by J. L. Drake
I knew he was right and turned toward the wall. “Fuck!” I slammed my fist into the filing cabinet.
***
Emily
I dipped a piece of bread into my soup. It tasted good, and my stomach seemed to respond well to it.
“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Johnnie shoveled a spoonful of potatoes in his mouth. “My sisters tried it before, but I couldn’t get the time off work to join them.”
“Well, the next time we go out, you should come.”
“Em?” I turned toward Seth’s voice. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
He led me by the hand along a hallway, down the stairs, and through two doors.
“Just know I’m dead set against this,” he muttered as he pushed open the door and held it for me.
I cautiously stepped inside. Michaels and Garrett were deep in conversation. They looked as unhappy as Seth did.
“Um, hi?” I said and stepped closer to Seth as I felt the vibe. He squeezed my hand. “Oh.” I sucked in a breath when I saw the man I assumed was Hank Wallace at a steel table on the other side of a window. His face looked badly bruised. He sported a few bandages and a small stitch was laid over his left eye and his nose. My fingers hooked over the lip of the windowsill as I pushed my shaky legs into the wall to steady myself. “He looks so…normal.”
Michaels’s refection came into the window behind me. “They usually do.” He sighed. “He only wants to talk to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” I felt the ground shift beneath me.
“It’s really our only way of knowing how much he knows about Lasko. I know this is a lot to ask, but—”
“I’ll do it.” The words shot off my tongue so fast I barely thought I said them.
“We need to go over a few things first.”
“No, we do it now or not at all.” I couldn’t allow myself to think about what I was about to do, or I wouldn’t be able to do it.
“Fine,” Michaels agreed. “Just don’t divulge any personal information, don’t let him be in arm’s reach of you, and try not to show you’re scared. He will play on your weakness.”
I turned to Garrett as Michaels slipped out of the room. “I need some ice.”
“Ice?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay.” He looked at me funny but reappeared a moment later holding a Ziploc bag full of crushed ice. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I turned to Seth, reached for his swollen hand, and handed him the ice. “Thanks for being there. I’ll be all right.” I smiled at him. “I need to do this.”
“I know.” He shook his head, and I knew he was nervous. “But I’m not happy about it.”
Michaels returned. “Okay, he’s ready.”
“We’re right here, baby,” Seth said quietly as he opened the door for me.
“Okay.” As I followed Michaels out of the room, I felt like I had slipped into a robotic state.
Michaels stopped outside the room. I could tell he was uncomfortable with this too. “Remember, no weakness, he can’t hurt you, and head up.” He gave me a confident look. “I’ll be right here with you the whole time. Ready whenever you are.”
I sighed as I pushed the anxiety aside. I wanted to prove to myself I could do this, stare fear in the face. It wasn’t like it was Lasko on the other side of this door. He opened the door, and I followed.
“Wallace.” Michaels’s tone caught me off guard. It was tight and sharp. “You wanted to see Ms. McPhee. Well, here she is.” I stepped out from behind Michaels to meet a set of cold, sharp eyes.
“Hello, Emily.” His voice was formal. “Please, join me.” He motioned at the chair across the table. I reached for the seat and pulled it back. “Forgive my manners. I’d stand, but...” He shook the ankle chains that Michaels must have applied earlier. “I’m a little tied up.” I stared blankly at him. I didn’t want to humor his pathetic attempt at a joke. I was thankful they had chained his ankles and wrists to the table.
He tilted his head a little. “My, you really are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” He smiled. “I can see why he chose you.” My adrenaline felt like it was corroding my insides. “Your skin is flawless. I bet it feels like cool silk on a hot summer night.”
Yuck.
He squinted at me, studying my face. “Tell me, Emily, what are you thinking right now?”
I held his gaze and hoped my voice would come out strong. “I’m thinking this is all a bit ‘it rubs the lotion on its skin, or it gets the hose again.’”
He burst out in a belly laugh. “Oh my, you are a funny one.” I didn’t move, just stayed perfectly still. Once he contained his laughter, he slipped back into his somber look. “I like you.”
“Wish I could say the same.”
“Pity, I think we could have had a lot of fun together.”
We’re not friends, here.
“Why did you want to see me, Wallace?”
“I wanted to see what Jimmy sees in you.”
I raised a brow and waited for him to continue. His face twisted into a wicked smile. My subconscious ran screaming out of the room, but I held his gaze. I needed to do this.
“If I had to guess, aside from the beauty, it would be your personality. You lost your father when you were young, and your mother is always away.”
My stomach slammed into my lap. How the hell did he know that? It made my scalp crawl to listen to him talk about me like he knew me. “This in turn has made you strong, made you into a fighter. Jimmy loves a challenge, and you have been his greatest one yet.” He stared at me and tried to read me again.
“What’s your part in all of this?”
He shrugged. “Let’s just say Jimmy and I have been friends for a long time.”
“Friends?” I practically laughed. “Interesting choice of friends you have.”
His nose scrunched up, and I heard the chains clink together. I must have struck a nerve. Interesting. I decided to push a little. “I’m guessing you must have been a loner. The one everyone takes pity on.” His jaw twitched slightly. I continued, as I felt bold. “You were the geek who wore the bottle-thick glasses, braces with the head gear.”
“Enough!” He pounded his fists into the table. I somehow stopped the flinch that shot up my spine. My braver side high-fived me. I had gotten to him. “You don’t know me!”
“Perhaps not, but I do know you work for a monster who stalks me for some twisted game.” I leaned forward on the table; I felt much braver now. “I want to know why. I want to know how I can stop him.”
A mask fell over his face. He rested his elbows on the table and entwined all but two of his fingers. He pushed his index fingers together and rested them on his lips while he studied me. His cold eyes held mine for a long time. I managed not to squirm. Then the smirk came.
“What’s in it for me?” He tilted his head. “If I give up this crucial part of the story, what do I get?”
Oh God, I knew what he wanted from me, and I felt bile creep into my throat. I took a moment to glance at the two-way mirror and let Seth know it was all right. “You’re the one with the info. You tell me what you want.”
“Let me touch your skin.” His words came out like a snake flicking its tongue, testing out the air to see if there was a possibility of lunch.
I could practically hear Seth as he clawed through the mirror. I imagined Garrett would have to restrain him. I mustered up all of my willpower. “Okay.” I swallowed loudly. “Information for a five second touch on my arm.”
“Five second touch, then the information.”
I waited for a second. “Fine.” There was no way to trust him, but what choice did I have? A small hiss came from Michaels, but I shook my head at him.
“Stand, over here,” he commanded. I obeyed in hope he’d grant me some extra information. My knees shook and my hands went cold. His eyes lit up as he leaned over carefully, taking his time to savor the moment. His cold, clammy fingers start
ed at the base of my wrist and crawled upward.
“One…two…three…” I spat the words out, as I was having an out-of-body experience. His eyes shut as his body went stiff. I could almost hear him shiver with excitement. His hand reached just above my shoulder as I finished the count, “…four…five.”
I quickly stepped back out of his reach. Wallace put his hand to his nose and sniffed dramatically. His tongue darted out and licked his fingers one by one.
“Mmmmm,” he moaned. “Better than I imagined, just like your panties.”
I stopped mid-step. Holy shit, this man had been in my room! I gave myself a mental pep talk so as not to show how much that shocked me. I sat back down and folded my arms, this time mostly to stop the shakes. “Info now.”
“Of course, Emily, a deal is a deal.” He sat up straight. “You’ll never catch Lasko. He’s too clever. You’re not the first woman he’s fallen for or stalked. I think you’ll be number three.” I shot a look at Michaels, who kept his expressionless demeanor. “But you’re different.” He rubbed his chin. “There’s something about you that is bigger than the rest. The way he talks about you, the way he follows you around, makes me think you may be his last. He may just keep you all to himself.”
“What did he do to them?” I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to know my potential fate.
“Hmm.” A smirk ran along his battered lips. “He plays with them, re-enacts weird scenarios. I’m not exactly sure why.” He shrugged. “But when he’s bored, he disposes of them. I don’t think he’ll kill you, though. I think he’ll keep you. Make you his forever.”
“I’ll never be his,” I snapped. “Where does he live?”
“A small place just outside of Oceanside.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
Then something strange happened, a sudden change in expression, like a lightbulb went off in his head. He seemed almost excited. His head jerked back. “You look rather like her!”
“What? Who?” I needed to know what was going on in his crazy, fucked-up head.
“We’re done now.” He dismissed me with a flick of his hand.
“The hell we are.”
“Yes. We are.” His tone was ice.
I stood; I knew we were done. As I walked toward the door, I noticed his handcuffs had slipped down, giving me a good look at his wrist. I saw the snake tattoo wrapped around it. I sucked in a deep breath as the memory came flooding back to me. “You son of a bitch,” I snarled, clenching my fists together. “You were there that night at the campus bar. You gave me your number.” My words lashed out at him in disbelief. “How long have you been following me?”
His eyes shifted to mine. The corners of his mouth raised. Then his expression changed to off mode. Wallace wasn’t there anymore.
Michaels basically had to drag me out of there. Seth waited on the other side of the door. The moment he saw me, he crushed me into him. “Are you okay?” I nodded as I buried my face in his neck. “You shouldn’t have gone in there. I’m sorry.”
I pulled away momentarily. “No, I’m glad I did it. I’m proud of myself. We know a little more now. Seth, there’ve been two other girls. Maybe we can find out who they are…were…and give closure to their families.”
“That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” I could tell he was baffled.
“No—well, yes, but my point is that we know a little more about Lasko. Did you see his face at the end? Something clicked for him. He remembered something. Who’s ‘her?’ Who do I look like?
“Hold on there, babe, take a breather.” He led me back into Detective Michaels’s office, then sat me down on the couch and took a seat on the table to face me.
“Look, you did great, I couldn’t be more proud of you. But when you sit back and think about what you just did, it might hit you hard.”
I went to say something, but I stopped myself. He was right. I was on a pretty good adrenaline high.
“Right now, you need to go home. I’m going to get Riggs to stay with you until I get there.”
“Yeah, okay.” I saw there was no reason to fight it. Exhaustion slowly creeped in. Plus I wanted to check on Vince.
He stood as he offered me a hand. “Come on, baby.”
***
Seth
I rewound the tape and leaned back in the chair with my legs propped up on the desk. I rubbed my eyes and checked the time with blurred vision. Tired didn’t describe how I felt. My shift had ended an hour ago. Riggs had texted me twice to let me know Emily was fine. I was worried about her, but right now I needed to focus on the interview tapes.
“Crazy to think he was at the bar when you all were there.” Michaels took a seat next to me. “Makes you wonder how long he and Lasko have been walking in and out of her life.” I stayed quiet. The idea of it was unnerving to me as well. “Anyway,” Michaels must have sensed my mood, “you got anything?”
“I come with coffee,” Garrett stated as he held up two trays of black coffee. He tossed some creamers and sugars next to Matthews, who had joined us.
“Thanks,” I muttered as I ripped open the small square packet of sugar. “Okay, well.” I stirred my coffee and pressed a button on the keyboard. The camera was zoomed in on Wallace’s face. “See here, when Emily says the quote from Silence of the Lambs. Watch his face.” The corners of Wallace’s mouth rose slightly and his cheeks pushed up. “When you lie, you leak out a micro-expression at a fifth of a second. He’s happy about her reference to Buffalo Bill.”
“Sick son of a bitch,” Garrett hissed.
“My thoughts exactly.” I sighed. “Okay, then here.” I fast forwarded a little to where Emily had nearly laughed about his choice of friends. “See, he scorns her.” Wallace’s face scrunched. “He’s mad, it’s a scorn micro-expression.”
I started the tape again and hoped they followed. “Then here, when he says Lasko has a place outside of Oceanside, watch.” Garrett moved in for a better look. “He’s lying,” I proclaimed.
“But he doesn’t break eye contact,” Garrett said, confused.
“That’s a myth,” Michaels chimed in.
“That’s right,” I agreed and took a quick sip of my coffee. “People tend to look off to the side when they’re trying to remember something. But here, his eyes don’t shift. He’s lying. I don’t believe Lasko has a place just outside of Oceanside.”
I fast forwarded some more. “Then this…look. You see that? His eyebrows come together and his neck muscles flex.” I tapped the screen with my finger. “Sadness.”
“So you’re saying that Wallace possibly remembered something about Lasko’s past? Something sad?” Garrett asked.
“Yes.” I leaned forward. “I think Wallace knows a lot more than he’s letting on. I think Emily triggered a memory for him, and it’s vital that we know what it is.”
An hour later I slipped my laptop into my bag and chucked my drained coffee cup into the trash.
“Connors,” Johnnie called out as he came up to me. “Heard you just dissected Wallace’s interview. Nice job, man.”
“Thanks.” I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to relieve the tension.
“How did you learn how to do that?”
I set my bag down on top of my desk. “I took a course in body language and found out I was pretty good at it.” I shrugged. “Drives Emily nuts.”
“I’d say.” Johnnie laughed. “Well, look, I know it’s short notice, but me and the guys have decided on an impromptu trip to my uncle’s campground in Big Bear. You, McPhee, and O’Brian should come. We leave tomorrow night and plan to come back Sunday afternoon. Just to get a break from all of this shit.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“Okay, run it by the missus and let me know. I’ll text you the address.” Johnnie grabbed his bag off a nearby table. “See you tomorrow.”
Chapter 7
Emily
I flexed my toes into the warm sand as I watched the sunset from my chair
on the beach. The lake was calm like glass and mirrored the orange and red colors from the sky. The light breeze was cool but smelled clean. I grinned and took a moment to relish it all. What a great idea it had been to come here. I had really needed this.
“Smile.” Campbell’s girlfriend, Vanessa, grinned from behind her camera. Seth leaned over and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. We both looked toward her as she snapped a shot. “Man, that sky is beautiful tonight.” She took a few more pictures before she dropped herself back down in the sand.
A football came flying at my feet and nearly knocked my drink out of my hand.
“Oh, shit! Heads up, McPhee!” Davis yelled as he made a face. I hopped up and twirled the ball in my hands. “Put your fingers over the lace,” he called.
I rolled my eyes and hurled it at him with as much force as I could. It nailed him hard in the chest when he caught it. His jaw dropped open while Avery cheered. As he strolled by, he lifted his hand for a high-five.
I grinned. I felt pretty damn proud of myself. My father had been a sports nut and thought I should at least learn to throw a ball right. I silently thanked him for this moment.
“You think you got this, McPhee?” Davis asked as his grin grew.
I was suddenly in the middle of a touch football game with everyone. “Ready set, hut!” Davis tossed the ball to Johnnie, who ran back a few steps and tried to toss it to Matthews, but Vanessa managed to grab it and throw it to me. It sank into my grasp as I squeezed it between my arms and stomach. I ran and nearly missed Garrett as he came out of nowhere. I tossed the ball down at the red marker and raised my hands in the air. Vanessa ran toward me and we bumped chests like the guys did.
“Davis?” I shouted as he glanced over at me. “Yeah, I got this.”
Matthews laughed. “I’m switching to Emily’s team!”
It was dark by the time we returned to the campsite. I didn’t think I’d ever seen so much meat at one time. The barbecue had been going steady for a few hours, and every type of meat imaginable was grilled to perfection, thanks to Garrett. It was pretty funny when Johnnie tried to help. Garrett gave him a look, and he backed away quickly.