Take the Fall(33)

I crash suddenly to the earth, and now I’m pinned by the weight of my body, paralyzed beneath the brush. I can’t close my eyes, let alone blink. All I can do is listen for something.

Coming for me.

I bolt upright in my bed.

By the time I’m calm enough to lie back down, I’ve scrawled six names on a notepad: Marcus, Kevin, Tyrone, Reva, Kip, and Kirsten.





FIFTEEN


“. . . AND IN LOCAL NEWS, a service for seventeen-year-old Gretchen Meyer, daughter of TechCorp mogul Carlton Meyer, was interrupted Friday in Hidden Falls when the girl’s ex-boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Marcus Perez, appeared unexpectedly at Grace Community Church.”

The camera cuts away from the sober-looking anchor to a shot of Marcus struggling with deputies outside the service until Kirsten approaches the sheriff, shaking her head. I watch, confused. The next shot shows Marcus walking to his own car. Maybe there was something to the rumor of Marcus and Kirsten hooking up. I can’t think why else she would get involved.

“Members of the congregation, including sheriff’s deputies, assisted in removing Perez without incident. The teen was briefly considered a person of interest in Gretchen Meyer’s death, but official charges were never filed. It is unclear what his intent was in disrupting the service.”

The screen goes blue and the number for Crime Stoppers appears beside Gretchen’s picture.

“There is a reward of up to fifty thousand dollars for any information leading to an arrest in the case.”

I switch the channel to a morning show doing a spot on viral pet videos. Conversations slowly resume around the diner, but the tension never completely dissipates. If I don’t leave for school soon, I’m not going to make homeroom, but Dina’s having car trouble and asked me to cover till she gets in. All I want is to start this week with some sense of normalcy.

My mom comes downstairs, tying her apron, as I hurry back to the kitchen.

“Dina called. Sounds like she’ll be stuck at Wilson’s Garage all morning.”

I stop in my tracks. “But she was going to let me take her car to school when she got in.”

“Aunt Elena will give you a lift as soon as she drops Felicia off.”

I nearly crumple my order. “But the elementary school doesn’t even start till nine.”

“When I was in school I would’ve been glad to miss a class.”

I’m in no mood to discuss her life as a teenager versus mine. I take off my apron. “I’ll walk.”

“You will not.”

I grit my teeth. “It’s five blocks, Mom. The streets are crawling with cops.”

“It isn’t safe. I’ll write you a note.” She grabs some clean coffee mugs and heads for the door. “Missing one class might even be good for you.”

I storm after her, but when I round the corner, Deputies Rashid and Robson are climbing out of their booth, adjusting their gear.

“You guys taking off? Food’s almost ready.”

Shelly sighs, turning down the chatter on her radio. “It’s going to be one of those mornings. Can you box it up and set it aside for us?”

“Sure, I’ll tell my mom,” I say, even though she’s right behind me. “I’m leaving for school.”

Shelly raises one eyebrow and looks over my shoulder. “You need a lift, Sonia? Amir and I are heading past the school anyway.”

I open my mouth, appalled by the idea, but my mother’s fingers rest heavily on my shoulder.

“That would be wonderful; Dina’s car is in the shop. Are you sure it’s not an urgent call?”

Amir leaves some cash on the table and digs out his keys. “Just another tip someone called in. We’ve had a bunch of duds, but the sheriff wants us to follow up.”

I look back and forth between them, but they’re not giving anything else up, so I decide to dig. “Is it about the guy who broke into Gretchen’s room?”

My mother gasps.

Amir’s face goes serious. “Where’d you hear about that?”

I hesitate. “The entire school was talking about it. Is it supposed to be a secret?”

He and Shelly exchange a look. Amir grunts and heads out to the parking lot.

“It isn’t a secret,” Shelly says. “We’re just trying to protect the Meyers as much as possible.”

My mom wrings her hands. “When did this happen? Are we not safe in our own homes?”

“It’s okay, Marlene.” Shelly and Dina went to high school together and she used to babysit me before she went to the police academy. But right now she switches to full-on deputy mode. “The break-in occurred the night of Gretchen’s death, after Sonia was attacked, but before Gretchen was officially reported missing. We have reason to suspect it was somehow connected, at the very least to Gretchen’s missing car, but there are no other reports of intruders in the area.”

My mom looks at me with wide frightened-animal eyes.

“I know it’s upsetting, but I promise Sonia will be safe and sound at school,” Shelly says.

I grab my bag from under the counter. At this point I’m willing to endure the discomfort of showing up in a cop car just to have space away from my mother.

Shelly calls over her shoulder. “Tell Dina I know a garage in Jamesville if Wilson’s tries to rip her off.”