by PJ Fernor
“Let’s just call the guy Jerry,” Ben said. “That’s how we know him. We can’t paint him into something different. We have to stick to the truth.” Ben turned his head for a second. “I’m sorry about that, Allie.”
I nodded. “Right. You’re right. Jerry. He was a secret gambler. Not a very good one. He ended up in some debt and couldn’t pay it. Whoever was after him, they were known for taking fingers, toes, eyes, a limb to pay back debts.”
“Sounds rough,” Ben said.
“And I guess they’re known for trafficking,” I said. I swallowed hard. “Some of these parts don’t match up as much as I’d like. Anyway, so he was in some gambling debt and instead of having a limb cut off, he gets into trafficking.” I touched my lips. “Oh, Ben, he’s the one who’s… it has to be it. It’s him. It’s Jerry…”
“Finish the article,” Ben said. “Let me hear it all.”
“There was rumors about him and students for a long time,” I said. “The college did nothing about it. There was never any proof. I’m getting away from the article here, it has to be his personality. The man is smooth, handsome, and can get away with anything. I fell for it too.”
I glanced at Ben and saw the way his jaw tightened.
It bothered him that Jerry was so handsome.
Ben was too. Believe me, Ben was absolutely handsome. In a rugged, cop way…
This doesn’t matter.
I blinked fast. “So the student he got into trouble with, Megan Bordain, she was a psychology student. Oh… Ben… Jerry taught philosophy but had degrees in psychology. That’s why he wasn’t hurt or killed. Whoever he was in debt to knew about his psychology degrees. They knew he was good looking. They knew he could lure anyone… I’m going to throw up.”
“Are you being serious?” Ben asked. “I’ll pull over.”
I put my hand out and took a deep breath.
The feeling subsided.
“I think I’m okay now. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry for anything,” Ben said.
“When the college confronted Jerry and Megan, they took off together. Never to be seen again. They claimed they were in love and they were willing to give everything up for that love. Megan’s parents never saw their daughter again. There was an investigation opened but nothing came of it. She went with Jerry willingly. And if he changed his name… she probably changed hers…”
“This is as deep as you said it could be,” Ben said.
“I think it goes deeper,” I said. “Jerry is the tip of the iceberg, Ben. He’s just an errand boy. A sick one, yes, but there’s bigger fish to catch.”
“We have to talk to Laura,” Ben said.
“I agree. But we have to do something before that.”
“What?” Ben asked.
He looked at me and I blinked fast.
“I have to get home and see Lo… I have to know she’s okay.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Ben drove fast.
I called Miss Kesslier’s phone and she didn’t answer.
That made my heart jump into my throat.
I called two more times.
Both calls went to voicemail.
I held my phone out in front of me and started to shake it.
“Why isn’t she answering?” I asked.
“You talked to Lo,” Ben said. “I’m driving as fast as I can.”
“Drive faster, Ben,” I said.
He didn’t argue.
Not only did he drive faster, but he put on the lights.
Anyone near us quickly moved to the side of the road, giving him the chance to drive as fast I needed him to go.
The situation just didn’t sit right with me.
I needed to see Lo. I needed to hug her.
She had no idea the whirlwind that was coming yet again.
Another person who lied to her. Another person who convinced her into believing they were good and helping.
“Why, Ben?” I asked. “Why did he have to settle here? Why did I have to choose him to take Lo to? How does this keep happening to my niece? Hasn’t she been through enough yet?”
“I wish I could answer all those questions, Allie,” Ben said. “Right now, I just want to find this guy and put him in handcuffs.”
“And I want to get all those girls off the street from under the bridge,” I said. “I want someone to talk to Preens and push at him…” I looked at Ben. “I know who I can call for that.”
“Then do it,” Ben said.
I called Johnny Barby.
He always answered when I called.
“Is this a personal favor or a business favor?” he asked as he took the call.
“Johnny, I think we broke it open finally,” I said.
“Talk to me.”
“There was a professor at a nearby college who was kicked out, along with a student for having a thing together. There was a different student who was attacked and almost sold to someone.”
“Sold?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah. Let that word sink in. I think that professor was the guy who attacked the student. But when he left, he just vanished. So did the student he was having a fling with. Her parents never saw her again.”
“That’s not good.”
“It gets worse,” I said. “There was an article written about that professor. Claiming that he had gambling debt. That he was paying off that debt by kidnapping young woman and girls to be sold. Now this off beat publication also has articles about aliens on campus. Has some really out there conspiracy theories. But this… I think it all fits, Johnny. Those young women under the bridge. Nikki dead in town. That professor goes under a different name and I know him.”
“You know him?” Johnny asked. “How do you… oh. It’s that kind of thing?”
My face became warm. “I’m not getting into that part of it. I’m trying to get home to check on Lo before we go after him. I want to make sure everything is in order and everyone is safe. But listen to me. I need you to go after Preens again. I don’t know if this thing goes that deep…”
“You mean Preens being involved?”
“Yeah. I know it’s risky to accuse someone of that…”
“I’ll dance around it,” Johnny said. “Sure thing. What else can I do?”
“Keep your phone on. This is going to move fast.”
“I’m ready to go, Allie,” Johnny said. “I’ll find Preens right now. I’ll put him in a corner and make him cry. Just for you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I ended the call.
I looked at Ben again.
“He’s going to go after Preens,” I said.
“He’ll do anything for you,” Ben said.
I opened my mouth to respond but stopped myself.
Now wasn’t the time to talk about the past.
“We need to make sure we do this right,” I said. “I want all those young women rounded up. It’s time they start talking. It’s time we show them a picture of Jerry and get them to cave. We can help them. I want everything pulled from the deaths. From Chelsea’s death. Annie’s death. Martha’s death. We know what we know about Nikki’s death. That was a murder. The others were set up to look like overdoses. I don’t believe those were overdoses for a second.”
“That can be hard to prove, but I agree,” Ben said.
“Worst case, we get everything lined up and when we get Jerry, we get him to confess.”
“You think he will?”
“We’re going to take his freedom away,” I said. “Everything he’s worked for is going to be gone. He’s going to be exposed.”
“What about the people he owed money to? You already said this was going to be the tip of the iceberg.”
“Then it’s time for Jerry to realize who’s in charge now,” I said. “Me. He wants some kind of protection? He’ll tell us everything. What he did. Why he did it. Who he did it to. I want names, dates, locations, everything.”
Ben nodded.
He drove faster
than ever.
We made it back to Sandemor in record time.
Ben parked the car and I jumped out.
Call it motherly instinct or just good old fashioned detective intuition, but I felt like something was wrong.
I hurried to the apartment and opened the door to find Miss Kesslier standing with a tray of cookies in her hand.
“Allie,” she said. “You’re back.”
“Where’s your phone?” I asked.
“My… oh, shoot,” Miss Kesslier said. She put the cookie tray down on some oven mitts on the dining room table. “You know what? I forgot it in my apartment. I ran over there to get the chocolate chips. I wanted to surprise you with some cookies. Well, you and Lo. I figured you’d both need them after today.”
“Yeah, well, it’s been a day and a half so far,” I said as I walked toward the hallway. “I just need to tell Lo something and then I have to go-”
“Lo’s not in her bedroom,” Miss Kesslier said.
I froze and looked at her. “What?”
“Why would she be in there?” Miss Kesslier said. “She was with you.”
“With me? Lo’s not… wait a second. Lo isn’t here?”
“No,” Miss Kesslier said. “She told me you were out front waiting for her. For her appointment. That’s why I’m making cookies. I knew today was going to be a rough one. After what happened with her friend and all.”
“Lo isn’t with me,” I said. “Lo was never supposed to be with me. She was supposed to be right here. All day. She wasn’t supposed to leave.”
Miss Kesslier’s face turned white. “Oh no. What did I do…”
“Lo told you she was leaving? She said it in person?”
“Well, she sent me a text message,” Miss Kesslier said. “I ran over to my apartment…”
I looked to my left and saw Ben as he entered the apartment.
My eyes filled with tears.
“Allie, what’s wrong?” Ben asked as he ran toward me.
I managed to speak three words…
“He took Lo.”
Chapter Sixty-Nine
The Other Place
Lo opens her eyes and quickly shuts them.
She tells herself this is a dream. No. This is a nightmare.
This is not possible. This is not happening.
She’s been taught that there’s some really powerful stuff to thinking things out. There’s a way to manifest your entire life if you do it the right way.
So she plans on manifesting her way out of this bad dream.
Because that’s all it is.
It’s literally impossible for this to be anything but that.
She hears crying.
A silent crying.
It makes her feel sick.
She knows what happens if anyone cries loudly.
She’s tried to do that and he kicks the cage.
The cage.
She tells herself the cage isn’t real.
It’s just part of the dream.
Slowly, using her right hand, Lo reaches just a few inches.
When she touches the thin, metal of the cage, she feels even sicker.
It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.
The problem is that the cage is very real.
She’s been in the cage for a little while now… hours… days…
No. Not days. Just hours.
That’s all.
Just hours.
But still… those hours have been…
Lo takes a breath and knows she can’t cry.
If she cries, he’ll come in and kick the cage.
Dr. Jerry.
He’s the one who put her in the cage.
He tricked her into coming with him.
Lo literally left with him…
Her stomach hurts and she rolls to her face.
She opens her mouth and wants to scream.
Instead, she opens her eyes.
As she lifts her head and looks around, she knows it’s not a dream. It’s not a bad dream. It’s not a nightmare. It’s all real.
The room looks like a normal sized bedroom.
There’s a handful of cages.
It looks like maybe two of the cages are empty.
The rest have a girl in each one.
One girl per cage.
And one for Lo.
This is real.
This is reality now.
She slowly sits up.
Her head hurts from crying. From screaming.
It hurts from computing what’s actually going on…
‘Lo, it’s Dr. Jerry. How are you?’
‘Good. How are you?’
‘Forgive me for calling like this. I’m kind of stuck between doctor and friend right now. Allie - er, your aunt - called me. She’s about an hour away. Maybe more. She’s working on her case. She wanted me to see if you were okay. Is that okay if I ask you that over the phone?’
‘Sure. I don’t mind. Um… I’m okay. I guess.’
‘You know, the words ‘I guess’ have a true meaning. It usually means nothing is okay.’
‘You kind of know what’s going on.’
‘I do. I was hoping to talk more. Your aunt wanted me to come by later and talk. She’s not going to be home though. This case has her working very hard. You’re lucky to have her in your life, Lo.’
‘I know.’
‘She told me to come by now. To talk to you. I told her I didn’t feel right about that. I don’t think it’s appropriate to be there without Allie there. I mean, your aunt. I know your neighbor is there. She’s a sweetheart. Still…’
‘You can come over. If Allie said it was okay.’
‘You know what, Lo? Would it be possible for us to go my office? That’s a more neutral setting for both of us.’
‘I can ask Miss Kesslier to drive me.’
‘I’ll come pick you up. Just tell Miss Kesslier that Allie is waiting for you. I don’t want to trouble her, you know? Your aunt it stressed, Lo. I’m really worried about her. I’m hoping we can spend time together today and surprise her later. I’m thinking we get her favorite dinner for her. My treat. Can you help me?’
‘Sure. But, uh, Miss Kesslier… she knows…’
‘I’m sure she does. Forgive me, Lo, but I don’t want to worry her. Just tell her Allie is making sure you get to your appointment. Okay? That’s all that matters.’
‘Okay.’
Lo can hear the words now and how horrible they really were.
Dr. Jerry had been masterful at confusing her.
Lo had lied to Miss Kesslier. She went back to her apartment because she wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies.
Lo thinks about those cookies right now and her eyes fill with tears.
She wishes she was eating one of those cookies and listening to one of Miss Kesslier’s stories.
Instead, she’s in a cage…
A tear rolls down her cheek.
She thinks about getting into Dr. Jerry’s car.
The smell of him. The smell of the car.
How happy he was.
And the second he turned down a road Lo didn’t know, he showed her a gun.
Lo closes her eyes.
I’m such an idiot. I’m going to die because of this.
The door to the room slowly opens.
Light floods the room, but only for a second.
A figure walks toward the cage.
Then a small flashlight turns on.
Lo looks up and sees Steph.
“Why?” Lo whispers. “Why, Steph? Why?”
“My name isn’t Steph,” she says. “I told you that already. We’re going to be sisters, Lo. You and me. You’re going to get a new name. You’re going to live here with me. You’re not like the others. You won’t get hurt. I promise.”
“I hate you,” Lo says. “I hate you so much.”
“Lo hates me. But you don’t.”
The light turns off and Steph (or whoever she really is) leaves the roo
m.
Lo takes a deep breath.
She opens her mouth and wants to scream but she feels dizzy.
She smells the air… it’s pee and something harsh.
Something feels wrong.
Really wrong.
There’s something about the room…
Lo inches back down to the floor of the cage and shuts her eyes.
She’s living in a nightmare.
Maybe she can fall asleep and have a good dream.
Chapter Seventy
I drove as fast as I could.
If Ben thought for one second I was going to actually meet him at the station, he was out of his mind.
His plan was to get to Laura and get everything moving forward as fast as possible. Lay out all the information. Call county. Call the state for help. Go as far as he possibly could, since a detective’s niece was now missing.
And while that all sounded like a decent enough plan, it wasn’t good enough for me.
Miss Kesslier was beside herself, weeping, blaming herself for Lo going missing.
There was a part of me that wanted to blame her too, but it wasn’t her fault at all.
It was Jerry’s fault.
Gerard’s fault.
Whoever this guy was.
This was what he did and why so many fell for his trap.
He was good looking, calm and kind. Everything about his personality was soothing. His ability to lure someone with patience was uncanny.
It worked on me.
Right?
I had to send Miss Kesslier back to her apartment.
Ben called an officer on duty to come sit with her while we were gone.
He offered to bring people in and look around the apartment, but there was no need for that.
Jerry had lured Lo out of the apartment and he had taken her.
I told Ben I was going to meet him at the station. I wanted to drive my own car, in case we ended splitting up… it all made sense as I yelled it to him as I got into my car.
We made it halfway down the street before I purposely slowed and let Ben get way ahead of me. Then I let two cars get between us.
Then I made my move.
I knew exactly where to go and what to do next.
When I pulled up to the building where Jerry’s apartment was, my heart climbed up into the back of my throat.