Two Girls Down(89)

Back in Vega’s room: Evan Marsh, Charlie Bright, guys who looked like one or either of them—doubled and tripled, smoking weed, drinking beer, counting money.

And then Evan and Kylie in the corner of the room, talking, getting to know each other in the few minutes it took for Evan Marsh to get hold of a bad idea, and for Alex Chaney to get his keys so he could drive Kylie back home.

—

They were in Traynor’s SUV, Junior driving with Traynor sitting shotgun, twisting his body so he could talk to the passengers in the backseat: Cap and the Fed, with Vega between them like the little sister on a road trip. Vega’s thigh was lined up against Cap’s, the warmth blocked by the fabric of their pants, but it crossed his mind his palm could likely span the width of her leg, that she was actually far more delicate than either of them wanted to think. She reminded him of birds he would see hanging on the feeder Nell had strung in the backyard a few winters back, puffing out feathers to protect brittle bodies.



On the way out of the hospital, the administrator and a gray-faced doctor stopped them and made Vega sign a form, saying they weren’t responsible for the consequences of her removing her own IV and releasing herself. The doctor gave her a Band-Aid for the spot on her hand where the IV needle had been, and told her there might be irritation where they’d administered the tetanus booster in her arm. He told her to keep the wound on her forehead clean and change the dressing once a day. Vega seemed bored by the instructions, took the pen impatiently from the administrator and scrawled “AV” on the black line. To Cap, she looked smaller, her head bowed, taking careful tightrope steps to the car.

Cap realized it was his turn to talk, after the Fed had debriefed them on the interview with McKie, and Junior had instructed Ralz to bring in Alex Chaney for questioning. He tapped his fingertip on the Fast-Forward button on the recorder and gave them the highlights.

“After Kylie leaves with Marsh, McKie and Dena give Bailey some food and water and tell her she’s going home soon, so she does what they tell her for two days; she notices they nod off on the couch around the same time every night. I’m guessing that’s when they shot up or took their Vikes or whatever. So on the third night she waits until they’re asleep and then tries getting out the back door. McKie comes to and catches her, ties her by the wrist to the bed with an extension cord.

“She said he and Dena started fighting, fed her less, kept her tied up and made her pee in a cup. That was the last two days. Then we showed up.”

“Did she hear Marsh say anything about the man with the money?” said Traynor.

Cap held his fingertip to the Fast-Forward button.

“Just one thing,” he said.

He let go, clicked up the sound.

“I know this is hard,” said Cap on the recorder. “Was Kylie upset to leave you…when she and Evan left?”



“Yeah,” said Bailey, sounding even younger and squeakier than eight years old. “We were, like, hugging and crying.” Bailey’s voice shook and rattled. “Evan said it would be okay; he’d bring Kylie back soon and we could see our mom soon….”

“What did Kylie say?”

“She told him she didn’t want to leave me there, in the cabin, with John and Dena. And he was like, we’ll be right back after we visit your friend.”

Cap tapped the Stop button.

Traynor looked at the Fed, then Vega, then Cap. He shrugged and shook his head at the same time.

“Your friend,” said Vega.

“Yes,” Cap said. “Bailey, quoting Marsh, who says your friend to Kylie.”

“I heard that,” said Traynor. “You’re thinking that means Kylie knows the moneyman?”

“Maybe,” said Cap.

Traynor turned to the Fed and nodded.

“Easily a slip of the tongue or memory,” said the Fed. “It’s a stretch.”

“Sure,” said Cap. “Stack it up is all I’m saying.”

Traynor waved his hand in the air directly above his head. Reminded Cap of the white-wigged politicians in British Parliament he’d seen on TV.

“So noted,” said Traynor, a red light flashing over his face. “Captain,” he said to Junior, aggravated, “pull over and let all this pass.”

Junior pulled over, and they all watched the caravan: the Whites’ car containing Jamie and her parents and aunt and Bailey, the lawyer’s car close behind, two state police, three local, and then the news vans—ten that had become twenty while the authorities had been conducting the interviews in the hospital.

A helicopter cut the air above them, hanging low like a mosquito. Cap lowered his window, leaned his head out and peered up, shutting one eye to the rough wind from the rotors. The sound amplified and became less choppy, turned into a booming rumble. There was something strangely peaceful about it; Cap had the feeling that if he closed his eyes and opened his arms the gust might lift him up, he might rise and float—until a voice or a car horn shocked him awake, brought him back down fast.





16

Vega watched the TV in the break room back at the police station, saw Jamie hobbling out of the hospital clutching Bailey to her side, Sam the lawyer stepping between them and the cameras, then Hollows, Cap, herself. Her eye twitched when she saw her face on the screen, the gravel scratches and the bandage, the bruise around her eyebrow. It all looked worse than it felt, although now that the last of the drugs had worn off, the pain was manifesting as weariness, joints and muscles cracked and stretched. She swallowed the rest of the room-temp Lipton tea from the cup in her hand.