MAD AS BELL

by Jeremy Waldron

Helton sighed. “Eva, darling, I’m not saying Carr is guilty of those crimes, but he’s certainly shown he’s capable. I don’t want that to be you. That’s all.”

  Eva laced her fingers on her lap and stared at her unopened soda can. Sweeping her gaze to the left, a deck of cards was stacked next to Owen Daniels’s business card. Turning her head, she locked eyes with Helton and asked, “Why do you care?”

  “I’ve seen what can happen to someone when they don’t get out before it’s too late.” Helton’s expression softened as he stood. “I have something for you.”

  Eva watched Helton disappear into the back and return with a gift.

  “Happy birthday,” he said.

  Eva accepted the gift and noticed for the first time Helton’s injured hand wrapped in gauze.

  “I wanted to give it to you sooner,” he said. “But you weren’t home.”

  “What happened to your hand?” she asked.

  “Cooking accident,” Helton said, holding up his wrapped hand.

  The sounds of knocking vibrated the walls, making them both pause and turn their attention to the front door. They heard it again, and Eva knew it was coming from her place. Next, her cellphone vibrated in her pocket. She stood and Helton caught her arm.

  “Let me,” he said.

  Eva snapped her elbow and hurried to the door. Peering with one eye through the peephole, she couldn’t see anything but knew it had to be him.

  “Eva, it could be him,” Helton said behind her.

  Suddenly, Archie passed in front of the door and Eva’s eyes bulged.

  “Shit,” she said, dropping down on her heels. It seemed everyone was after her with nowhere to go. Having to hide from one person was hard enough, but escaping from two was near impossible.

  Helton surprised her by placing his hands on her shoulders.

  “Get the fuck off me,” she screamed.

  Helton stepped back, showing his palms.

  Eva’s body quivered and she began to cry. “I was kidnapped. That’s why I wasn’t around. And now I don’t know who to trust.”

  “You can trust me, Eva,” Helton said softly as he took one step forward. “Say it. I trust you…”

  Tears leaked from her eyes as the sounds of sirens grew louder by the second. Eva locked eyes with Helton and, when she saw a glimmer of empathy light up his eye, she murmured, “I trust you.”

  Chapter Ninety-Seven

  Susan turned her back on Heidi and smiled. Standing straight as an arrow, she rang Bennett’s doorbell, finding confidence in Allison’s plan. She was aware Heidi was staring, along with another dozen sets of eyes, wondering if Bennett would open his door.

  When no one answered, Susan turned and glanced toward the street. Heidi turned her head, pretended to not be staring, and went back to work loading up her van, packing up as if the story here was finished. Susan flicked her gaze to the other reporters and was happy to see them following Heidi’s lead. Mumbling a few choice words beneath her breath, she discreetly reached for the doorknob.

  Locked. Darn.

  The plan only worked if she was let inside, and Allison assured her Bennett knew she was coming. What else did he know and could Susan be sure she could get Naomi out of the house without any further scrutiny?

  She leaned into the door and quietly called for Naomi. “It’s Susan. Please let me inside.”

  Susan listened to footsteps lightly pad their way to the door, then, a second later, the lock clicked over and the door cracked open. A voice from behind the door told her to come inside.

  Susan entered the house and the door quickly shut and latched behind her. Bennett barely looked at her when wagging his head, motioning her to follow him to the living room. Susan followed, moving through the dark house, and smiled when seeing Naomi sitting with her knees pulled to her chest on the sofa chair near the TV.

  Naomi jumped to her feet and ran over to her. When Susan wrapped her up in a tight squeeze, the world around her disappeared and she knew everything would be all right.

  “Thank god you’re here,” Naomi said.

  Susan tucked her chin and took Naomi by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You were supposed to stay home and wait for your mother.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I just needed someone to talk to. I didn’t know this would happen.”

  “No one could have predicted this.”

  Susan glanced to Bennett and watched as he lowered himself onto the couch. He rubbed his temples as if warding off an excruciating headache. His eyes were puffy and stressed; he looked like a man heading toward an awful fate.

  “My mom is going to kill me,” Naomi said in a tone that only a teen could muster. Susan realized Naomi had no idea what the world was going to make of her now that Heidi brought her reputation into question.

  Susan brought her eyes to Naomi’s and said, “Your mother can’t wait to have you home.”

  “Then she hasn’t seen the photo that reporter is going to share.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I took care of it.”

  “You did?”

  That got Bennett’s attention, too. He lifted his head and stared with bright, hopeful eyes.

  Susan asked him, “Does the name Owen Daniels mean anything to you?”

  “No. Who is he?”

  Susan told him.

  Bennett said, “Go figure. But why are they doing this to us?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  Bennett’s cellphone kept ringing. He said, “It’s Principal Wair. I can’t answer it. I know I’m going to get suspended unless I can somehow prove these allegations are wrong.”

  “There might be a way.”

  Bennett’s body tipped forward.

  “Allison hasn’t told you her plan, has she?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “Well, it’s one we can all believe in. In the meantime, I’m not convinced it’s so much about you as it is about someone wanting to create a diversion to what’s really happened to Megan and Jenny.”

  “Tell her what you told me,” Bennett said, snapping his fingers at Naomi.

  Naomi stepped forward. “I think Jenny might be with our teacher, Scott Helton.”

  When Susan asked her why she thought that, Naomi mentioned Jenny’s obsession with him, how she was always talking about his sex life and she was dreaming about him.

  “We saw him the night she disappeared. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. All Jenny could talk about was how much she wanted to sleep with him.”

  Susan now understood why Allison wanted to hack into Jenny’s student email account. When she heard a van door slam shut and an engine rumble to a start, she hurried to the window, peeked behind the curtain, and glanced to the street. The crowd was dispersing.

  Flicking her gaze to Bennett, she said, “We don’t have a lot of time, but I’m going to get both of you out of here before the real crowds with pitch forks arrive.”

  Chapter Ninety-Eight

  As I watched King put Bowers into the back of a squad car after failing his roadside sobriety test, I kept thinking about what Archie said on our ride here. Something about it didn’t sit right with me. I tried to understand how the police knew about Bowers, but not a single officer would say.

  King slammed the car door shut and kept his distance. He was giving me the cold shoulder, and I wondered if my critique of the mayor had finally come down on him. It wasn’t my intention, but it wasn’t like our relationship was a secret, either. As much as I wanted to talk to him, hold his hand and make sure we were all right, I kept my eyes on the prize.

  Patrol had diverted traffic to the next street over, and I kept waiting for Heidi Mitchell to show. There were two news vans on the scene already, but I assumed she was stuck on the idea of breaking Bennett’s story wide open.

  “Show’s over,” I heard an officer say. “Time to go home, people.”

  I stared at Bowers, thinking the show was far from being over. He was slum
ped in the backseat with his head hanging low. He looked disheveled, had the appearance of a complete amateur. Archie had to be right about him. He couldn’t be the true Woman Collector. Only a copycat. The real perp was someone these women trusted, and it wasn’t Bowers.

  “There is something sweet about watching the police make an arrest,” Erin said as I glanced up to Eva’s apartment window.

  “She lied to us about Stark.” I lowered my gaze and stared into my friend’s curious eyes. “Why?”

  “I wouldn’t be here if I knew,” Erin said. “But with Bowers in custody, I think she’s safe.”

  “At least from him,” I said, tipping my head back and peering once again into Eva’s apartment window, wondering if she was up there looking down at us.

  I hoped Erin was right, but what was Eva hiding if her abduction was real? I couldn’t let that go; the secrets. I didn’t care if Eva lied or what her intention was. I just needed to know the truth so I could go to sleep at night knowing I’d done everything I could to protect a woman I cared for.

  “Remember, Sam, this is what she wanted.”

  I knew Erin was right. But we didn’t just give up. Not on ourselves, and not on anyone else. So why were my thoughts turning to Jenny and Naomi and the spectacle that played out at Mr. Bennett’s house earlier?

  When I heard hands clapping, I turned on a heel and watched a few officers reach their arms inside the window of a black SUV with tinted windows, shaking the hand of Police Chief Gordon Watts. Everyone was celebrating like they caught their guy. It felt over.

  “How could they be celebrating with Jenny still missing?” Erin asked.

  “They must know something we don’t,” I said.

  No official charges against Bowers had been announced. I knew he’d get taken in and questioned and possibly thrown into the tank to sober up if he was lucky. But our answer came when Erin spotted King cornering Archie one hundred yards to our left.

  “He’s not going to arrest him, is he?”

  I shared a quick glance with Erin before we ran to Archie’s defense. King looked angry, and Archie was barking back at whatever King was saying. It had to be about Archie’s book and how I thought he might be behind these crimes. Now, as I ran, I regretted sharing my wild assumption with King.

  When King raised a fist in front of Archie’s face, I yelled, “Alex, no. Stop!”

  “Stay back, Sam!” King snapped his elbow and pointed his finger at me.

  His tone surprised me. I stopped, stared, and was completely confused by his harsh gavel of a voice. Now I knew something between us wasn’t right.

  “I was wrong about him,” I said. “Archie thought Bowers was the serial rapist.”

  King wasn’t listening. He kept yelling at Archie, asking him where he was the night Megan was murdered. I tried not to take it personally, but the look King was giving me was different from anything I’d seen before.

  Then King stopped, turned to me, and said, “Your boy Archie was at the same fill station where Jenny was last seen.”

  “And so was Christopher Bowers,” I said, thinking about how that teacher Helton was, too.

  King cocked his head and gave me a questioning look. “Careful, Sam. You’re running with the wrong crowd by associating yourself with a potential accomplice.”

  Emotions were spilling over and King was taking it out on me. I tried not to take it personally, but the pebble in my throat was quickly expanding into the size of a rock. For the first time in our relationship, I felt like our personal lives had entered our professional and it was going to be what ended us.

  “Archie was there because he was following Bowers,” I said, feeling the need to defend myself for believing Archie. “He was right in thinking Bowers could be the person behind these crimes.” I listed off the traits Archie explained to us earlier.

  “Good,” King said. “Then it’s over. We have our guy.”

  Except I didn’t think they did—at least not both of them. Before anything else could be said, our disagreement was broken up by Alvarez. He gave me a hard look and placed a hand on King’s shoulder, angling my man’s attention away from the three journalists who were ready to pounce on any ounce of truth.

  My stomach clenched when I overheard him remind King he shouldn’t be talking to me.

  “Forget about it,” I said, turning toward my car.

  Archie and Erin followed, knowing we still had work to complete. “Sam, did we do something to get King in trouble?”

  It certainly seemed that way. I reached to open my door but stopped short when I noticed what appeared to be another cryptic message left on the front seat. Picking my head up, I swept my gaze in King’s direction and then found myself staring into Archie’s golden eyes. This time I knew it couldn’t be from him. So where did it come from?

  Just when I thought this investigation couldn’t get more interesting, I now had this to worry about.

  Chapter Ninety-Nine

  We drove not more than a block away from where Bowers was arrested before pulling onto a quiet side street and tearing open the manila folder we all couldn’t wait to get our eyes on.

  My heart was beating as loud as Erin’s as I peeked inside. She leaned a bit closer and I rolled my eyes to hers.

  “What?” she asked. “More cut out letters?”

  Archie tipped forward from the middle of the backseat and stuck his head between us. His interest was piqued. We were all prepared to decipher another code when I stuck my hand inside and pulled out a complete police report.

  The air went still and everyone stared.

  Holding it up in front of my face, I wondered how this report found its way onto the front seat of my car. Who gave it to me? When? We’d been so distracted by Bowers’s arrest, was it possible it came before that?

  My eyes scurried over the text and my thoughts struggled to keep up. There were so many loose ends I was attempting to tie together, I had to take a deep breath just to slow down. The further I worked my way down the report, the more sure I was that only one person had the power to get this to me.

  Erin took the envelope from my thigh and turned it upside down. A pink Post-It note floated to her lap, and I turned to see what I had missed. She pinched it between her fingers and read it out loud.

  “Put this to print and don’t tell anyone where it came from.” The crease between her eyebrows deepened as she leaned over and asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

  My heart was beating faster than before. Everything inside my mind was screaming for me to pick up my phone and call King.

  “It appears to be the Jane Doe police report,” I said in a tone much calmer than I felt.

  “King must have put it there when we weren’t looking?” Erin suggested.

  I wasn’t so sure. And neither was Archie.

  Erin asked, “If not King, then who gave it to us?”

  The mayor’s spokesman’s words kept echoing between my ears.

  Stay in your lane, Mrs. Bell. Death is closer than you think.

  Though I never saw him anywhere near the scene, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t have had someone else put it there for him. But if it was him, was this a threat or a hint? A threat I understood, but if it was a hint, I had to dig a little deeper into understanding the meaning behind his words.

  When I closed my eyes, my lips fluttered in thought.

  If you change lanes, you’ll get further away from the truth?

  It was a stretch, but possible.

  But if I was right, did he also give us the cryptic messages? I didn’t think so. This report was clear and to the point. There wasn’t any room for interpretation. Little was hidden in the report, whereas the messages from before were entirely up to us to put together.

  “Any names we recognize?” Erin asked. I kept thinking about the police’s premature celebration outside Eva’s apartment.

  “Nothing yet,” I said, continuing to read, hoping to find Scott Helton’s name somewhere between the lines. But then
my eyes stopped on a name I didn’t recognize. I backed up and read the previous section again. Then I turned the page, angled the report to Erin, and pointed to a single name.

  “Josie Zapatero?” Erin’s eyes met with mine. “Who’s that?

  “That’s our Jane Doe.”

  Chapter One Hundred

  Cooper was barking madly in the window when I arrived home. Erin and I unbuckled and stepped out while Archie stayed at the car, knowing my dog was directing his anger at him.

  Moving toward my house, I looked over my shoulder and said, “C’mon Archie, I swear he’ll only take a finger.”

  Erin laughed as we climbed the short flight of stairs and stepped through the front door. Cooper ran to me, nudged his head against my thigh, and rolled onto his back, begging me to rub his belly. I greeted my dog and kneeled at his side, turning my head to Archie who didn’t have the confidence to follow me inside.

  “Go on, Coop. Go greet our new friend, Archie.”

  Cooper rolled onto his feet and jumped on Archie. Archie stumbled back, surprised by the weight of him, and laughed when Cooper caught the tip of Archie’s chin with his slobbery tongue.

  “Mom,” Mason called from the kitchen. “Allison is hacking into South High’s email system. I’m trying to tell her she’ll never coach with the school again if she gets caught.”

  When I caught sight of Allison, she rolled her eyes at Mason’s comment. “How many times do I have to tell you, I won’t get caught.”

  I gave my son a hug and asked Allison how it was going. The moral gray area we were in was beyond the wrong and right of Mason’s understanding.

  “Almost through. Their security is pretty good, considering,” Allison said, her fingers clacking away at the keys as she mentioned how Susan managed to get both Naomi and Bennett out of the house without any news cameras harassing them.

  “How did she manage that?” I asked.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  Allison seemed relaxed and I couldn’t wait to hear how Susan had managed that, along with getting Bennett past the rabid Heidi Mitchell. It had to be something big—as big as my idea to get Allison to agree to hack Jenny’s student email account.