“I support your work. You know that. I just wish I got to see you more.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. There’s just a lot going on right now.”
Silence hung in the air. Her mother looked as if she wanted to say more, but didn’t. She seemed more withdrawn than usual as though something was on her mind. Sally waited, hoping her mother would say something. Sighing, she decided she couldn’t take the silence anymore. “I’m gonna go pack.”
Her mother looked up and nodded, but remained silent.
Sally went to her room to gather her things, leaving her mother alone in the living room, staring at the carpet.
CHAPTER EIGHT
[NO RESULTS FOUND.]
The library computer seemed to be mocking him as though it knew the answers and was toying with his emotions. Yasif stared bleary-eyed at the screen, frustration the only thing keeping him awake.
Another futile search. He’d tried every combination he could come up with, searching for anything that might resemble the creature he’d found in Billy and Daniel’s dorm room.
Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
He rubbed his temples, reaching for his phone as it rattled on the desk. On the screen was a message from Sally. He read it and sighed, wishing she’d return soon. She was so much better at this detective stuff than he was. He could spend days searching for information, following up on a story, and she would waltz in, touch three keys, and the computer would deliver her results on a silver platter.
It was more than that, though. He felt alone. This strangeness scared him. He’d heard of weird things before, but this was something he’d never considered possible. An animal no one had heard of? There had to be some explanation that made sense. He slapped the laptop lid closed and rubbed his eyes.
He needed coffee.
On his way to the cafeteria, he was only vaguely aware of the other students in the hall, his exhaustion keeping his gaze to the floor. It was only the Hi-Li screen that managed to break through his thoughts. A stream of social media updates scrolled up the left side of the feed—students speculating about the events surrounding the disappearance. Sex slaves? Seriously? Yasif laughed out loud.
He opened an app on his phone that allowed him full access to the site’s controls. He quickly deleted the offending posts and scolded the responders. If teachers saw it, they’d shut down the site for sure. Sally would kill him if he let that happen. A few minutes later, his messages filtered in and the conversations became much less colorful.
Why can’t people just follow the rules? He made them clearly visible; all they had to do was click the link and read them. How much easier could it be?
He reached the cafeteria and poured a cup of steaming coffee, the warmth and smell pushing away the clouds in his thoughts. He snatched a bagel from the rack, carrying it in his mouth as he made his way to a table.
As he ate, he played through the events of the night before in his mind. Could this animal be something new? Something created? What other explanation was there? It was obviously intelligent, way too smart to be a pet. A government experiment? That was way too crazy. He definitely needed some sleep. There had to be a rational explanation, he just hadn’t found the right search parameters yet. Sally would find it, he was sure of it. He glanced up at the Hi-Li screen to check the time. Only a few more hours and she would return. He breathed into his coffee and closed his eyes. One day he’d tell her how he felt.
CHAPTER NINE
SALLY RETURNED later that day. Despite the fact she’d only been gone a night, he was excited to see her. He immediately showed her the picture of the creature and dragged her to the library. He hadn’t even let her unpack. He sat her in front of the computer, sure she’d instantly find the answers.
But there it was, no silver platter. She’d come to the same conclusion as he had; the creature was still a huge mystery.
“And this thing was in their bedroom?” Sally lacked the accusatory tone he’d taken with her when she’d first told him about the disappearance of Billy and Daniel. A twinge of guilt crept into his stomach.
“Yeah, it knocked me over. Damn near killed me!”
She glanced at him with a smirk.
“Well, it could’ve,” he insisted.
“This just gets weirder and weirder.” She paged through the results once more, let out a shiver, then spoke, “On the way into the city I saw this guy, only he wasn’t a guy—at first.”
Yasif felt the skepticism cross his face and immediately regretted it. “How so?” He concentrated hard on looking completely supportive.
“At first, I’d seen a cat, a black one at that.” She chuckled. “Then it just changed.”
Yasif scratched his head. “What the hell’s going on?”
“I’m not sure.” Sally pegged away at the keyboard.
[Shape shifting cats]
Yasif let out a brief chortle, even if it seemed just as likely as anything else they had been searching for and far more accurate than [Big Headed Monkey]. Immediately she received dozens of pages relating to fantasy books and TV shows, but nothing useful. She switched the search results over to blog posts, Twitter feeds, social networking sites, and comments. A different picture began to emerge. Phrases like, “You wouldn’t believe it,” “I feel like I’m going crazy,” “That was some party!” stuck out in responses to her query.
Yasif read over her shoulder, catching the smell of her shampoo. It made him want to move closer. He resisted the urge, knowing she’d probably hit him if he did. He focused again on the screen. Most of the posts described strange experiences similar to his, but nothing that he’d consider proof. He smacked himself. “Damn! I forgot about the picture!”
“Picture? What picture?”
He retrieved the newspaper print he’d found in Billy and Daniel’s room and handed it to Sally.
“Who’s this?”
Yasif shrugged. “It was in their room.”
“Athens Daily News,” she read from the caption. Within seconds she’d pulled up the newspaper’s website and found the related article. “Jake DeLancie, age nineteen, son of William and Betty DeLancie, was arrested on possession charges. Mr. DeLancie has had multiple offenses. The family denies the allegations and insists that his presence isn’t enough to charge him with possession. They say his friends were the ones with the paraphernalia and claim he wasn’t in direct use of the alleged narcotics…”
“Why would either Billy or Daniel have this?” Sally skimmed through the rest of the article.
“No clue. Maybe he’s related to one of them.”
“Or maybe someone they knew as kids?” Sally had already pulled up a terminal window, and using a bit of code, she bypassed the school’s security measures and accessed the student database, masking her IP address and any other identifying information. She pointed at the screen. “There.”
Yasif was impressed with how easily she’d broken in. He leaned in to get a closer look.
Name: Daniel Sherman
Age: 17
Hometown: Athens, Georgia
“Daniel’s from Athens? I didn’t know that.”
“Could we stay focused, please?”
Yasif gave her a sheepish grin. “Someone Daniel knows then?”
“That’d be my guess.” Sally copied the screen and sent the image to a private encrypted drive they used to store info for the Hi-Li.
“So what do we do? Go all the way to Athens just to check this guy out?” Yasif asked, jokingly.
“Of course!” Sally shut down the active windows, cleared the browser history and cache files, deleted the cookies and emptied the recycle bin. She then double checked the security log to be sure her session was masked. Then she turned to Yasif. “You ready?”
Yasif blinked. “Seriously? You haven’t even unpacked.”
“Even better.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “Haven’t you learned anything about good reporting?”
“This is different. This isn’t for the school.” He str
uggled to keep up.
“We’re reporters. We follow a story wherever it leads. And it is sort of for the school. Three students and a teacher disappeared, remember?”
“But—”
“If we head out now, we can be back before the end of the weekend.” Sally steered him around toward the girls’ dorm.
“We don’t have permission to leave campus. Mrs. Padilla will never let us do that.”
She stopped, her hand still on his arm. “Really, Yaz? When has that ever been a problem for us before?”
“Yeah, but we’re not just talking about a quick trip around the corner.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” She smiled, playfully. “This is the only lead we have, unless you have any other suggestions?”
Yasif shook his head. It wasn’t really that he was scared of going to another town. What frightened him was the idea of spending so much time with Sally outside the safe and restricting confines of the school.
“Okay then!” she replied. “Off we go!”
“Oh boy,” was all Yasif could manage.
CHAPTER TEN
SALLY BOUGHT BUS TICKETS and booked a hotel in Athens with her phone. It was two hours out of Atlanta, so they’d have to spend the night. Yasif’s reaction to the news was priceless. She might as well have told him that he’d have to be naked for the entire trip.
“There will be two beds,” she reassured. “So don’t get any ideas.”
Yasif stammered. “I… I mean… It’s cool.”
“We can do a bit of site maintenance on the way, try to find out what we can.”
Yasif still seemed incapable of speech when Sally sent him off to pack his things. They met up later to catch a cab to the bus station.
Sally spent the majority of the bus ride checking messages, responding to posts, composing updates, adding facts submitted by students to the Hi-Li, and other things she needed to do to maintain the site. She couldn’t do everything from her phone, but it’d be enough. While she worked, Yasif passed the time reading on one of the school’s e-readers.
They arrived in Athens by mid-afternoon. The town had quite a different feel than they were used to. The homes weren’t packed into small neighborhoods and were quite a bit larger as well. Most had large front porches surrounded by flowering plants and well-landscaped yards. The bus pulled into the downtown where the small buildings showed their age even with the town’s clear attempts to keep them fresh and clean-looking. Sally followed Yasif off the bus.
He held up his arm, shielding his eyes from the sun as he spoke. “I still don’t understand what you hope to accomplish.”
“This guy mentioned in the paper you found may know something, and it’s the only clue we’ve got.” Glancing around, she surveyed the bus station.
“Seems like a long way to go for the off-chance that this guy knows something.” Yasif glanced at a group of people sitting on benches, waiting for buses, various bags around their feet. “This whole trip could be for nothing.”
“A good reporter follows all leads. We won’t know unless we investigate. Besides, I have a hunch.”
Across the small station was a rack full of maps and brochures. Sally grabbed a map of the town and spread it on a nearby counter. “Okay, so I pulled the possible addresses of where he could live.” Retrieving her phone, she checked them, then marked several locations. “We’ll have to check each one.”
“That could take all day.” Yasif stretched and gave a bored yawn.
Sally spotted a cab in front of the station and grabbed Yasif’s arm once more, pulling him toward it. After checking the first three houses, she was beginning to get discouraged. “Okay, the next one is 368 Kent Street.” Sally caught a glance from the cab driver—a slightly concerned and hesitant look—but he turned the cab around in the street and headed to their new destination.
Ten minutes passed, and Sally began to realize the source of the cab driver’s reluctance. It was clear that even small towns had their less-than-desirable neighborhoods. Broken shutters, peeling paint, and faded colors seemed commonplace there. Several boys walked along the street, their pants sagging, underwear completely visible.
“Great.” Yasif gave her a worried look. “You’ve brought us to the ghetto.”
Sally dropped a brow. “Just because these people may be less fortunate, doesn’t mean they’re bad.”
Yasif scoffed.
The cab pulled up to a home, and Sally’s heart sank. Despite her comment, she hoped this was the wrong house. It was nearly covered with overgrown shrubs, bushes, and knee-high grass, with a barely visible path leading up to the front door.
“Make it quick,” the cab driver called. “I don’t want to be around here for too long.”
Sally cast a wary glance before getting out of the cab, her own nerves making her doubt herself. She walked toward the house slowly, clutching the strap of her bag tightly. Yasif was close behind her.
She couldn’t take her gaze off the old wooden door, as if it were suddenly going to burst open and some manner of beast come rushing toward them. Her heart began to pound. She swallowed hard and stepped onto the porch, the boards creaking in protest of her weight. Her hand shook as she reached toward the old rusted handle, hoping the whole time there would be no answer. She’d barely touched knob when the sound of breaking glass made them both jump.
“What the…”
“Oh, my god!” Sally’s heart pounded so hard she felt as if her chest might explode.
A black cat bounded away from them, artfully dodging pieces of a broken Coke bottle.
“May I help you?”
Sally jumped again, this time bumping into Yasif, who nearly fell backward off the porch. She grabbed his arm to steady him.
A young man stood in the doorway, squinting in the afternoon light. “Are you all right?”
Sally took a moment to catch her breath. “I’m Sally Singletary, a reporter for the Hidden Lake Investigator.” She fished in her bag, then with a shaking hand, handed him a card. “Are you Jake DeLancie?”
As he studied the card, Sally studied him. The guy looked awful. Aside from the grungy clothes, there were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. His skin was dry, his face gaunt. “Yeah, I’m Jake,” his voice croaked. “What’s this about?”
Sally closed her eyes and steadied herself. “Can we come in and talk?”
“I really don’t think…” He scratched his head nervously. “Look, right now is really not a good time…”
“We just have a few questions about someone you once knew.”
He stared at her, one eye partially closed as if in pain. She had his attention, at least.
She turned, handing some money to Yasif. “Try to get him to wait for us.”
Yasif nodded and hurried off.
Sally pointed behind her. “That’s my co-chief, Yasif Zerriouh.”
“Where did you say you were from?” Jake asked.
“Hidden Lake Prep School,” Sally replied.
A look of recognition crossed his face. “Isn’t that that rich kid’s boarding school? Who the hell would I know there?”
“If we could just come in and talk…” Sally moved forward. Jake made no indication of letting her pass.
Yasif returned. “He said ten minutes.”
Sally turned back to Jake. “Do the names Billy Martin or Daniel Sherman ring a bell?”
At the sound of Daniel’s name, Jake’s eyes grew wide. “I… uh… Look… I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” He pointed toward the cab. “Get the hell out of here.” He slammed the door.
“That went well.” Sally debated knocking again, but decided that would only make matters worse.
“You’re giving up?” Yasif followed her up the walk.
“Of course not. We just need a new strategy.”
Yasif pulled open the cab door and let her in. “Guess we won’t be needing that ten minutes then.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
JAKE STOOD IN THE DA
RKNESS with his back to the door, old memories surfacing in his mind. It had been three years since he’d last seen Daniel. Why did these kids want to bring it all back? He thought he’d finally gotten over what had happened. But the truth was, his feelings were just as strong as they’d been that day.
Jake pushed himself away from the door and made his way through the dark space that was his home. As he moved through the trash strewn about—empty beer cans and bottles, paper, wrappers, and various other empty food canisters—he cleared a spot on the couch and sat, pondering. Why now?
Sadness overwhelmed him and he buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t hold back the flood of emotion that he’d kept locked up. By the time he regained control, evening had settled and the living room was nearly pitch black. He picked up the card the girl had given him and rummaged through the mess until he found his phone. Flipping it open, he dialed the number on the card.
“Hello?” Her voice had sounded just as calm and collected as it had been when she spoke at his house.
“I’ll meet you at the diner in town at six.” Before she could respond, he snapped the phone shut, his heart pounding, his eyes losing focus. He brought the device to his forehead, squeezing it in his fist, wanting more than anything to call her back and cancel.
Not this time. He’d run away from himself for too long. It was time to face his past and accept who he was. It was time to stop letting others define his future.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SALLY SAT ACROSS FROM YASIF in the restaurant Jake had chosen to meet. It was a local diner that tried to give a sense of nostalgia by hanging a bunch of random things from the 1980s all over the walls. For Sally it did nothing but make the place feel cluttered.
Yasif’s foot bounced up and down below the table, causing the silverware to rattle incessantly. Sally had finally had enough and slammed her hand down, startling him. “Will you stop!”
Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) Page 4