Flawed (Flawed, #1)(71)
“I told him I want to find the truth. He says he doesn’t know where he is, and I believe him,” she says firmly.
“Why doesn’t he call the police?”
“He doesn’t think the police can help him,” she says quietly. “He’s afraid.”
I swallow hard. “Let me guess. Mr. Berry disappeared after Naming Day. Just like Tina, just like June, Bark, Funar, and Tony.”
She nods.
“Do you think he’s hiding or that he was taken away?”
“I don’t know, I really don’t know. I went to Tina’s house yesterday. It’s boarded up, all the furniture still inside, like they just upped and left. Her teenage daughter is gone, too. Her school hasn’t heard from her. Tina’s divorced and not close with her family, so they weren’t surprised she hadn’t been in touch the past few weeks. I’ve called Bark’s, Funar’s, June’s, and Tony’s houses, but their families won’t talk to me. I haven’t visited them yet. I think they’re more likely to speak off the phone, but guessing from Mr. Berry and Tina, I’m expecting the same thing. They’re all too afraid.”
“So now there’s no video of what happened in the chamber?” I say, my eyes filling up. “Everyone who saw is gone, and it’s my word against Crevan’s.”
But that’s not true, and I’m the only one who knows it. Carrick was there, Carrick saw what happened. Would anybody believe a Flawed witness? And has Crevan managed to get his hands on Carrick, too? Does Crevan even know he was there? Did he see him? Am I next? Should I be worried?
“I can’t write the story without proof,” Pia says. “I’m going to need more time.”
“You still don’t believe me, do you?” I ask angrily.
“Of course I believe you.” She raises her voice and stands. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve risked already for you?”
“Sorry,” I say quietly.
She rubs her hand over her face, and suddenly she looks tired. “No, don’t apologize. I’m not doing you a favor; you deserve this. I covered the Guild court and wrote about the Flawed because I believed in it. The words weren’t always mine, but I believed in the stories. I believed in outing those who were ruining our society, threatening to break us down. But … then there was Angelina Tinder and Jimmy Child, one right after the other, and then there was you, and now I know about Dr. Blake.” She shakes her head. “Whatever I told myself about the others at the time, I can’t tell myself that about you. Your case was flawed from the start,” she says to my utter surprise. “First, I was told to report you as a hero. Then I was told to report you as the enemy. It didn’t make sense. I believe Crevan is at a breaking point. My theory is he got a taste for revenge when he succeeded in finding Annie’s doctor Flawed, because she missed the early signs, and he got confident and did it again with Angelina Tinder and Jimmy Child. These cases have shown he’s starting to crack, and I believe he’ll get far worse. He is under extreme pressure now. With Art missing, Crevan is beside himself with worry and anger at you for taking his son away and for putting the Guild in the spotlight in this way. He was supposed to prove to the rest of the world that the Guild is something every country should adopt. It would give him an international stage, and he won’t want anything to jeopardize that. I heard that tomorrow he will announce that any journalist who writes a favorable article about a Flawed will be seen as aiding a Flawed.”
“So much for Lisa Life.” I feel my hope wither away. “There’s not much power in a Flawed journalist writing favorably about a Flawed.”
“He won’t find her,” she says, her jaw firm. “There will be trouble. Especially with my friends. Freedom of speech isn’t something you can mess with with journalists. You try to silence them, they’ll shout even louder. He’s digging his own hole, Celestine. Support for you will rise soon. You don’t need Lisa Life, Celestine, you are the bravest person I’ve ever met, and you’ve inspired me to find my own voice.”
She takes my hands in hers and squeezes tightly; I’m reminded of our first meeting in this room together, the one where we shook left hands so that my branded skin wouldn’t touch hers. Now she holds on tightly, my skin against hers. My wound pressed against her smooth skin. It’s how it should be, but it moves me deeply. “You are what the movement needs, Celestine, but remember you don’t need them. Don’t let them use you.”
There is so much urgency in her words. I’m so surprised by her change in personality, in her tone with me, that I can barely take it all in, yet I know she is telling me that what she is saying is important, so I try to treat it as such. She removes a file from her backpack and places it down on the strewn articles on the table.
“I appreciate your telling me about Mr. Berry’s video. I appreciate your trust. I know, after everything you’ve been through, it’s a difficult thing to do, and you probably don’t even trust me completely.”
I look away, feeling guilty.
“It’s okay, I understand. I just need to prove it to you. Here’s the information you requested.” She grabs her backpack, looking like she’s off on an adventure. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”
“Are your kids going with you?” I ask.