DOLLY

by Stone, Measha

  Dolly clicks the button a few times, and the news report comes back on.

  “Isn’t that the guy from the motel?” Dolly gives me a worried look.

  “Yeah.” I take the remote from her and turn up the volume.

  “Detective Pierce is ready to make his statement,” the anchor woman, all dolled up with her plastic smile and aerosol glued hair, says, and the camera cuts to Pierce standing at the podium at the PD, the taskforce spread out behind him. Somber expressions, blank stares, hands folded solemnly before them, they stand in unison behind their leader.

  “As reported earlier this week, we have put out an amber alert for this girl.” He picks up an eight by eleven picture of a young girl. It’s her school picture. She can’t be more then thirteen. Her brown hair is pulled up into a ponytail, showing off her high cheekbones and sparkling light brown eyes. This girl has no worries in her life. This girl is innocent.

  And she’s missing.

  “Unfortunately, her remains were found this evening. While the search for her is over, the hunt for her killer is ongoing. The body was discovered early this afternoon by a jogger running on the Autumnwood’s trail along Klein Creek. We believe Olivia was taken from the park near her home two weeks ago. As we’ve also reported, several homes in Allenview Township have become crime scenes under investigation after several remains were found in the basement of two of the houses in the complex during demolition.”

  “There were two houses?” Dolly gasps, covering her mouth.

  “The demolition is on hold while our team works with the law enforcement of Allenview. We have reason to suspect Olivia may have been taken by the same individuals who were held up in those houses in Allenview. When we have more information regarding both cases, we will hold a press conference. At this time, we ask that you give the family their privacy as they navigate through this most difficult time. Out of respect, we will not be taking any questions at this time.”

  His light eyes rise up to the camera, as though he’s staring directly at me.

  “We will find those responsible. And we will bring them to justice,” Pierce says firmly before thanking the press and walking off stage, taking the taskforce with him.

  “That girl…she was in the other house?” Dolly points to the screen. I flick the television off.

  “We didn’t know there was another house.” I toss the remote to the couch and gather Dolly in my arms.

  “We should have checked,” she says with heat, but it’s muffled with her face pressed against my chest. Maybe we could have done a sweep of the other houses, but we had no reason to think we needed to. Every house appeared abandoned. Even the one we were tucked away in.

  “They said her body was found along the creek. She didn’t die in the house.” Dolly pushes away from me. “If she didn’t die in the house, does that mean Bossman took her out before we killed him? Or did someone else use the other house?”

  All good questions.

  “Todd.” I leave her behind and march back into the kitchen. He’s still working between the two computers, but the paper is full of information now. “What’s going on with the houses in Allenview where the airport expansion is supposed to happen?”

  In one rush, his face loses all color.

  “There’s an investigation. Tell me what you know,” I press.

  “They found the basement in the one house—the one you and Abigail…I mean, Dolly, were kept. The investigation was started, but quietly. It didn’t make the news outlets until several bodies were uncovered.”

  “Cathy knew the demolition would be starting soon.” I turn to Dolly. “The last night…the special request from her and Romero. They were supposed to come to the house. They were allowed to be in the room, but they bailed at the last minute. Bossman and Beardman—I mean Morty and Jimmy were talking about it.” Strange to say their actual names. It doesn’t shrink the monster inside them. Now, the monster has a name.

  “Because they knew they’d be found out if they came? They’d leave behind fingerprints or something?”

  “Maybe. Probably. Cathy had already been in the house, though.”

  “They couldn’t take the chance on being seen on camera,” Todd explains for us. “They were probably going to go, but at the last minute decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Cathy’s DNA is probably all over that crime scene, but she inserted herself into the investigation. Easy to explain away a cop’s fingerprints at the scene if she’s conducting a search.”

  “And what explanation of my disappearance?” I snag a laptop from him and sit down at the table. I can get a lot of information through the news sources I have.

  “Romero had you pulled off the case and transferred. As far as Pierce was concerned, you were sent off to third district.”

  I snap my head up. “And he didn’t question it? Being pulled off a case last second, in the middle of the fucking night, then thrown all the way across town?”

  “Pierce had his hands full with the missing girls, and then Olivia—the girl on the news just now—was reported missing.” Todd presses his lips together. “She was taken from the playground only a few blocks away from the deputy mayor’s residence.”

  “He took her?” Dolly demands to know. “He took her to that house, the one next door?”

  “I don’t know! I only know it was mentioned how close he lived to the girl. It’s a small community he lives in—less than twenty homes in his subdivision.”

  “And they thought he might know something?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. I stayed in my lab and worked the websites. I kept them in the dark as best I could without getting Pierce suspicious.”

  I tug my gun out of my belt and place it on the table. Todd’s gaze snap to attention, focused on it. With my hand resting over the weapon, I turn in my seat to face him.

  “You have the other girls identified yet?” I ask, nodding toward his paper.

  “There are so many.” His attention doesn’t waver away from my hand. “It could take me a while.”

  “We don’t really have that much time.” I lift the gun in my hand, cradling it.

  “Brian. Please.” The begging begins.

  “If it weren’t for you, the taskforce could have found Dolly before I was even part of it. If it weren’t for you, countless girls wouldn’t be dead, wouldn’t have been tortured and raped for the masses to get off on.”

  Another bead of sweat rolls down his temple.

  “You sold out those girls. And how many more are out there? I doubt the deputy mayor took this girl for himself. He’s too high and mighty to do the dirty work himself. Either he had someone do it, or someone’s trying to send a message that he’s not squeaky clean.”

  “We need to find out who ran the other house,” Dolly says calmly, like she’s adding a bag of apples to the grocery list.

  “We will,” I promise as I stand from my chair.

  “Brian.” Todd’s lip quivers. Tears run down his cheeks.

  “You did good, Todd. And I don’t go back on my word. It won’t hurt.” I raise my gun.

  “Please. Please, don’t do this. Please!” He turns to me, snot running over his lips. “Please. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Please. Please,” he repeats, but it doesn’t change anything.

  Never did for Dolly.

  Didn’t for me.

  And won’t for Todd.

  Until all those involved in hurting Dolly are gone, there will be no mercy. There will be no second chances. There will be nothing but pain and death.

  One squeeze of the trigger, and Todd falls back off the chair.

  “Should we take all of this with us?” Dolly starts to close the laptops and gather the papers.

  “No.” I stop her. “Leave it all here.”

  “But—”

  I point a finger. “Leave it. We leave this for Pierce. If he takes it and works the case, then we know he wasn’t part of it.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” she argues. “What if he just buries it al
l?”

  “Then we know we need to make a visit to his house after we speak with the deputy mayor.”

  She glances over the table, the computers, the papers, the CDs with her father’s videos on them. “If he does nothing, these girls will still be out there.” She touches a CD that’s fallen off the stack.

  I pick up her hands and bring them to my mouth, pressing my lips to her chilled knuckles. “If he does nothing, I’ll skin him alive.” I remember the look of confusion in Pierce’s eyes when he saw us at the motel. He had no idea we were there. He was looking for something else.

  “Promise?” she asks softly.

  “I swear it.” Pierce isn’t the bad guy here, though he might be thinking I am after seeing me at the motel.

  “Okay.” She gives a little nod, pulling her hand away. “I trust you.” Her lips pull into a small smile, tearing at my heart. It’s not a light thing she’s said, and the weight of it lifts me up.

  “Good. Get your knife and the bag.” I send her off on the errand while I get out another blank page and scribble a note for Pierce.

  It’s simple.

  Straight to the point.

  I don’t sign it. I doubt I need to.

  I leave the note on top of Cathy’s computer. I’m taking the one from the playhouse. There’s nothing on it they can’t access from the web, and once they start looking into the CDs and the list Todd made, they’ll find what they need.

  I glance once more at the note, hoping Pierce will see it.

  Find them all or pay.

  Twenty-Seven

  DOLLY

  “Are you okay, Ken?” I run my fingers through his hair, drawing him away from the computer screen. He’s been flipping through news websites all morning. When he turns to look at me, it’s with a heavy scowl.

  “I’m fine.”

  I trace his lips with my fingertip. “You don’t look fine. You look serious. And mad. Are you mad at me?”

  His brow wrinkles. “Should I be mad, Dolly? What were you doing all morning?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my waist and hauling me into his lap. “Were you being a good girl for me or were you digging around for things you shouldn’t have been?”

  He got us another hotel room on the fancy side of town. He says the cost is fine because it’s only for one day.

  “I read the book you gave me. But I’m done with it.” I lean into him, inhaling the musky smell of his cheek. He shaved after his shower this morning, and I love the scent.

  “You finished it already?” he asks with a bit of a laugh. I don’t blame him for being surprised. Television was a luxury I wasn’t afforded growing up. Seeing the world outside the bubble my parents created for me would have given me ideas of freedom. So, I read. Everything and anything. I devoured books like some kids binge potato chips.

  “It was an easy read,” I say. I don’t want to explain I learned to read quickly because I never knew if my father or mother would take it away before I finished. It would only serve to upset him, and I want his smile back.

  “Did you like it?” He rubs his hands across my back in a circular pattern. He’s as worried about my temperament as I am his.

  “I did.” I pull away from him and frame his face with my hands. “Did you find what you wanted?” I force him to notice the elephant waltzing around the room.

  He blows out a big breath. Pulling my hands away from his face, he nudges my attention to the computer.

  “Deputy Mayor is our next stop, but I don’t think this stops with him. I think there’s someone else in the game. Why would he take the last girl? And use the second house? Why bother with letting Bossman and Beardman have their fun next door?”

  “We’ll have to ask him.” I smile. Interrogating these assholes gives me more purpose than just ending their pathetic existence.

  “The cops should have been to Cathy’s house by now.” He breaks my good mood. “It could get more difficult to get to him tonight.”

  I push off his lap. “More difficult or impossible?” I ask.

  He raises his eyebrow at me, like that’s going to take the edge off my irritation. I want this done.

  “Difficult. I’m not saying we aren’t going. I’m only warning you it might not be as easy as getting into Cathy’s house.” He spins the chair around so he’s facing me.

  “Why get into his house? Why not follow him until we can grab him and take him somewhere we know we won’t be found?” It seems like everyone else is snatching up kids, women, doing whatever they want with them, why the hell can’t we?

  Ken considers it.

  “It would be better to go somewhere else. You said he has a daughter. A wife.” I pause a moment. “I don’t want them hurt.”

  “Okay. We’ll get him alone. Where should we take him?”

  “Do you remember where the warehouse is you and Cathy went to? When Beardman took you?”

  His brow wrinkles. He taps his finger against his lips. “Yeah, I think I do.”

  “That might be a good place, right? If they were able to use it to lure you in, it’s probably not used.”

  “We’ll go there first, check it out before we head to Romero’s house.”

  “You left everything behind at Cathy’s. When do we know if you can trust Pierce or not?” I hop onto the bed and pull my feet up, tucking them beneath me. I grabbed a pair of leggings when we got up to the room. I don’t think I’ll wear dresses anymore. Well…unless Ken wants me to. I like looking pretty for him.

  “Soon,” he says, then leans over to click the television on. “We’ll just watch for the news and we’ll find out.”

  “You trust the news? Don’t the police like to tell them what they can and can’t say?”

  He sighs. “That would be a hell of a lot easier, but no. Cops can’t completely control the news. If a journalist starts gnawing on a bone, we don’t have much power to stop them.”

  I tap my fingertips against my chin. “Do you miss it? Being a cop? Won’t you miss it?”

  He raises his brows, like he hasn’t truly considered the topic yet.

  “I don’t think they’ll let you go back to work,” I whisper when he keeps silent.

  “No.” He laughs. “I don’t think so either—and I don’t think I’ll miss it. Cops have rules they have to follow, there are boundaries they can’t cross.” He gets up from his chair and joins me on the bed. “I don’t have those ties on me now. I see something, and I can take care of it.”

  “Doesn’t that make us vigilantes? Aren’t vigilantes bad?”

  “Bad?” He scoffs at the notion. “We aren’t bad, Dolly. The people we’ve taken down are bad. Evil. The courts could have taken years to take care of them, and most of them would have been out on bail while it was all sorted. They wouldn’t have stopped.” He brushes hair from my face. “But we stopped them.”

  “We did.” I lean toward him, kissing his cheek. “Can we go check out the warehouse? Maybe we can set up early.”

  He laughs. “So eager.” He squeezes my knee. “Okay. We’ll check the news, get our stuff, and head to the warehouse as soon as the sun goes down.”

  A quick glance out the window tells me I won’t have to wait too long, so I don’t argue.

  He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer as the news flickers to life on the screen. If everything goes to plan, we will have taken out everyone who played a part in Ken’s abduction—his torture…and mine—tonight. Maybe not all of them—who knows how many people were involved during my life? Or how many more girls are out there, suffering the same way? Afraid and alone, wondering if there will be a day when it’s not like that. If there will be a day when they feel the warmth of the sun on their faces and have no chill creeping down their spine when someone calls their name.

  I snuggle into Ken’s chest, ignoring the blabbering anchor.

  “What’s wrong?” Ken asks, kissing the top of my head. He can be so gentle at times. It reminds me I’m not the warrior he is, but I won’t tell him that.
He says I’m just as strong as him, if not more, but he can’t be right.

  If I was stronger, I wouldn’t walk away from the rest of the girls out there. I would make plans to find them. I would save them. I would avenge them.

  “Nothing,” I lie, not wanting to have this conversation yet. He could walk away from me, from everyone, and facing that right now is too hard. So, like the coward I am, I stay away from it.

  * * *

  George Romero lives in the swankiest town I’ve ever seen. I grew up in a good, safe neighborhood…well, as far as appearances went. But this area…they have spared no expense for the safety of their citizens.

  We didn’t risk going through the front gates of the community, finding a spot down the street where we could see the cars coming and going. The deputy mayor is at home right now. Probably snuggled up with a brandy and a cigar. Searching the web for something depraved and sick to get his cock hard.

  “There’s his car.” Ken turns down the radio and leans forward over the wheel of the truck.

  “That’s a girl driving,” I say, squinting to see better.

  “Fuck.” Ken throws the truck into gear and rolls out onto the street.

  “What is it?” I ask after we’ve passed the gates.

  “His fucking daughter is driving him.” He rakes a hand through his hair. This is a problem. I do not want her hurt. She’s an innocent, and I won’t be part of that.

  “Do we turn back then?” I don’t want to wait any longer, but we might not have a chance tonight.

  “No.” He turns at the next intersection, following three cars behind the black Lincoln. “We’ll see where she’s taking him. Maybe she’s just dropping him somewhere.”

  That could make things easier for us. I pick up the hem of my dress and play with the lace edging.

  “You sure you don’t want to change?” Ken asks when he notices my fidgeting. It’s the dress from the playroom. The one I had to wear for them, to give me the little girl appearance they wanted so badly. I’ve even braided my hair into two braids—just like Dragonmate liked. I didn’t have ribbon for the ends, but he’ll have to forgive me.