by David Bell
“One bracelet doesn’t prove anything,” Bill said. “Summer went to Adam’s house sometimes. We were friends. Maybe it fell off there sometime. . . .”
“I found this at the bottom of his bedroom drawer. Why would he have it there? A souvenir?”
Bill sputtered. “I don’t know.”
“And then why was he going through Summer’s bedroom drawers? Why was he taking things from your house? Like the bear and some clothes? It sounds to me like he knew where she was. Maybe he was taking those things to her, wherever she is. Or else he was just obsessed with her. Either way, it isn’t good, is it?”
CHAPTER EIGHTY
The sun was starting to rise, the bright rays reflecting off the windows of the hospital so that the building gleamed. Bill parked and eased out of the car. His head still ached. His ankles were sore from where Doug Hammond had bound him. He felt as if he’d been through a war. Not just out in the woods the night before, but during the days of Summer’s being gone. He felt an emotional and physical toll that slowly wore down every cell in his body, weakening them, battering them. What would he have left when it was all over?
If it was ever over.
He went through the automatic doors, carrying the bracelet Doug Hammond had given him. True to his word, Hammond let him go, cutting the ropes that held his feet. And then Hammond disappeared into the woods, heading in the direction of the river, the same direction he’d traveled the day Bill fought with him.
He knew Bill wouldn’t follow. He knew Bill would go and do exactly what Bill was doing.
“Sir?”
Bill walked toward the elevators. He didn’t realize anyone was talking to him.
The nurse called out to him two more times before he stopped.
“Sir? Are you okay?”
Bill stared at the woman for a moment, not sure what she wanted.
“Sir? You have blood on the back of your head and your jacket. Are you injured? Were you looking for the emergency room?”
“Oh.” Bill reached up with one hand and touched the back of his head. It felt tender, the pain still throbbing with every beat of his heart. But he didn’t care. “I’m good.”
The nurse looked puzzled. And a little scared. He could see she was trying to figure out what to do about him. Bill used her moment of uncertainty to his advantage. He jabbed the elevator button a few times, and when the doors slid open, he stepped inside.
The nurse raised her hand as though she wanted to say something else to Bill, to stop him from going on.
But Bill just thanked her and hit the button for the correct floor.
The door to Haley’s room was closed. A lone security guard stood outside. No sign of Rich or Pastor Caleb. One nurse gave Bill a quick glance as he walked by, but she put her head down and continued with her work.
“Sir, are you a family member?” the guard asked.
“I am. Kind of. You’ve seen me here before, right?”
“You need to leave now,” the guard said. He was a young guy, in his twenties, but his face looked soft and doughy like he was an overgrown toddler. “Only immediate family. You need the family’s permission or the permission of the police now. The family is insisting today.”
“That’s just it,” Bill said. “The police are on their way. Detective Hawkins. You know him, right?”
“Sir, if you could wait—”
Bill brushed past the guard and gently pushed the door open. The room was muffled and dark. The curtains were closed against the rising sun. In a recliner across the room, Candy slept, covered by a blanket. Her mouth hung open, and her breath came easy and regular. She didn’t stir as Bill came in. No doubt Haley had been hassled by countless nurses and technicians and cops. People drawing blood, people asking questions.
Haley slept with her mouth slightly open as well, making her appear to be the younger double of her mother. Her face was still slightly discolored and swollen, but it was a far cry from what it had looked like when she’d first been brought to the hospital more than a week ago. A monitor tracked her heart rate through a clip attached to the end of her index finger.
Bill moved alongside the bed. His right hand fingered the object in his pocket, and for a brief moment, he wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. He needed to wake the girl up. He needed to hear from her.
And he knew that as soon as he did, the clock would start to tick. It would only be a matter of time before Candy had him kicked out.
Bill decided to act and act fast.
“Haley?” He started out just above a whisper. When the girl didn’t budge, he said in a louder voice, “Haley?”
The girl rolled her head to one side, moving in the direction of his voice. Bill cut his glance at Candy, who hadn’t stirred. Haley’s eyes slowly came open, as if she was expecting to see someone from the hospital standing there. When she saw Bill, she jumped a little, her body jerking as she moved away from him.
Bill raised his hand. “It’s okay. It’s Bill Price. I need to talk to you.”
Then the guard came through the door, walking with a shuffling gait. “Sir? I called the police.”
“Good,” Bill said. “I told you they’re on their way.”
Haley looked at the guard and then at Bill, starting at the top of his head. Judging by the look on her face, she’d seen blood there. He knew his face and clothes were dirty from being on the ground in the woods. He looked like a crazy man.
“Where’s my mom?” Haley asked.
Bill nodded across the room. “She’s there. But she’s still asleep.”
“Mom? Mom, can you hear me?”
“Wait—”
“Sir?” the guard said. “You need to leave this room.”
“Shhh,” Bill said.
Candy stirred. With the highly developed alertness of a mother, she sprang from the seat, throwing the blanket aside and opening her eyes, ready for anything. When she saw Bill, her mouth fell open, and a flush of color rose in her cheeks. She looked disbelieving. She couldn’t seem to comprehend the audacity of his coming back to the room.
“Get out,” she said, each word like a driven nail.
“Candy, just listen.”
“Get out.” She looked at the doughy-faced kid in the neatly pressed uniform. “Are you going to do something? Are you?”
“I called the police, ma’am.”
“That’s it?”
“Candy, I just need a minute,” Bill said. “I found something out. And Hawkins is coming. He should be here soon. Very soon.”
“Bill, you’ve lost it,” Candy said. “This is all too much for you, and you’ve lost it. Now get out.”
“I want Hawkins to hear all of this,” Bill said. “We need him to. It’s time.” Bill turned to Haley, who sat in the bed, her eyes wide and a look of fear on her face. “It’s time to hear from Haley what she knows about Adam Fleetwood and what he had to do with taking Summer.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
Candy came closer to the bed. She moved her eyes between Bill and her daughter, her face uncertain.
“What is this?” she asked, and it wasn’t clear whether she was directing the question at Bill or Haley.
Haley didn’t say anything. She looked like she wanted to jump out the window.
Bill stared at the girl. “I don’t know if she can’t remember everything that happened that day yet, or if she doesn’t want to tell us, but we need to know for sure. If Summer’s still alive . . . there isn’t much time.”
Candy’s voice became insistent. “Leave her alone. You’ve already been in here harassing her once. What kind of bully are you, coming in here and badgering a young girl who’s been through a trauma? Are you a monster?”
“I’m not sure,” Bill said.
“And are you really asking about your neighbor?” Candy asked. “The one they’re saying was murde
red?”
“Yes. Him.”
Candy came around the foot of the bed. She sidled up next to Bill and placed her arm around his back, pulling him closer to her body so they stood only inches apart. She smelled like sleep, her clothes in need of a good washing. “I know how hard this is for you, Bill. I’ve been through it. Remember, I went through days when I thought my baby was dead. I get it.”
“I know.”
“I think at some point we have to . . . I don’t know, have the grace and wisdom to accept what is happening to us. To know there are things beyond our control, and those things are in the hands of something bigger than all of us. Like when Julia died. You had to learn to accept that because it was beyond you.” She rubbed Bill’s back, a gentle, rhythmic motion. “Someone beat those girls. Beat them until one of them died, and, by the grace of God, Haley lived. I fear . . . I just don’t know what happened to Summer. But I think we have to be ready for the worst.”
Bill pulled away from her grip. “I’m not there yet, Candy. And I’m not planning on getting there any time soon.”
Candy looked hurt by Bill’s sudden jerking away from her, like he’d slapped her. She shrugged, adjusting the sweater she wore, and returned to the other side of the bed. As she went she said, “You don’t have to listen to this, honey. You don’t have to be bullied here in your hospital bed.” She turned to the guard again. “Do they pay you just to stand around?”
The kid looked confused. “My boss told me to call the police if there was real trouble. This looks like real trouble to me.”
“Adam Fleetwood,” Bill said to Haley, ignoring her mom. “I know you know him. He was my neighbor. He’s the one who hurt you. Who hurt Summer. Right?”
Candy held out her hand. “No, you don’t have to say anything. Just because there’s a crazy man in our room, bothering you.”
“Adam Fleetwood,” Bill said again.
Candy waved her hand in the air over Haley’s bed. “No. You do not have to talk to him.”
Something about the way Candy spoke struck Bill. He turned his attention away from Haley and toward her mother. He leaned over Haley’s bed, moving closer to Candy. “Do you know about this? Have you talked about it?”
“This is family business,” Candy said. “Private.”
“Private?”
“Mom,” Haley said. “Mom!”
Her voice froze the adults in the room. They stopped arguing and looked down at the girl in the bed. Her eyes were full of tears, but her chin jutted out. She looked determined.
“I’m going to tell him, Mom. I’m going to tell him all of it.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
“Tell me,” Bill said. “Tell me now.”
Before Haley could say anything, while she still sat there with her eyes wide and her lip quivering, Detective Hawkins came into the room. Hawkins was dressed in a suit and tie, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days. He came through the door with his body alert, his hands hanging loose at his sides as though he expected to be attacked. It took him a moment to absorb the scene—Bill and Candy on either side of Haley’s bed. Haley with her eyes wide and on the brink of tears. The security guard stood next to Bill, his face visibly relieved at the presence of the detective.
Candy said, “Detective, he’s harassing my daughter.”
“He forced his way past me,” the guard said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“She knows something, Detective. It’s Adam Fleetwood. I found Hammond out in the park. He told me he killed Fleetwood, and he told me everything else.”
Hawkins looked at the top of Bill’s head, then trailed his eyes down his back. “You’re bleeding,” he said, his voice flat.
“I’m fine.” Bill reached into his pocket and brought out the object he found on the woman’s arm in the woods. The plain silver bracelet Julia bought for Summer on her thirteenth birthday. “This was deep in a drawer in Adam Fleetwood’s house. Hammond found it after he killed Adam. He went through Adam’s house, looking for money or a gun, anything he could sell. Fleetwood’s gun was gone, wasn’t it?”
“We didn’t find it.”
“Hammond took it. He probably pawned it.” Bill held the bracelet in the air. “But look at this. Isn’t this Summer’s, Haley?”
He handed it over to the detective. Hawkins studied the bracelet by holding it at arm’s length. “Is it hers, Haley?” he asked.
“I don’t know why you have that,” she said.
Hawkins turned the bracelet over as though examining a fine diamond. “Sure, it has Summer’s name engraved on it. But how do you know Hammond got it from Fleetwood? He could have just said that.”
“She never took it off,” Bill said. “Once Julia died, she never took it off. Right, Haley? Did she ever let you wear it?”
Haley shook her head. “Never. She always wore it.”
“Why would it be in Adam’s house?” Bill asked. “Was Summer involved with Adam in some way? Did she spend time over there?”
Candy was shaking her head. “No. No. You’re going to twist this all around. It’s going to be made to look like Haley committed a crime when the real criminal is the man who did these things.”
“Mom.”
“It’s true.” She was shaking her head still, her arms wrapped tight around her body. “What are you going to do, Detective? Have a field day with this story? Spread it all over the media? It will only reflect badly on my daughter.”
“And on you, maybe?” Bill asked.
Candy opened her mouth. “What are you implying?”
“If Adam took Summer and hurt Haley and did all of this, then there has to be a reason,” Bill said. “It’s time we knew the reason.”
“She doesn’t remember all of it yet,” Candy said. She moved closer to the bed, reaching out with one hand and gently stroking Haley’s arm. “It takes time. Little pieces have been coming back to her. Like a dream she can only remember a little at a time. Right, honey? And when it was time . . . when everything was right, I thought Haley could tell. But she has to get well first. She’s been through something awful. We all have.”
“She has to tell it now,” Hawkins said. He turned and told the security guard to stand outside the door of Haley’s room. “Don’t let anyone in.”
When the guard was gone and the door swung shut, Haley took her mom’s hand. She licked her still-cracked lips and offered a forced smile. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s time to get it out.” Then she turned and looked at Bill. “I think I remember what happened that day. Most of the big pieces of it.” She swallowed and wiped a tear away. “I’m just afraid of what it will make me look like. I know the whole town . . . the whole world is going to know.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
“Tell us now,” Bill said.
Hawkins held his hand out toward Bill, a gesture that said, Calm down. Easy.
Bill swallowed hard, biting back on his anger. He knew Hawkins was right. He knew he had to restrain himself. Even if it felt like it was killing him.
Haley’s chin quivered. Then she let out a long sigh before she spoke. “We were messing around. Adam and me. We did it for about six weeks, but it ended about two weeks before . . . before everything went wrong.” She looked at Bill. “I came over to your house once, to meet Summer, but nobody was home. I texted her, and she was out. She forgot I was coming over or something.” She looked down at her hands, which were folded on top of the bedclothes. She took in the plastic hospital bracelet around her wrist and the healing scratches and bruises on her hands from where she fought back. “I waited on your back porch because it was kind of warm out, and he came over and started talking to me. Eventually he asked me if I wanted to wait in his house. It started then.”
Bill lifted his eyes and looked at Candy. She was looking away, a vein pulsing in her neck, her jaw set hard. He understood. He wouldn’t have wanted t
o hear it either. He feared he might be in the same position soon enough.
“Why did the relationship end right before the attack?” Hawkins asked.
Haley said, “I got the feeling the whole time he and I were . . . dating or whatever that he really wasn’t that into me. Not as much as I wanted him to be.” She looked up at the detective, her eyes shiny. “He talked about Summer more than about me. More than anyone else, just about. I think he wished he were with her and not with me, that she had been the girl he had started something with.”
“Did he say that to you?” Hawkins asked.
“No, but he just . . . Well, you can tell when a guy is really into someone else. Right?”
“So what happened the day Adam attacked you?” Hawkins asked.
Haley’s face froze. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyebrows raised. “He didn’t attack us. Not me. Adam didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Who did, then?” Hawkins asked. “Have you remembered more?”
Haley closed her eyes. She reached up, the hospital bracelet sliding on her wrist, and placed her hand on her forehead as though something ached. She rubbed, the tips of her fingers pressing against the skin and moving it around.
“Do you know?” Bill asked.
“Give her a minute,” Candy said, her voice a harsh whisper.
“We were going to see Clinton and Todd that day. We were going just to hang out with them.” She winced as she seemed to be remembering something. “It was just supposed to be a normal day. Just hanging out. Drinking, for sure. I don’t know.”