SIX
YASIF WATCHED THE STATUS BAR slowly drift to the right as his text was transmitted to Sally’s phone. He stared blankly at the display for a time, hoping she would respond. After a while, he just felt silly and put it back into his pocket. He sat alone in the cafeteria, finishing his dinner. It was only six, and he missed her already.
Damn, he hated being like this. For two years, they’d worked to build the Hi-Li into what it was, and the whole time, he had done it for the sole purpose of being close to her—not that she was aware of this. When he had first met her, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, but he also admired her personality, strength of character, and determination. He had considered sharing his feelings and telling her how he felt, but every opportunity seemed to end in disaster.
He remembered the time he’d planned an evening for the two of them to talk, a romantic meal in the form of a picnic by the lake. That idea ended when an unexpected storm had rolled in, resulting in three days of rain. Besides, with it being so close to graduation, what could he hope for? They would soon part ways—he would return to Jordan and she would go to college, and probably run a newspaper somewhere. He didn’t expect her to give up her career to be with him, even though secretly he would probably consider it for her. And so this left them as just friends.
He took another bite of his burger and chewed, his mind churning on the things she had asked him to do. How the hell was he going to break into Billy’s room? Getting through the door wouldn’t be a problem; he was surprisingly good at picking locks—Sally had convinced him that it was okay as long as they were only researching a story. The hard part was doing it without being noticed. The boys’ dorm wasn’t exactly the least traveled part of the school. Where the girls’ hall was mostly quiet, the carpet down the boys’ hall bore a well-worn path running from one end to the other.
By the time he’d finished his meal, he’d come up with a reasonable enough plan and set off to put it into action. Yasif returned to his room after setting up a little program Daniel had developed that would fool the security cameras. He opened the door to be greeted by the familiar smell of his roommate’s dirty laundry. Ben wasn’t known for his cleanliness. Various articles of used clothing lay strewn about the floor. Yasif grabbed a pen from the desk and used it to fish a pair of underwear from his path, carrying it at arm’s length over to the corner where more of Ben’s clothes climbed up the wall. Gross!
Ben was out. While this wasn’t exactly a surprise, it meant Yasif wasn’t going to get a chance to talk to him—which was fine with Yasif, even though Sally would be disappointed. He’d still have a chance in the morning.
He set a vibrating alert on his phone and slipped it into his pocket before drifting off into restless sleep. His dreams were filled with Sally, her auburn hair swaying in the breeze as she came to him naked on a beach. He awoke at two in the morning to his vibrating phone and lingering lascivious thoughts.
Yasif silenced the alarm and sat up quietly, wiping his forehead of a bit of light sweat. His roommate’s snores emanated from the bunk below. He dropped to the floor gently, glancing over at Ben to make sure he hadn’t disturbed the guy. The football player’s tongue hung out of his mouth, his body twisted in the sheets and blankets. Yasif grabbed the shoes he’d set out earlier that night, and snuck out the door.
His heart was in his throat the entire trip toward Billy and Daniel’s room—breaking the rules didn’t bring him as much excitement as it seemed to bring Sally. When he saw the police tape crisscrossing the door, he froze. Was this really a good idea? What if he were to get caught? What would his father think? He would probably be deported! But this was important! Sally had left it up to him, and he didn’t want to let her down.
He moved toward the door, glancing back and forth down the hall as he pulled the lockset from his pocket. In less time than it had taken him to put on his shoes, the door was open and he was contorting himself through the space between the police tape.
A narrow beam shot from the flashlight he’d brought, the light falling on the shambled mess. “Man, what happened in here?” he asked aloud, staring around at the chaos inside.
The bottom bunk was broken as if someone had fallen onto it. Sheets and blankets were strewn around the bed and floor—probably someone scrambling to get out of the wrecked bunk. It was clear there had
been a struggle. Just as he turned to examine the desk, a sound brought him to full attention. Was there someone there? Had he already been caught? His heart raced as he flashed the light to his left. Nothing.
“You’re such a dork!” he said to himself and turned the light back toward the desk. In the light of the beam, two gigantic yellow eyes stared back at him. He jumped, letting out a frightened scream. Whatever it was lunged toward him, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him backward into the shelves on the opposite wall. Several books came down on top him, causing the flashlight to fall from his hand. It clattered to the floor, spinning, and rolled under the bed.
Yasif tried to calm himself, forcing deep, controlled breaths as he searched the darkness for the thing that had attacked him. He’d made enough noise to wake the dead. Someone must have heard.
The flashlight cast an eerie glow across the floor from under the bed. The hair on the back of his neck stood as he searched the darkness for any of the creature.
Eventually, the room settled into muted grays and he could see more of what was around him. The thing had to be nearby. Yasif caught sight of a nearby laundry basket and a plan formed in his mind. He grabbed the basket and held it to his chest as he stood. He turned slowly, looking for the creature. He found it already in the air, hurtling toward him. It must have been perched atop the bookcase. It crashed into the plastic bin, knocking him backward, but this time he’d been ready. Using one foot for leverage, he kept himself from falling. As soon as he felt the weight of the creature in the bin, he slammed it downward toward the floor, trapping it underneath, sitting on top to be sure it couldn’t escape.
An ear-piercing screech erupted from the animal as it thrashed around inside. Yasif stuck the tips of his fingers into his ears and prayed no one heard the creature’s cry. He threw a blanket over the basket and sat back down, hoping it would calm the creature—surely, someone must have heard the racket by now. What else could he do but sit there and wait?
It didn’t sound like any creature he had heard before. A cat or some weird dog? But the eyes were too big for that. It definitely wasn’t a typical house pet. A monkey from Africa perhaps? Being that many of the kids had rich parents, it wasn’t uncommon for there to be strange pets at the school, but this was a bit extreme.
A few minutes passed, and no one came. The creature finally calmed down enough for Yasif to attempt to retrieve the flashlight.
He eyed a heavy stool nearby. Grabbing it, he placed it on top the bin, then fished under the bed for the light. He stood motionless, knowing he should get a good look at the thing, but his feet didn’t seem to want to move. Sally would tell him he was being a wuss. The thought of her was enough to get himself in gear. He took a breath and grabbed hold of the blanket that covered the thing, yanking the end of it upward to see inside.
The creature was gone.
“What the hell?” He frantically searched, the light falling erratically on various things around the room.
It was then he noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. He would have dismissed it, but it was clearly something that had been stuffed into someone’s pocket. Could it be something Daniel or Billy dropped? Yasif reached down and picked it up, momentarily forgetting about the animal. Sticking the flashlight in his mouth, he uncurled the wad.
It was a newspaper clipping of a young man in his late teens, early twenties—no one Yasif recognized. He couldn’t think of a reason this would be lying on the floor of Billy and Daniel’s room—teen boys didn’t make it a habit to be carrying around pictures of other boys in their pockets. Could it be a relative? Whoever it was, it was clear this guy was no stranger to trouble—the picture was a police mug shot. Maybe he had something to do with the disappearance.
A sound from the bookshelves startled Yasif and he realized the creature was still somewhere in the room. He aimed the light and found it again poised on top the bookcase. “There you are, you little weasel!”
This was no animal he’d ever seen before—or even heard of. Its body was about size of a small house cat or dog, but the similarities ended there. If not for a few patches of white fur, the entire thing was black, its hair short and fine. A small tuft of white stuck up on its melon-sized head like a lone patch of grass. Its torso was long and slim with arms like that of a monkey.
An alarm on his watch alerted him that he was running out of time. He ignored the creature and began searching the room. If he didn’t find what he’d come to find, Sally would be terribly disappointed in him.
The creature watched as he pulled open a few drawers and rifled through some notebooks and school supplies until a thought dawned on him. He glanced back over at the desk, pulling open the drawers again just to be sure he hadn’t missed it. He remembered the computer that Daniel had gotten recently; that ridiculously thin laptop he had been drooling over for weeks that never left his side. Some of the other kids had made fun of him for it. He searched everywhere he thought it might be. It wasn’t there.
There were other things Yasif noticed were missing as well; in the bathroom, the sink was void of toothbrushes and toothpaste. There were no hairbrushes or anything in sight the boys would have usually had lying around. The laptop could have been taken by the police, but the rest? There was no reason for the cops to take those things. This suggested the boys weren’t taken against their will; they had to at least have known they were going somewhere. Could this have been planned? But then why wouldn’t Daniel have said anything to him? They weren’t best friends or anything, but Daniel would have at least told him if he had planned on leaving.
And Mrs. Conley? That was the bit that made the least sense. Everyone at the school hated the woman; Billy and Daniel were no exception. They would never have purposely left with her. The rumors could be true that she had somehow seduced the boys into some lurid affair, but the mere thought of that turned Yasif’s stomach. There was no way Billy and Daniel were “gettin’ friendly” with Conley.
He pulled a notepad from his pocket and took inventory of the things he thought should have been in the room. The entire time he searched, the creature continued to observe him, its gaze tracking his every move, but its body remained impossibly still. It was like one of those damned paintings where the eyes followed you, but as long as it stayed on the shelf, Yasif was happy enough.
After pocketing the notepad and picture, he accepted that there was no more information that would help him, leaving only one thing to do. He needed proof this thing was there. With his back to the creature, he retrieved his phone from his pocket. With a quick breath, he turned and snapped a picture before the animal realized what was happening.
As he expected, the flash scared it from its perch, provoking another ear-splitting scream. It leapt from the shelf, landing on the desk, knocking over a cup filled with pens. It then jumped back up on top a shelf and flew across the room, latching itself to the vent on the ceiling. Pulling away the cover, it scurried up into the duct, leaving nothing but bits of dust drifting down in its wake.
Yasif took a moment to settle his nerves and then examined his handiwork. It was a perfect shot. Perhaps a few Internet searches would provide answers.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE NEXT MORNING Sally sat on the porch outside the apartment, staring out at the city. The memory of the man in the top hat lingered in her mind. She couldn’t get his face out of her thoughts. She picked up her phone in an attempt to distract herself
What had Yasif meant in his text? She read back over their conversation. He’d found something. But what? This certainly wasn’t the kind of stuff she imagined she’d be investigating when she got involved in reporting. She wanted the truth, not some freakish nightmare.
The phone buzzed, startling her.
[Hey. Sry I didn’t txt sooner. Can’t give u details right now. Prolly not something we should talk about over cell. Will fill u in when u get back. Kinda freaked, but okay. Did the thing u asked me to. HMU when you can. Y]
It wasn’t l
ike him to be so cryptic. She tapped out a response, her thumbs impatiently batting the screen.
[YRU so freaked? Ur killn me here. I’ll B back l8r today. Can’t stand it here NE longr. Hasn’t been the best of visits. Fill u in when ICU]
She thrust the phone into her pocket and paced the room. She’d never seen him like this, which meant he’d found something important… or dangerous. She let out a frustrated sigh. There was nothing she could do from her mother’s place. She wanted to be back at the school, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Sally checked the online feeds and posts on the Hi-Li, approved a few comments and submissions, then responded to a few emails, making notes of things on which she would need to follow up. As expected, most of the submissions were related to the disappearances.
After a refreshing shower, she emerged from her room, drying her hair with a towel. Her mother was in the living room, staring at the television, a cup of coffee in her hand. Sally wondered if she’d even bothered to go to bed. A report of the events from the school played on the screen; the Asian reporter was giving an update on her findings.
“I’m assuming you’ll want to head back?” Although she had phrased it as a question, her mother still managed to dredge up guilt over her leaving.
Sally gestured toward the TV. “I’m a reporter. With all this going on, you know I’m going to need to get back.”
“It means a lot that you came.” The words were genuine enough, though she knew deep down her mother would rather her stay.
“You know I have to be there, Mom.” Even to her it sounded hollow.
Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) Page 3