Every Step You Take: A Psychological Thriller

by Avery Lane

  “What if…” Gabriel looked up at Riley, eyes wide. “What if she had never actually died? What if Judy hired that guy Paul to find her daughter and that idiot just went after the wrong one?”

  “What do you think could’ve happened to her?” Riley asked. “What do you think my father had to do with it?”

  Riley let her mind go to the darkest places. Had he hurt her? Did he kill himself because he had done something horrible to her?

  If he had, Judy had to have reported it, right? She was a militant, responsible mom if not a compassionate one. There was no way she would hold onto the letter of a man who had killed her daughter.

  Right?

  36

  Riley couldn’t be in the house another minute.

  She had packed all the relevant papers, letters, and photos into her purse and stood outside in the brisk cold of night, calling Judy. Again. And again.

  And again.

  The phone was no longer even ringing. It was just going straight to voicemail. Riley’s hands were shaking. Her face felt numb. She knew that Judy wasn’t going to be picking up, but she couldn’t stop calling. She didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t even know where to begin to look for her mother.

  “Riley, sweetheart?” a voice called. Riley’s heart pounded at the sound of her name. She looked up, hoping it was Judy even though it sounded nothing like her.

  “Over there,” Gabriel said, pointing next door. Over the hedges was Mrs. Benson, their neighbor. Mrs. Benson’s cherubic face was framed by a halo of frizzy grey hair. Riley walked over.

  “Hi, Mrs. Benson, thank God!” Riley said, running around the hedges to meet her in her front yard. “I’m looking for my mother, have you seen her?”

  “Yesterday, yes,” Mrs. Benson replied. “I gave her a ride to the train station. She was on her way to the city to meet a friend. I would’ve thought she’d tell you so you wouldn’t go through the trouble of coming up here! I haven’t seen you in ages!”

  “Did she say who the friend was?” Riley asked. Mrs. Benson frowned, searching her brain.

  “Gosh, she told me but I can’t recall,” she muttered. “Is everything okay?”

  “I just need to know who the friend was.”

  “Margaret!” Mrs. Benson exclaimed, proud to have figured it out. “She was going to see Margaret. Her best friend in the city.”

  “What?” Gabriel furrowed his brows. “When’d you say she left?”

  “Well we were aiming to have her catch the 11am train which meant she must’ve gotten into the city around 2pm the latest,” Mrs. Benson said.

  “I would’ve been at work,” Gabriel murmured. “I’ll call Penny to see if she got there.”

  “What’s going on, sweetheart?” Mrs. Benson said, looking at Riley with pleading eyes.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, wishing it weren’t true.

  “Penny said she only dropped by to borrow a scarf because it was colder than she expected, but she was there,” Gabriel said, handing his phone to Riley as he sped down the highway. “So she’s definitely in the city.”

  “Where would she stay if not at your place?” Riley asked. “Who do you think she’s with?”

  “Penny said she was on her way to see another friend but didn’t say who. We gotta find Paul,” Gabriel said. “He’s gonna know more than we do.”

  “How do we find him?” Riley scoffed. “I only got his first name and he’s probably scared off of tailing me by now.”

  “We’ll ask the police. They said they knew who he was.”

  37

  “You think I’m going to give you any information after you assaulted me?” Paul’s voice blasted through the Bluetooth speakers of Gabriel’s car. Riley looked over at Gabriel. He gave a shrug, like, “ok, fair.”

  “We think Judy’s in trouble,” Gabriel said. “We need your help to figure out where she is.”

  “Listen, man,” Paul sounded ballsier when he wasn’t in the same room as Gabriel. “I don’t know or care about what you’re talking about. You’re not paying me so I don’t owe you anything. Contact me again and it’ll be my turn to call the cops, hear me?”

  Three low beeps poked through the speakers. Paul had hung up.

  Riley and Gabriel sat parked outside their office building. They were back in Brooklyn but didn’t know where to go next. The three-hour drive back was the longest hours she had ever lived.

  So much had happened in the last few months. Her life had been turned upside down several times over. But what she had learned today had trumped everything.

  She and her father had been alive together. He didn’t die of a heart attack. Judy allowed Riley to believe that early heart attacks were in her bloodline. Let her believe that she was at risk her whole life. It had dictated so many decisions she made in her day to day. It was the image she always held of her father – a young, happy man who had looked forward to meeting her, but died tragically of a heart attack.

  But no, he died at his own hands. He chose to take his life despite knowing Riley.

  And it was because she wasn’t even his first child. Riley wasn’t the surprise miracle baby that Judy said she was. Everything she had ever believed about herself was a lie.

  She was furious at Judy.

  And not just because she had lied.

  Because she was missing now and that meant Riley couldn’t even talk to her about it. And because it forced Riley to worry for her. To feel sick over everything. And she hadn’t even been missing for long enough for the police to take it seriously.

  And as angry as she was, she had to admit her worry was what felt so much worse.

  “Penny has to go,” Gabriel said. “I gotta get back to her. I’ve already asked her to stay too late.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’re coming with me,” Gabriel said. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  “I…” Riley pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t think I can just…sit right now. I need to find my mom. And you need to be with yours. So you should go home. And I should maybe look for help.”

  “I really don’t think you should do that on your own. A lot of stuff just happened to you in a very short period of time. You’ve gotta be feeling pretty overwhelmed.”

  “Yeah, you think?” Riley scoffed. She regretted it immediately. She hadn’t meant to lash out at him. Especially not after he had gone above and beyond to help her.

  Gabriel looked at her, wide-eyed. He was as surprised as she was with her rude reaction.

  “You want to be alone,” Gabriel said, gruff. “Okay. Fine. I get it. Go be alone.”

  Riley realized her bracelet was missing.

  The one her father made her.

  The one that she always wore, no matter where she went. The one she played with when she was stressed out and God, she couldn’t be more stressed out. She wanted it more than anything now that she knew what had really happened to him. It felt wrong not to have it in this very moment. Even if she were to learn that he had done something awful before killing himself and that he wasn’t the ever-loving angel that Judy made him out to be, she wanted that metal chain around her wrist so she could decide for herself what would happen to it.

  But she could barely remember when she had seen it last.

  She searched the apartment high and low, tearing apart what was already a pretty disheveled looking living space. Riley didn’t care anymore. She wanted that bracelet now. She wanted more clues about the family she thought she knew.

  But she couldn’t find it.

  Where did I see it last? she wondered. It had actually been awhile since she felt the weight of it on her wrist.

  And then it hit her.

  No.

  She had a vague memory of taking it off at Sierra and Brighton’s.

  So much for avoiding them forever.

  There was nothing further Riley could do to find Judy at that second. But there was something she could do about finding her bracelet. There was something action
able.

  She would find Judy, someway, somehow. But first, she needed that bracelet back.

  38

  Riley showed up unannounced, figuring a move like that should be fine considering what the three of them had been through together. The only thing she was really afraid of was being roped into another one their weird, kinky nights.

  At first, it didn’t sound like anyone was home. There were no footsteps, no music, no voices. But Riley saw a crack of light coming from under the front door and the shadows of someone moving around inside.

  She pounded on the door again, feeling it vibrate against her fist and forearm.

  She needed her bracelet. She desperately wanted that little piece of comfort while she was left to wonder where Judy could be.

  Finally, the door opened. Sierra stared at her, surprised.

  “Riley,” she said. “Why didn’t you call?”

  “I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d just, um, drop by.”

  “We’ve been texting you,” Sierra continued. “You haven’t responded so we thought maybe…”

  “Yeah, um. I’m actually here because I think I left something that night.”

  “What was it?”

  My sanity, among other things.

  “A bracelet? It’s a thick silver chain with a long pendant. Have you seen it?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sierra said. She turned to look over her shoulder. “Brighton, have you seen a silver bracelet?”

  It was then that Riley realized how strange it was that Sierra hadn’t invited her in. Were they in the middle of something? Did they feel as awkward as she did about the other night?

  Riley could make out Brighton’s shoulder and left arm, sitting on the couch.

  “No,” he said. His voice was clipped. He didn’t say or ask anything else. He wasn’t curious who was at the door.

  “May I come in?” Riley asked. She had a strange feeling about them in that moment. Brighton was speaking like he was being held hostage. “Maybe I can look around myself?”

  “Um,” Sierra hesitated. But then she opened the door completely and let Riley in.

  Riley could feel something strange in the air. Sierra and Brighton were definitely acting weird. She wasn’t sure if she should even bring up the other night. All she knew was that she wanted to find her bracelet.

  “Where’d you last see it?” Brighton asked. He looked up at her briefly before shooting a glance at Sierra, and it was then she saw his eyes were bloodshot. There were scratches on his neck. His knuckles were bloodied and bruised.

  Riley gulped. It would be hard to blame the clear, human fingernail marks were due to another work accident. She tried her best to avert her eyes.

  “He and some of his buddies got drunk and roughhoused a little,” Sierra said, as if she could tell what Riley was thinking.

  “Oh,” Riley nodded. She turned to face Brighton, trying to appear casual. “Did you win the fight?” She forced a smile. His eyes remained fixed on Sierra.

  “Yeah, ha,” he replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

  Riley could feel a thickness in the air. It was the feeling of imminent danger. She was suddenly afraid. The way she was afraid when Evan was gearing up into his violent self. She had trained herself to recognize that shift, and she could feel it looming over her now, behind her. And the darkest of that dark energy emanated from Sierra’s body.

  “So, um,” Riley’s voice didn’t sound nearly as stable as she had hoped. “I think I actually last saw it in the bedroom…” She felt odd finally acknowledging what had happened. Brighton looked down at his feet, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

  “Oh, right,” Sierra replied, laughing a rather fake sounding laugh. “We had a bit of a night, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah…” Riley watched as Sierra walked over to the bedroom, opening the door.

  “I didn’t see any bracelet,” Sierra said. “But you’re welcome to take a look.”

  Riley felt nervous. She walked into the bedroom.

  A rush of memories came over her.

  The sound of their clothes coming off.

  The feeling of Brighton’s stubble against her neck as he lowered her to the bed.

  Riley suddenly remembered something else.

  She remembered Sierra’s face at the door, watching. Then she had turned away and closed the door behind her. If there was some weird, cheating, sexual kink between them, Sierra hadn’t stuck around to watch. At least not the entire time.

  But it wasn’t time to think about that now. She had many and much more pressing issues to resolve first.

  “See anything?” Sierra asked. Riley looked up. She was standing in the doorway watching her, much like she had briefly that other night.

  “No…” Riley said, truthfully. “I’m sorry I’m interrupting you like this, I just really need that bracelet. It means everything to me.”

  “Was it a gift?”

  “Yes,” Riley replied. “My father made it. He was a metalworker.”

  “Well, I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for it,” Sierra said. Her voice didn’t sound sincere. In fact, she almost sounded disgusted. “If it means so much to you.”

  “Sure,” Riley nodded. “Okay. Please let me know right away if you find it? I don’t care what time of night it is, just let me know.”

  “Of course,” Sierra replied, practically saccharine now. She held her hand out for Riley to take, but Riley couldn’t.

  Because she spotted something.

  Not her bracelet.

  It was Margaret’s crazy, colorful muppet shawl. Just a small corner of it was protruding from Sierra and Brighton’s closed closet, but it was unmistakably that silly scarf.

  What was it doing here?

  Riley knew it couldn’t be just another similar shawl. That thing was one-of-a-kind in a way that was impossible to duplicate. It was the result of decades of scrap yarns knitted into one insane amalgamation of Margaret’s creativity.

  Judy had stopped by to borrow a scarf.

  Penny mentioned that.

  Oh my God.

  She didn’t have time to wonder how it got there. All she knew was that something was very wrong, that somehow her worlds had collided. She had to get the hell out of there. And the only way she could do that safely is if she acted like nothing was amiss.

  “Well thank you for letting me bother you tonight,” Riley laughed, stepping out of the bedroom and heading for the front door. “I’ll let you two enjoy your night.”

  “Take care,” Sierra said. Her voice was monotonous. Her eyes looked dead.

  Riley let herself out, walking as quickly as she could without looking suspicious.

  In the breeze of the night air, she picked up her pace.

  She looked up at Sierra and Brighton’s window. Sierra was staring down at her. She raised one hand. Wiggled her fingers.

  Riley forced a smile, mirrored Sierra’s wave.

  Then her phone chimed.

  She pulled it out.

  A text.

  BRIGHTON: Run.

  Riley replaced the phone in her purse, taking the longest possible steps she could without looking like she was running, just in case Sierra was still watching.

  When she turned the corner, she made a full on sprint for the main road at the end of the block.

  But it was too late.

  Sierra was already bounding after her. Her long legs carried her farther and faster than Riley could ever hope to do.

  And suddenly, she was on the ground.

  39

  Riley felt cold.

  That was the first thing she noticed.

  Then it was the fact that her wrists were bound behind her. Her ankles were tied together.

  She opened her eyes, blinking into the darkness as her sight adjusted.

  She was lying down on concrete, on her side. A pillow was propping her head up and Riley could feel the embroidery on the pillow cover pressing into her cheeks.

  She was in Sier
ra and Brighton’s studio. She could tell just by the view out the small window of what she suspected was the storage room. The moonlight was shining through, illuminating a figure sitting next to her.

  Judy.

  She was sitting upright, curled into fetal position. Her wrists were bound in front of her with clothesline, so tight that Riley could see it had turned her skin red, even in the dark.

  The rope around her wrists extended down around her ankles. She was restricted to that fetal position. She couldn’t move at all.

  “Mom?” Riley whispered, worried she’d alert Sierra and Brighton outside. Riley could see Judy blinking slowly.

  “Sweetheart,” she whispered back. “You’re awake.”

  “What are you doing here?” Riley’s voice sounded like a whine as she tried to speak through her fear and attempt to be quiet. “How do you know Sierra?”

  “Who?” Judy’s voice sounded weak. Disoriented. Nothing like the authoritative, put-together person she was. Riley realized she had probably been drugged.

  “Sierra, the woman who took you,” Riley explained. “Is this all because of Paul?”

  “Who?” Judy repeated.

  Riley grew frustrated. What was this? What was going on? She wanted to shake her mother and force her to answer, even though she knew it wasn’t Judy’s fault that she had been drugged.

  “Mom, you don’t have to pretend anymore. I know you sent Paul to…I don’t know. Maybe not for me. Maybe it was a mistake. You hired Paul to find Jujube. Right?”

  Judy was quiet for a second. Riley could hear her sniffling.

  “You know about Jujube?” Judy asked.

  “Yes, I know. And I understand why you lied. And I understand now why you were the way you were and I want you to know that I get all that. And I forgive you.” Riley could hear Judy full on crying now. “Please, please stop. They’re going to hear us and we won’t be able to talk anymore. I need to know why you lied about the way dad died.”