Brandi’s phone rang.
As she answered her phone, I let myself out and tried to ignore the haunting words I heard Brandi whisper. “You left the glasses.”
Chapter 4
Graduation Day
The gym was packed with excited family members and friends. Mom and Dad were off to my left, trying to keep Daniel from shouting, “Yay, Oli.”
They drowned out parts of Steven’s speech. His gravelly voice rattled from the speakers.
“I can’t believe we made it through four years of high school. Some of us already know what we’re going to major in college. Some of us are undecided about what we’re doing next. The one thing that we all know for sure is that we’re glad it’s over.”
I looked down at the cover that would soon hold my diploma. The suspense of waiting another week to get confirmation that I’d graduated was just nuts. Who decided it was a good idea to send an important certificate like that through the mail?
Steven continued. “I’m going to leave you with one thought. It’s a quote from my dad. Go with your passion. Work hard and be determined to get what you want. Not what others tell you. See Dad, I was listening to you.”
Everyone laughed and applauded.
Steve said, “Fellow classmates of Dover High School, switch your tassels to the left.”
We did.
Others tossed their caps into the air. I held on to mine as I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. This was not the place for Linda to show up unannounced. Graduation Day was my mine to enjoy and look forward to my future.
We filed out by rows, exited the gym and filled the main hallway. I scanned the crowd until I found my family.
Dad hugged me. “That’s my girl.”
Mom took pictures while Daniel tugged on my gown for me to lift him up. I did, spun him around and handed him to Dad.
Sirens blared in the distance.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Mercer,” Austin said walking up to us.
Dad offered a hard smile. “Austin.”
“Can I speak to Oliana for a quick second?” Austin slipped his hand in mine. “We need to talk.”
“We’ll meet you at home,” said Dad. “Then we’ll go out for dinner.”
“Okay, Dad.” I pulled away from Austin. “What do you want?”
“Hear me out. James didn’t show up for graduation.”
“He’s eighteen. There’s nothing we can do.”
“I haven’t heard from him since Thursday.”
“Maybe he’s somewhere getting high.”
Screams erupted behind us as firefighters entered the building.
“We need everyone to evacuate the building calmly,” said a fireman. “This is just a precaution.”
We followed instructions, and soon we were outside, standing on the football field. Instinctively, I reached for Austin’s hand, but he was no longer standing next to me. He had disappeared in the confusion of the crowd. I held onto my honor cords and graduation cap as I moved around, cutting between girls in their red graduation gowns and the boys in their black gowns.
Fresh cut grass tackled my nose while clumps of it found its way into my sandals. Students were on their cell phones trying to locate their parents. Off in the distance, I saw my family. I held up my hand and made my way to them.
“They’re saying there’s a body in the dumpster,” said a girl in front of us. “It was on fire.”
A body? Who was it? Why? Was there a point in setting fire to it and leaving others to see it on graduation day?
Here I was worried about one of the best days of my life being ruined. Instead, a person’s life had been taken. What if it was someone I knew?
By late Saturday night, I was exhausted as if I’d played the lead in two back-to-back productions. All day, my emotions had been riding a roller coaster of emotions. I was too hungry to sleep. Too tired to eat. And too rattled to think straight. I tried ignoring the latest event. Guess I shouldn’t have logged into Scatter. Classmates had changed their profile picture to an image of the high school. My social feed was filled with speculation about who the body found in the dumpster was. Theories ran wild, from the names of those who’d failed their classes to the one person who didn’t show up for graduation. James.
The more I read, the more I became concerned. Not only was his car still in the school parking lot, but friends said that his Scatter page had no recent posts.
Had James’s drug habit gotten him into real trouble? Then there was Brandi. According to the know-it-alls on Scatter, she was the last person seen with James.
My phone beeped. “Missing Devin.” I read the name of the sender. James. “Where are you? People are worried about you.” My fingers had a hard time keeping up with the questions that rushed my brain. “Have you talked to Austin?”
I waited for him to answer me. Several hours passed, and still he hadn’t responded. My mind whipped into overdrive as I wondered if I should call the police and tell them I’d heard from James. Would it help their case at all? I mean, the body was burned, so that meant there was only one way to get a firm identification. Dental records.
If James was still alive, then who was it that was in the dumpster. There was only one way to find out.
Chapter 5
Bad Decisions
I checked my phone as I ran up the stairs leading to a building I promised I’d never visit again. The Denver Police Department. 9:27 a.m. Last night, I’d determined that my only hope was that Detective Tanner worked on a Sunday. Although we’d only met after what happened to Devin, Tanner had told me to call her if I needed anything. For Austin’s sake, it was important to prove that the messages I had received came from James’s phone.
When I entered the waiting area, directly in front of me were a set of elevators with a U.S. and Colorado flag posted on opposite sides. Off to my left, people were glued to their phones while dispatchers spoke softly into their headsets, typing furiously behind a counter protected by glass.
“Oliana?”
I glanced down at the end of the counter and saw a tall, dark-haired man wearing a police uniform. “Officer Bloom.”
“Are you okay?” Officer Bloom’s height was still intimidating. The fact that I wasn’t under interrogation this time and had helped to solve Devin’s murder put me at ease.
I explained what happened and showed him the text. “Is Detective Tanner around?”
Officer Bloom signaled me to go with him.
Flashes of my last visit, staring at bare white walls, while shifting in a hard seat settled in my mind as I waited in the conference room for Detective Tanner. Getting convicted of a crime, only to hear the slamming of metal bars behind you and accepting that you’d never get live a normal life scared me to death. The one thing I could never figure out was why there were so many repeat offenders.
Moments later, Detective Tanner entered holding a notepad. “Bloom filled me in. I’m working this case. James isn’t new to trouble. We know for a fact that he was hanging with bad people. A lot of things point to this not looking good for your friend.”
“But we don’t know that it’s James. The only way to find out is through dental records, right?”
Tanner, tight-lipped, said nothing.
“Why would a stranger send me such a personal message?”
“Probably a prank. Anyone could have his phone.”
“Can you check to see where the text came from?”
Tanner drew in a breath and exhaled. “Ever think about becoming a cop instead of an actress?”
A microwave dinged across the hall.
“No, not really.” I showed Tanner the message. “None of this makes sense.”
“Don’t do what you did last time, Oliana. Stay out of it, or I’ll arrest you for interfering with my case.”
“Will you let me know when you find out?”
“You’ll find out along with everyone else. Now go home and be a teen.”
That was all I needed to hear.
&
nbsp; Back home, after an agonizing search, I found my old tablet. Devin always complained that her mom went through her cell phone. Like me, she had the no dating rule. My tablet was her way to communicate with James and keep track of him. After James cheated on Devin, she made him put the Lifestyle 365 app on his phone.
My hand trembled as I touched the app. Please have your phone on. I clicked on James’s history to see where he’d been. There were no check-in points around town. I tapped the map and expanded it.
According to James’s phone, he didn’t leave Denver until Saturday at 3:27 p.m. The app updated his location at 5:12 a.m. this morning. What the heck are you doing in Las Vegas?
Was James running away from something? I pounded the doorbell until Brandi answered the door and let me in.
“What’s your problem,” asked Brandi, grounding the sleep out of her eyes. “It’s late.”
“James. His glasses. The phone call you got Saturday.”
“What are you talking about?” Brandi’s bare feet padded the carpet leading toward to the den.
“I’m not in the mood to play games. Why is James in Vegas?”
A few seconds later, Brandi returned sipping on a wine cooler. Fear etched on her face. “It was an accident.” Her body shook with sobs. “We tried to cover it up, but it’s made things worse.”
“We have to call the police.”
Brandi seized my arm. “No. If you do, they’ll kill James.”
As a motorcycle raced down the street, I spotted a suitcase by the door. It looked packed and ready to go. “This is nuts. What happened?”
Brandi plopped down on a stool, grabbed tissue and blew her nose. “James, a boy, and I were partying and it got out of hand. The boy overdosed. When we tried to figure out what to do, a guy showed up looking for James and his friend.”
“Who was with James?”
“I don’t remember his name. Just that he’d graduated three years ago,” said Brandi, in a shrill tone. “After James told the guy what happened, he freaked out and beat him up. I guess they were going to Las Vegas to make a switch.” She opened the wine cooler, her hands shaking.
I reached for the bottle. “I need you to stay sober,” I said setting it down on a table. “What switch?”
“I don’t know. Probably drugs and money. Anyway, the guy said it was our mess to clean up. We had to get rid of the body and set it on fire so no one could identify him.”
“Cops can find out who he is through dental records.”
Brandi’s face was ashen.
“So, James had to do the run,” I said. “And you can’t say anything until he gets back?”
“We have to act as if nothing happened. To make things worse, the guy James was hanging out with worked for the drug dealer. He was the one who was supposed to do the drive to Vegas.”
“Why was James car in the school’s parking lot?”
“We used it to get rid of the body.”
“And you hurt your ankle when you helped James put it in the dumpster.”
Brandi’s eyes widened. “But I didn’t set it on fire.”
A chill went through me. “James did it.”
Brandi nodded.
If Brandi was telling me the truth, the timeline fit. According to the Lifestyle 365 app, it’s about a ten to eleven-hour drive to Las Vegas. James had enough time to set the body on fire, leave and get to where he was going.
Come Monday, my head was pounding. I didn’t know what to do. I had information that I know needed to be given to Detective Tanner. But would she believe me? There was a lot at stake. The most important one—James would be killed if anyone told the cops.
There was no need to contact Austin. He couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it. My parents were in their own world. Especially, Mom. The custody battle was taking a toll. She was quickly angered and stayed in her room most of the day. Until today. Mom had been up since 6:45 this morning, cleaning, dusting, and making sure everything was in its proper place. She had to make sure the guardian ad litem saw her at her best.
About twenty minutes ago, the GAL had finished her interviews with Daniel and me. Now it was Mom’s turn.
While Daniel sat glued to the television, playing his video game, I stood nearby listening to Mom’s conversation.
“I have to protect my son.” Mom scooted the bear she’d gotten my brother across the table. “I have recordings of Marc’s daily routine with Daniel, and it proves he hasn’t changed.”
“You used to be a paralegal.”
“So.”
“You know it’s illegal to record a conversation without having at least one party aware it’s being recorded.”
“I’m not asking to use it in court. I just needed you to see what’s he’s really like when no one’s looking.”
“Don’t triangulate me like that. Let’s make this fair. Let’s make this about Daniel. I’ll contact your lawyer once I’m done with my report.” The GAL looked at me as she made her out the front door.
I advanced further into the living room and said, “You’ve got Daniel recording Marc? Lying to the judge wasn’t enough?”
“You don’t under—”
“I’m tired of being told I don’t understand. You’re trying to turn Daniel against Marc. Just like Linda’s said bad things about you. I didn’t believe her. Now I don’t know.”
“Wait, you spoke with her?” Mom walked towards me.
I took a step back. “She’s dying and wants my forgiveness. I’m going to go see her.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I’ve got it.”
My feelings were so mixed up. The sooner this custody issue was done, the sooner my life would go back to semi-normal and I’d have back the Mom I’d looked up to.
Chapter 6
The Meeting
The breeze off of Ferril Lake was refreshing against my skin, a welcome break from the stagnant heat. I took a sip of my energy drink, delighted with the fact that I was within walking distance of the Denver Museum. What better way for a history buff like me to unwind than by visiting the museum after a meeting with Linda?
Fifteen minutes passed. Still no Linda. I opened my tablet and found comfort in a book about monologues that had been sitting in my library since last winter.
As more time passed, I adjusted my position on the park bench. I was sure that the wood had left an imprint on my butt from sitting so long. What would be more satisfying to me than a museum, was the play rehearsing a few blocks away. Talk about finding a sense of peace.
A car beeped in the distance.
I looked up and watched as Linda shuffled across the grass, headed in my direction.
Linda sat down, placing the oxygen between us. “It sure is a hot one today.”
Curiosity crept in. I tried fighting it. Except, I needed to know why she was dying. Was her frailty real or was it a way to manipulate my feelings? “What’s making you sick?”
“Small cell lung cancer. There’s nothing the doctors can do.” Linda blew her nose and looked out at the lake. “I was afraid you didn’t want to meet me.”
“I didn’t. However, I leave in a couple of months. I want this bad part of my life closed.”
Linda’s shoulder rose and fell as she turned to face me. “Traci and Norman know about our meeting?”
“My parents don’t want you near me.”
“That’s why I waited to contact you. I figured after you turned eighteen, it’d give you a chance to think for yourself without being influenced by people.”
“The people you’re talking about care for me. If you can’t accept that, we’re done talking.” I gathered my things and stood.
Linda grabbed my arm. Her fingers were like cold blades, slicing the first layer of my skin. “Sit, please.”
I wrestled my arm away and remained standing. “What do you want from me?”
“Your forgiveness.”
“I don’t believe you.” My heart raced as I hoped that Linda would prov
e me wrong. “Why didn’t you help my mother?”
“She never came to me. I didn’t figure it out until she got pregnant with you.”
I crushed my energy drink can and tossed it into the trashcan next to the bench. “I’m so stupid. To think that this visit might be about you telling me the truth.”
“I fought for you. But the judge ruled against me.”
“Good. You’re the last person that should be raising a child. Since I’ve learned how I came into this world, it has been a struggle to convince myself that I’m not a bad person.”
“Listen.” Linda removed her oxygen tubes from her nose. “I’m not going to stand by and let you talk about something when you don’t even have all the facts.”
“The facts. Here’s what I learned recently. My birth mother was a teen when she had me and was bounced in and out of mental institutions. Then she killed my uncle, who’s my sperm donor because you refused to protect her. Can you tell me that what I just said isn’t true?”
“What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry?” Linda’s eyes squeezed together as she tried to catch her breath.
My heart raced as I took Linda’s hand in mine. “Are you okay? Do you need me to call for help?”
“No.” Linda snatched her hand out of mine as if she’d touched a hot stove. She reached into her purse, pulled out an inhaler and took two puffs. “I’m fine.”
Now it all made sense as to the reason why I never want to become a mom. My life was so screwed up. The scars of my past were still there like stubborn warts. Even at eighteen, I still remember the dark times about my bio mom leaving me for days on end as she bordered on the edge of crazy. I have tons of questions that will never be answered. Linda certainly can’t help me.
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