Little Owl

by Lauri Schoenfeld

  He looked at the paper and dialed the pizza delivery number. A gruff voice answered on the second ring.

  “I told you not to call me on this number.” The man paused. “Is it done? Is she dead?”

  Abbott listened to the voice. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t think why.

  “Champ, are you there?”

  He closed the phone and threw it on the floor. Lieutenant Stalk made the hit on Dr. Lynchester.

  Fifty-Six

  Sam Wendell

  Friday, November 12th

  11:30 a.m.

  He’d watched Adaline’s every move for the past two hours to make sure she was safe, just like he promised himself and Dr. Lynchester.

  Dr. Lynchester.

  Sam sunk his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes. She’d become a mentor and a friend to him after Adaline left years ago. More than anything, she kept him from falling into complete destruction, and his life would be something else if it wasn’t for her.

  Would Adaline hire someone to kill Dr. Lynchester? He knew the rage that clung to Adaline and exposed itself when she felt threatened, but this…was too much. The doctor saved her. If she could do this to someone who had only the best intentions for her, they were all fucked, and they’d already lost her.

  No.

  His lip quivered, and he sat in his car, staring off into the distance. Without Dr. Lynchester the process of helping Adaline seemed like a lost cause. He thought about the last thing the doctor said to him on the phone before she told him not to contact her again. She still believed Adaline could pull through and that it wasn’t too late.

  Sam flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles.

  I’ll find out who’s behind this, and they’ll pay.

  Gazing at the home in front of him, he cringed. This place, where the Owl Keeper lived, held a lot of secrets that never sat well. So many times as a boy, he’d followed Adaline and secretly guarded her. Sam didn’t trust the man, but she did.

  He got out of his car and proceeded up the front steps toward the door. Sam wiped dirt off the windows with his sleeve to see if he could see inside. “Adaline?”

  There wasn’t a response.

  Sam kicked the door open with his black boot, and it crashed to the ground with a loud bang. Someone screamed from the other side of the wall.

  Adaline.

  “It’s Sam. No need to be afraid.”

  She turned the corner, peered up at him with swollen eyes, and fell to the ground.

  Bending down, he put his hand out for support. “I’ll help you up.”

  Adaline pushed his hand away. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?”

  Glancing back up at him, she stared intensely and laughed. “The part where I killed my parents and you knew about it.”

  He straightened. She kept laughing. Dr. Lynchester was the one planning to help her with everything, not him. He never prepared himself to be the one taking the doctor’s role, and it hurt like hell to see her this way. What if he made it worse?

  Take care of my girl.

  “We need to go, right now,” Sam said.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me the truth.”

  Sam rubbed his hands together. “I’ll tell you something real if you’ll go with me after.”

  Adaline hesitated and nodded.

  “I’ve loved you ever since I laid eyes on you as a little girl. I’m angry and upset that I will never have a chance at a life with you, but I’ve had a mission for a while to protect you. That’s what I’m doing—what I’ll always do. At least I can be a part of your life in that way, and I would rather that than never be close to you again.” He brushed back his hair and turned away from her.

  “You’ve been protecting me this whole time?” Adaline asked. “Why would you defend a murderer?”

  Sam swallowed hard. “You’re a…good person that got told you weren’t your whole life. You’ve believed the lies people told you about yourself, but they’re not true.”

  “Even you don’t believe that,” she said. “You hesitated. I’m dangerous, and you shouldn’t get close to me.”

  She’s taking responsibility. This is different than last time.

  He smiled and peered into her eyes.

  Adaline held his gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I had to be sure, but now I am,” he said. “Can we get in the car now?”

  “No. You may be sure of things, but I’m not. Why would I go with you?”

  Sam cracked his neck and opened the front door. “Because you want information about what took place that day, and I know where we need to go to get it.”

  She hesitated and stared down at the teddy bear in her arms. Adaline smiled at the stuffed animal, stood, and slowly glided out the door toward the car. She buckled the animal in the seatbelt with her.

  He glanced at the bear, shook his head, and got into the driver’s seat. “Who do you have there?”

  “This is Mr. Speckles, and I’m introducing him to the girls when we find them,” she said.

  She’s still not over their death. Maybe she’s playing me, too.

  Sam said a silent prayer that he could pull off what Dr. Lynchester needed him to do.

  “I’m sure they’ll be pleased to meet Mr. Speckles,” he said. “That name makes zero sense, being a bear. He’s going to have an identity crisis, if he hasn’t already.”

  Adaline laughed with ease and joy. When she smiled at him, her deep blue eyes spoke to his soul, almost swallowing him into oblivion, and then she pushed her smile somewhere else, and her face held emptiness. “Even when we find the girls, our family will be broken. Cache will never look at me the same again. I killed his parents. I’m a monster.”

  “You’re not,” he said, starting the car. Sam wanted to tell her that he thought Cache had been playing her from the beginning, but if he opened that treasure of betrayal, there’d be no coming back.

  “How the hell can you say that?”

  “I was there that night.”

  “Where? In the cornfields?” Adaline asked.

  “Yes. I knew you left with the Owl Keeper, and he made me nervous, so I followed you to his house. Once you were there, I watched to make sure he wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “So, when I left his house, you followed me back to mine?”

  Sam cracked his neck and gazed out the windshield with frustration. “Yes.”

  “Which means you saw my mother kick me out of the house, and you also watched the Owl Keeper, my friend, take the blame for the fire I set,” she said. “You let me believe that someone else killed my parents, when I did it.” Adaline smacked her hands against the dashboard. “I should be locked up.”

  “Stop it,” he said.

  “Let me out of the car right now.”

  Sam sped up. “I can’t do that.”

  “Let me out now, dammit.” She tried to unlock the door with no luck. “Get me off child lock.”

  Bunching his fingers around the steering wheel, he swerved the car to a halt. “Fuck, Adaline. Is that what you want?” he asked. “You want to roll your ass out of my car? Be reckless and get yourself hurt?”

  “Go to hell. I never asked for you to protect me,” she said. “You know, you came back into my life all the sudden after someone took my girls. Convenient. I’ll bet you’re enjoying how it’s affected my relationship with Cache.” Adaline glared at him. “What, did you think you could just all of a sudden move in?”

  “You think I’d hurt you like that?”

  Adaline glanced away. “I don’t know.” She stopped hitting the dashboard and put her hand over her head, resting it on the window. “I need to get home and talk to Dr. Lynchester. I don’t know if I can trust you, Cache…or anyone. Please take me back to my car.”

  Sam swallowed hard and shook his head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You need to stay with me,” he said. “You’re in danger.”
<
br />   “I already know that. I’ve been in danger since my girls were taken.” Adaline sat up. “Remember, I told you someone attacked me at the store and my neighbors have them . . . somewhere.” She paused and peered up at him. “You never believed me, did you?”

  He couldn’t tell her what he felt to be true. Her girls were dead, and she needed to figure that out on her own. But someone was after her. Cache.

  “I believe that you believe they’re alive.”

  Adaline laughed and held her head. “You and Cache sound exactly the same. So, you’re protecting me from…what, exactly? Because if no one took my girls, and no one attacked me, then what is this?”

  “I think someone’s out for revenge.”

  “On me?”

  “It appears that way.”

  Adaline turned in her seat. “Let me understand this. Do you think that the same person who went after me went after my girls?”

  He sighed. “At this point, it’s a possibility.”

  “So, you’re not trying to help me find my girls, but you’re just making sure that I’m okay.”

  Starting the car, Sam huffed. “Still the same girl with a million questions. I’ve seen you when you’re angry. You go to a place where you can’t be reasoned with.” He tapped his fingers on the dashboard. “Tragedy sets you off.”

  She shook her head. “Do you hear yourself? You wanted to help by directing me to remember that I killed my parents. That’s enough to set anyone off the deep end. That makes no sense.”

  “Maybe you need to forgive yourself to move on. I don’t know. We had a good reason for why we were doing this, and I trusted her.”

  “Trusted who?” she asked.

  Sam got back on the road and ignored her question.

  “Dammit, Sam. Answer the question.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You said earlier that you had to be sure. You know I’m okay,” she said. “Deep down, you’re aware of that. I don’t know how you saw me before when I had my…problems, but I can handle it.”

  She still thinks her girls are alive.

  What if Cache found out somehow that Adaline killed his parents and wanted to get back at her? What if they were alive and Cache hid them to break her, to get her out of the picture. To make her look as though she’d had a mental breakdown from the loss of her girls.

  Holy shit.

  “Okay. What if I believe you? Then what?”

  “Then we take a look at all the people I have wronged and find their motives to take my girls. Dr. Lynchester’s help and the information you said you have will give clarity,” she said.

  She tilted her head as if someone might whisper in her ear, but her face reflected sadness.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She shook her head and held her own hand. “Let’s get that info.”

  “On our way.”

  “Dr. Lynchester was who you trusted. Something bad happened to her, didn’t it?”

  Sam gulped and stared out the window for a minute. “Yes. She’s gone. It’s just us now.”

  Fifty-Seven

  Seth Duncan

  Lost Treasures

  12:30 p.m.

  Seth shut the blinds and turned the closed sign to face the outside window. He proceeded to count the money in the register, placed it in a bank bag, and dropped it into the safe. He wrote the last item on the inventory sheet and headed to the back to get his coat. Another evening at the motel with a TV dinner and some horrible reruns of MASH awaited him. Paying for a cheap place gave him exactly what he paid for. He took out his pocket sanitizer and sprayed some on his hands, inhaling the clean scent. Pulling back his long hair, Seth tied a rubber band in it and took a deep breath, ready to call it a day. Officer Abbott’s visit earlier, and the lieutenant’s threat, left some unresolved muscle spasms that pinched his nerves every time he thought about them. They were ticking time bombs. Parts of him didn’t want to stick around to see what that meant for him, but intrigue kicked in. People amused and fascinated him with all their pride, entitlement, and sheer lack of taking responsibility for the revolting life they created. Who would win in the battle of Lieutenant Douchebag and Officer Egocentric?

  He shook his head.

  A cold breeze danced from the doorway, and the door slammed shut from the power of the wind. Seth jumped, looking toward the front door.

  “We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.”

  “Where is she? Tell me right now,” a breathless voice yelled.

  He walked toward the voice. “Mr. Rushner?” He squinted and moved forward. “You’re bleeding. What happened to you?”

  “I need to find her now. She’s not safe,” he said, bracing his hands on the counter to steady his shaking body.

  Seth licked his lips. “I assure you she’s safe.”

  Cache sneered at him. “How can you assure me of that, exactly?”

  “Now, calm down.” Seth placed his hand out. “She was with that old friend of hers. You should go to the hospital and get yourself checked.”

  “Sam? I assure you she’s not safe with him,” he said. “Wait, how do you know all this?”

  “She called me.”

  Cache sat on the ground

  and shook his head. “Why would she call you?”

  “I had to do inventory. She’s very exact on making sure things are in their proper place,” Seth said.

  He moaned. “That does sound like my wife. Now, tell me where she is.”

  “Let me take you to the hospital first.”

  “We can’t do that, okay? I need to figure out what to do,” Cache said. Blood stained his hands, and sweat dripped off his brow.

  “Wait here. I’ll grab you bottled water and the phone to call Mrs. Rushner.” Picking up the phone in the back, he pulled out Officer Abbott’s card and dialed the number.

  “Officer Abbott, here.”

  “Yes, this is Seth from Lost Treasures.”

  “Listen, this isn’t a good time.”

  “I’ll jump right in, then. Mr. Rushner is here, and he’s got blood all over himself. He walked into the shop saying his wife’s in trouble.”

  Abbott grunted. “I’ll be right there. Don’t you let him leave your shop.”

  “Yes, sir, Officer, sir.”

  He put the phone down and scratched his cheek multiple times. Seth retrieved a bottle of water from the back room, then strolled to the front of the store. “Here you go. So, what happened?”

  “I’m not talking unless you have a phone for me.” Cache gazed up at him and clenched his fist.

  He grinned. “You’re no longer needed, and therefore, you don’t receive phone time.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cache stood up, walked a few steps backward, keeping his eyes on Seth.

  “You tried to kill Adaline. She’s not safe with you,” he said. “You’re playing her, and I won’t tell you where she is.”

  Cache’s eyes widened, and he spat on Seth’s sneakers. “I never had a good feeling about you.”

  Seth cracked his neck and peered at his shoe. “You’re a disgusting man, spitting on my property.” He grabbed the sanitizer bottle and a towel off the counter and threw them at Cache. “Wipe it off, now.”

  “You wipe it off yourself, you piece of shit. I’m not trying to hurt my wife.”

  A car door shut outside the store. Seth smiled. “I’m protecting her. Don’t you see? Just like I’m protecting them from all of you liars that mean to hurt little girls.”

  “What girls are you talking about?” Cache asked.

  Seth put his finger to his lips.

  Cache growled at him. He resembled a donkey pretending to be a bull as he scuffed his feet on the ground and barreled in his direction. Seth fell to the ground and covered his face. Cache grabbed a chair to the right side of him and held it above Seth’s head.

  “Put the chair down, Mr. Rushner,” said a voice coming through the front door.

  Cache continued to hold the chair in place a
nd didn’t take his eyes off Seth. His glare ignited, like a lit fuse.

  “Are you okay?” Officer Abbott asked, glancing at Seth.

  Seth nodded.

  “No one needs to get hurt.” Officer Abbott took two steps forward.

  “He’s obsessed with my wife,” Cache said. His hands shook, and he threw the wooden chair to the ground.

  Officer Abbott clenched his jaw and spun a bracelet around his wrist. “Mr. Rushner, it’s in your best interest if you take a ride with me.” He leaped behind Cache and gripped his arms, placing cuffs on him.

  “Am I under arrest?”

  He shoved Cache’s arms forward. “Get in the car.”

  “No!” Cache screamed. “You don’t understand. It’s not me, it’s him.”

  “Keep moving.” Officer Abbott tilted his head at Seth. “Thanks for the tip. Once Mrs. Rushner’s in, give me a call so we can keep an eye on her.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  They disappeared into the darkness, and Seth locked the door behind them.

  Now, they were out the way. Exactly what he needed.

  Fifty-Eight

  Sam Wendell

  Friday, November 12th

  12:30 p.m.

  Calvin’s gym stood on the right-hand side of the road exactly as he’d remembered it. The place was no bigger than a department store that only five to ten people could work out of at a time. Taking a turn, Sam parked the car.