Into The Rabbit Hole (Vandervilles Book 3)

by Khardine Gray

  “Wade!” She was crying out his name, but of course he couldn’t hear her. Devastation overtook her and squeezed her heart, she couldn’t believe what was really happening. What he was saying, what he was doing.

  Blinded by her tears, she watched him as he walked back out with the guard, never looking back. Leaving her.

  Chapter 4

  Chloe

  The tears that took her from that day never stopped. It seemed that was all her body was programmed to do, as if her soul was weeping.

  Feeling powerless was a terrible thing. A really awful thing that hurt both mentally and physically. But desolation was even worse. She’d never experienced that before. Never experienced this feeling, like a substantial part of her was missing. Gone.

  That was the best way that she could put it. Gone.

  She was curled up on the sofa at home.

  Home, the house she’d lived in too briefly with Wade. The house she should never have left. Chloe had come straight back here. It felt like the natural thing to do, as it was where she belonged. Anywhere that was his, anywhere where he was.

  She didn’t care what he said, it wasn’t over between them. Chloe would never accept that, and she wouldn’t entertain the thought of it either. What was getting to her was that it didn’t seem like there was anything she could do, and it was driving her insane.

  She kept going over what she knew in her mind, trying to think of every way possible that she could help. However, each time she was stumped.

  The problem linked back to the psycho, the psycho that wanted to destroy the Vandervilles—and was doing a terrific job at it—and had ensured there was no connection to them or Wade and Merissa. So they had to establish a connection. Someone had to. But how.

  How did anybody do that? Regina told her Detective Fray and Cora, Gilly’s PI friend, were doing whatever investigation they were doing, but nothing seemed like it was quite enough.

  It was three days ago now that she’d seen Wade. Three days, and each day with no results or evidence of innocence made Wade look even more guilty.

  She shifted against the largest cushion when the doorbell rang and she rose to answer the door.

  It was Wes.

  He’d been coming by every day to see her. Each time he brought ice cream, a bag of Jolly Ranger candy and a blueberry muffin. She fell into his arms for their usual embrace, but today she lingered for a little longer, wanting to absorb his strength.

  “My friend,” he whispered into her ear and kissed her forehead. “Come on. I’ll fix you some ice cream.”

  He did, sharing a large bowl. Yesterday he’d brought along some chocolate sprinkles and mini marshmallows. He added them both to the delicious helping of strawberry and pistachio ice cream he got from their favorite parlor.

  In the past they would indulge together in their times of worry and stress. When they were doing their SATs back in high school they practically lived on ice cream. It was soul food for them that was guaranteed to fix any problem.

  The things they classed as problems previously were all so very trivial in comparison to what was going on now. The only thing that could fix the way she felt right now was Wade being released from prison and this psycho person placed behind bars for killing Merissa.

  Jesus, every time she thought about the fact that there was a killer on the loose, someone who was after them, it made her blood curdle and she felt so sick she could vomit.

  Wes sat her down on the sofa again. He sat opposite and watched her.

  “Is it safe for you to be here?” He looked worried. He’d looked worried ever since everything happened, ever since she decided to take the plunge to give in to her feelings for Wade. All those months ago seemed like a lifetime had passed.

  So much had happened.

  “I can’t be anywhere else.”

  “You could go back to the beach house, or better yet, come stay with me.”

  He was sweet to offer, but she had to decline. “I have to be here.”

  “Why? Chloe, you’re in this house by yourself and there’s a killer on the loose. That can’t be a good thing.”

  He was right, but her attention was drawn to the fact that he didn’t think that Wade killed Merissa. He’d been saying the same or similar things on his last few visits, but she’d been too distraught to comment. More than anything Chloe was grateful for his support and his belief in Wade’s innocence.

  She’d told him all that was going on so he was clued up on everything.

  “It’s home,” she told him on the edge of a breath and brought her knees to her chest as she leaned over onto the cushion. “It’s home,” she repeated.

  She remembered when Wade asked her to move in with him. This house felt like her home since, and leaving again was like leaving him.

  “Sometimes we have to take a break from home, Chloe. Sometimes we have to go away and come back when things are better.”

  “I feel close to him when I’m here. All his things are here.”

  Wes rested back in the armchair and gazed up at the ceiling. Then he straightened up again and rested his elbows on top of his thighs. “There has to be something we can do.”

  “You want to help Wade?”

  “No, that oaf can rot…” his voice trailed off when he saw her distress and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, I want to help him, because helping him helps you.” He frowned and bit the inside of his lip.

  “I don’t know what to do. Where do we even begin?”

  “You said Regina told you they looked at all the CCTVs and everything in the area.”

  She nodded. “She said that the same thing happened where there was no recording of the time of the incident. Just like with a lot of the other incidents where we needed a camera.” She hoped that would have been evidence that Wade was set up, but no. The DA said it still wasn’t connected.

  She failed to see how it wasn’t. In light of everything else going on, she couldn’t believe a person could refute the connection. They said it was too circumstantial and assumptive.

  Wes looked like he was thinking about it, or an idea. “Do you know if they looked at all the cameras?”

  “I guess they must have looked at what they had access to. Plus, they asked people around what they saw.”

  “Did Wade actually tell you what happened himself?”

  “No.” Because he was just talking about her not being with him. She didn’t want to think about that, it was too sad and painful for her.

  His words had held both sentiment and pain at the same time. Wade had told her he’d loved her since he was six years old. Every time she thought about that her heart would ache for him.

  The declaration, she was certain, was intended to eradicate her upset over him not choosing her when they were younger. Her outburst on Tuesday was about him not wanting her and watching him be with one girl after another.

  The minute he said that, any angst she may have felt over the past disappeared.

  “It could be useful to hear it.”

  That could definitely be useful, but she wasn’t sure how it would help if so many people had already heard his testimony and were investigating but hadn’t come up with anything. According to Regina, Cora was supposed to be seriously amazing at what she did. Granted, it had only been a few days since the murder, so Chloe supposed time was what everyone needed.

  “We could go,” Wes offered.

  For the first time in days she felt a glimmer of hope. “We?”

  He released a slow sigh. “Yeah, we. We can go. It may be helpful to go to the crime scene, too. I know we can’t go inside the house, but I’m more interested in what’s outside the house.”

  Chloe smiled, the action almost felt foreign to her as that too was something she hadn’t felt in days. Wes was indeed thinking, and while Regina had Cora, who was amazing and everything great, Chloe had Wes. And she didn’t know anyone that was better than him at doing anything technical or thinking outside the box. Like he seemed to be now.

&nbs
p; She could see his point, about the outside of the house. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I may know when I see it. Sometimes things click better when I can see it.” He nodded pensively.

  “Thank you, thanks Wes. I appreciate this.” Even if it led nowhere, it was something. They were taking some form of action, as opposed to doing nothing.

  “Any time.”

  “Thank you. It means a lot that you’re helping. I know how you feel about Wade.”

  “Sure, he’s my least favorite person, but not even he deserves this.”

  She’d fully updated Wes on everything, and she was grateful for his understanding.

  “I’m worried about what will happen if no one can help.” The thought had struck her over and over again, and worse, she’d been reading on the internet about all sorts of possibilities. The sentences for murder paralyzed her with fear when she read though all the potential sentences Wade could face. Depending on whether he was sentenced for first- or second-degree murder, he could be looking at anything from life imprisonment to death. That was what it said on the legal advice website. She remembered seeing notes that the death penalty hadn’t been carried out since 2006, but she was being realistic and knew there was nothing to rule it out in Wade’s case. They could kill him. A tear ran down her cheek at the horrific thought and her hands started shaking.

  Even Wes looked worried. “We can’t think about that. We can’t. We just have to try and be strong. You have to. More than me. I will be strong for you.”

  “You’re a great friend, Wes.”

  “Aren’t I just?” He smiled.

  She loved that he could always find a way to offer light humor just enough to soothe.

  “Friends for life, Chloe. That’s you and me. We’ll be in a nursing home together eating Pop Tarts for breakfast and Jolly Ranchers for dinner.”

  “I like the food part, but somehow I don’t think we’re nursing home people. You’d be bored playing chess and checkers.”

  He nodded, agreeing. “And they’d think I was strange. I’m not giving up my superhero t-shirts.”

  She looked at his X-Men t-shirt and smiled. Wes was the only person who could wear clothes like that and make it look seriously cool.

  “And I don’t like tea.”

  “Chloe, I’m sure they’ll have hot chocolate.” He laughed. “How about this thought. We’re 65 and we’re on the beach watching our grandkids play in the sand. We send them away so we can keep all the candy to ourselves.”

  She laughed at that thought. She actually laughed, then she nodded. “Yes. That’s better.”

  His expression returned to its former concern. “I’m worried about you in this house, Chloe.”

  “I’ll be okay. I promise I’ll be safe,” she assured him. “I promise.”

  “Okay. I’ll continue to come by.” He pressed his lips together. “How’s Taylor?”

  At that she smiled. This smile came effortlessly. Him being here was helping, but his evident affection for her best friend pacified her aching heart. She’d forgotten that he’d all but confessed his feelings for Taylor when they were at the hospital and she was in the coma. She also knew they spent time together over the last weekend. Neither had said anything, and the chance hadn’t really cropped up to talk about it. Her weekend was spent trying to calm Taylor down in one way or another. First it was the whole Richard thing, and then finding out that Brian was her father.

  Then fast forward to today, which saw Chloe locked in the house crying for Wade and worrying herself sick.

  “I wish that I could say she was fine.” Chloe brought her hands up to her chin and clasped them together. “You should go see her. She’d like that.”

  “You think it would be okay? I don’t want to impose.” Her nervousness was adorable because it was something he so rarely expressed.

  “You’re not imposing. I know she’d be glad to see you.”

  “Did she say something?” Wes straightened up quickly, looking on at her keenly. “I mean, not that she would, given what’s going on. No, I don’t expect her to have said anything.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “No.” He shook his head.

  “She likes you,” Chloe said softly.

  “Did she say that?”

  “She doesn’t need to.”

  He smiled, looking pleased to hear that. “I’ll go see her. And then I’ll come back here for dinner.”

  “No, come by tomorrow. I’ll be fine.”

  He stood up, walked over to her and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Make sure you eat, Chloe.”

  She nodded.

  It was nice that he came. It was always nice to be with him, in the presence of his company. But…as soon as he left and the silence of waiting settled throughout the house, her worries returned.

  Her worries came back full force and all she could see was Wade. His eyes filled with sadness and grief, his face bruised, the look of love on his face. The way he loved her.

  She’d never give up on him. Not ever.

  She just had to have hope. Get it from somewhere.

  Taylor

  Taylor stroked Pisces as she purred on her lap. She sat on the front porch swing, gazing out to the waves, breathing in and out as it graced the shoreline of the beach. There weren’t many people out. She preferred it this way. It was a nice time to observe her surroundings and get lost in her mind. The picturesque view of the clear sea with the sun sparkling off the surface, the golden sand, and the soft azure sky helped to calm her troubled mind.

  Poor Wade. What were they going to do? What was he going to do? When she saw him he looked terrible. He said he’d been in a fight with one of the other inmates. They went for him because he’s the state’s attorney’s son. Although Wade won, his face was left battered and bruised. He looked battered and bruised.

  When her mother said that things weren’t looking good for Wade, Taylor refused to believe it. She refused to accept that all hope was lost.

  And now in the stillness of the quiet afternoon she still refused to accept that there was nothing that could be done to help her brother.

  “Taylor.”

  The sound of her name made her turn her head around quickly. How hadn’t she seen him?

  Wes stood before her with his hands in his pockets, a lock of his curls drifting against his forehead as the salty breeze lifted it.

  He’d driven up to the house, parked, and walked up to her, but she’d been so well and truly lost in her mind that she didn’t even notice.

  “Wes. I’m sorry I…” She actually didn’t know what to say to him. It’s funny that, all the time she spent at the police station and the prison, all that time, she thought of him. She was thinking that he’d keep her hopes up.

  Everyone was being so truthful, bringing down the hard reality of the situation, highlighting that there was no hope. So she wouldn’t hope. Sometimes, even if the only option was desolation, it was nice to hear someone say, “don’t worry, it’ll be okay”. Wes was that guy.

  But she hadn’t seen him since the Sunday before last, and today was Wednesday. A little over a week since Wade was arrested and charged.

  It wasn’t as if she saw him on a regular basis, but she thought they’d made a connection. Then she thought of the obvious. Maybe he didn’t want anything to do with her because he thought Wade was guilty. If it was one thing she knew, it was that Wade had given Wes a terrible time in high school. He’d bullied him. Of course he would think that Wade was guilty of murder.

  So maybe Wes was looking for Chloe. “I think Chloe’s at home. She didn’t come by today.”

  Chloe left yesterday looking like hell. Taylor planned to check up on her later.

  Wes offered a coy smile and something sparked in his brown eyes. “I’m here to see you.”

  Her heart sped up when he said that. “Really?”

  Pisces jumped off her lap and scampered away as she rose from the swing. She brought her hands to
gether and watched him. He came closer and stood just a breath away from her. That cologne he’d always joked about filled her with its woodland musk and made her feel slightly giddy against the hopelessness that weakened her.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come before. I just wanted to give you and your family some space to deal with what’s happening,” he explained.

  “Do you think Wade’s guilty?” He was entitled to his opinion, and whatever it was, she couldn’t have any resentment towards him for it.

  “Forgive me, your brother isn’t my favorite person. I’d be the first in line to give evidence towards him being the devil, but even then, I wouldn’t think that he’s guilty of murder.”

  Relief washed over her when he said that.

  “Also, I know what’s been going on with this psycho and your family. Chloe told me everything.”

  Taylor gazed up at him and felt the warmth of that feeling she’d only felt with him.

  “Thank you,” she breathed, sincerely appreciating his support.

  “How are you holding up?” Concern spread across his fine features and deepened when she shook her head. “I should have come by before.”

  “It’s okay.” She pressed her lips together and looked away as she felt close to tears again. Every time Wes had seen her lately she’d been crying. She didn’t want to do it again.

  Warmth seeped into her heart when he reached out and touched her face. She returned her gaze to him and now found herself lost in the deep hues of brown in his eyes.

  There was no mistake about her growing feelings for him, none whatsoever. What she had to be mindful of was that she was always being watched, and anyone who got close to her could be in danger. At that thought, she stepped back and tried not to look too panicked. “I shouldn’t. You shouldn’t.”

  “Why not?” His cheeks flushed.

  “It’s not safe to be around me.” She shook her head. “If you know everything, you know it’s not safe. They’ll, whoever this person is, will come for anyone I care about.”

  It was the classic strategy. To hurt the people you were targeting, hurt their loved ones and anyone they cared about. That was the worst punishment. She’d never done anything to anyone, but that didn’t matter here.