The Nameless One: Part 2

Someone banging on the door woke me up, startling me so bad that I practically leapt out of the bed before Kasey took me by the arm and held a finger up to his lips. He quietly climbed out of the bed as the banging continued and hollered out, asking who was on the other side and why they chose to make such a ruckus.

“It’s me, Kasey.” Frank’s voice responded from the other side and Kasey flung the door open as I crawled out of the bed to join him.

“Why the hell are you banging on my door at—,” Kasey checked his watch, “Seven in the morning. We could have slept at least a couple more hours.”

“Let me in and I’ll tell you,” Frank brushed past Kasey who shut the door behind him.

He took a big exaggerated breath before he just went for it, “I was making lattes, watching the news, and they—they found another body in the Saltgrove forest.”

I heard Kasey audibly grunt and my heart began to race as we waited for more information.

“And?” Kasey asked.

“They haven’t released much information other than it’s adult and female.” Frank made a disgusted face and I knew just the thought had him emotional.

“Sara.” Kasey and I uttered her name simultaneously before we gave each other a nod.

“God, I hope not. But at the same time, it’s the only thing that makes sense. They showed footage of the spot and local news is already there and more are coming.” Frank made a clicking sound with his tongue, the whole situation seeming to upset him.

But a thought had struck me. A way to maybe get confirmation or at least check out the crime scene, even if from afar…

“I have an idea.” I just blurted, forgetting that no one else was privy to my thought process.

Kasey regarded me with uncertainty while Frank’s expression was a curious one.

“I have my old press pass in my bag. I could pose as a reporter and we can check out the crime scene.”

Kasey’s face fell as he responded, “After everything that happened yesterday?”

I nodded, “Police are all over the scene; it’d be safe.”

Kasey glanced over at Frank who just shrugged.

“Not alone, though.” Kasey seemed like he was going to allow it without a fight, but there was a caveat.

Frank sighed, “I’ll go with her. I’ll even make myself look normal for the sake of professionalism.”

“Alright, but I want Sage to record live for me.” Kasey turned to me and of course I agreed.

“Let me just change and then you can suit me up.” I gave him a nod and no time to change his mind before I grabbed my bag and ran into the bathroom.

I had one decent outfit in what I packed, just in case this sort of thing popped up or I needed to look like I wasn’t some traveling vagabond. I stripped off my night wear and was slipping on the outfit when I caught part of a conversation that Kasey and Frank were trying to have quietly.

“Please, I know I don’t have to say it, but don’t let anything happen to her.” Kasey advised Frank, a tinge of emotion in his words that I couldn’t quite pick out.

“Kasey…my dear, sweet boy. I will protect her with my life and you know that. Just like you would do the same.” Frank assured him.

“I know. It’s just—after yesterday, after watching her scream in terror and beg that bastard for Kacey’s life, seeing the look on her face when she realized she was covered in blood…I’m really worried about her and it kills me to see her like this. I just need her to come back in one piece, so if you see her start to shake or zone out, breathe heavier than normal, whatever—I need you to try and keep her calm because I’m worried about these flashbacks she’s having. I don’t want her to fall apart because of this.” Kasey’s words had me holding my breath.

Was it that obvious or was he just able to pick up on it when others couldn’t?

“I won’t take my eyes off of her, don’t worry. But I’m going to get changed and I’ll meet you all in the sanctuary because I’m sure you’ll have a few rules for this venture.” I heard Frank give a slight laugh before a door closed.

I finished putting on my pants and made my hair look presentable before I exited the bathroom to find Kacey with one leg in and one leg out of his trousers.

I averted my gaze as I spoke, “Sorry. Didn’t know you were getting dressed.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kasey shrugged it off with his shirt as he changed into something clean.

I hadn’t noticed before because I had only seen him shirtless twice and never his back, but now I could see that a thick pink scar cut across it. It looked as if it had been deep when fresh and must have taken an enormous amount of stitches and forever to heal. I wanted to know what happened and I didn’t even hesitate to comment.

“Your back…what happened?”

Kasey spun around quickly, pulling a shirt over his head before he stopped and just stared at me with furrowed brow.

“Can it wait?” He asked.

It could. It wasn’t dire that I knew right then so I just nodded.

“Okay, let’s get the harness fit on you and then we’re going to have to try and find something to go over your blouse so we can hide it.” Kasey immediately went back to preparations, tugging me over to the computer to fit me with a slightly different apparatus that was set with a small camera instead of the burner phone.

“I had a chance to tweak a few things while you were out yesterday. This will make it easier to hide, but we still need something to go over it.” Kasey babbled, never once looking at me as he spoke, only focusing on the task at hand.

“My only cover-up is drenched in blood.” I shrugged, reminding myself that I needed to find a way to try and launder all of that when we got back.

“I’m sure Frank has something, but we need to hurry because we don’t want to miss the inevitable media brigade.” Kasey responded, finally finishing the assembly of my new spy equipment.

He was acting strange, but my instincts were telling me it was because he wasn’t happy that I was going back into Saltgrove—and without him.

“I’ll be fine, you know. Frank will be with me, there will be police everywhere and probably other people reporting on the find. The only way I’d be safer is if I had both you and Kacey with me.” I tried to ease his mind as he urged me towards the door.

“I know, I know. I keep telling myself that, but—” Kasey shook his head, cutting himself off before he changed direction, “You’ll be fine. I know you can take care of yourself and Frank is former military so I’m not worried.”

That wasn’t a total lie from him.

“Mmhmm. But even if you can’t be there physically, you can still see everything going on.” I assured him, nudging him slightly as we reached the bottom of the stairs where Frank was waiting.

He looked so unlike himself in a pair of tweed slacks and a cream colored button up shirt, hair slicked back without a lick of rouge on his face. Frank could have been a chameleon with the way he easily slipped into one outfit from the other.

“Don’t you look professional.” Frank purred when he saw me, giving me a cheeky wink.

“Can you tell I hate that?” I sighed, fiddling with the collar of my shirt as it scratched against my neck.

“The feeling is mutual, to be honest. But sometimes we have to play a part and I am a damn good actor, so let’s roll with it.” Frank let out an amused laugh and it made feel a little less wound tight.

“Oh, Frank, do you have anything that Sage could wear over the rig? Her only jumper is a bit—well, it needs a wash.” Kasey asked.

Frank clasped his hands together, a delighted look crossing his face as he spoke, “I think I have just the thing. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go find it.”

And Frank was off, gliding towards the stairs before he was gone once he turned the corner.

“While we wait, we can do a visual and sound test and then check it again once we get you covered up.” Kasey started immediately after Frank left. It had me wondering if I didn’t want to leave any gaps for me to ask more questions…

“Test away.” I gave him permission as I stepped closer so he could ensure the camera was on.

As he was setting up the feed and checking the sound, my mind was preparing to do work that I hadn’t done in some time and in such a way that no one knew how much I actually did know. As I thought about what questions to ask, a thought struck me and I deliberated for a moment whether to say anything to Kasey, but I had an idea…

“Something just hit me. There’s a pretty good chance that the killer might be in the crowd today.” I blurted as Kasey fiddled with the camera feed on his phone. This thought, however, got his attention.

“Okay, if you’re trying to put my mind at ease, you are doing a terrible job.” Kasey raised a brow at me before he went back to the phone.

I sighed, “Just listen to me. Is there any way to use the information we have from the bug to possibly find him in a crowd? I don’t know what kind of data you got off of my phone.”

I really hoped that I wasn’t just grasping at straws here.

Kasey let out a deep sigh as he thought, scratching the back of his head before he spoke, “Well, I can’t exactly trace the bug since it was most likely passed on to you via Bluetooth or nearby share, meaning he is savvy enough to remotely activate that feature on your phone and then plant a program without it being obvious. You wouldn’t have even noticed because he hid the program under a secret folder. Whoever he is, he’s pretty good at this.”

“So, that’s a dud.” I huffed.

But then I had another idea, one I wasn’t sure would even be plausible, but I had to try.

“What are the odds he keeps his Bluetooth on?” I queried, just as Frank returned to the sanctuary with a crimson cashmere cardigan draped over his arm.

“Who’s Bluetooth? I never keep mine on.” Frank replied to my question as he motioned for me to put my arms out so he could help me with the sweater.

“Not you, the psycho killer. And if he’s as smart as he seems, he wouldn’t waste his battery like that.” Kasey answered me, but I wasn’t going to let the negative response deter me just yet.

“But what if he knows he can’t track me now? I’m sure he realized that yesterday in the woods. Wild theory, but what if he left Sara’s body as a way to draw me out. She wasn’t there yesterday, at least not that we saw.” I went on because I thought maybe I was on to something.

“And?” Kasey was following me, but he clearly wanted to hear where I was attempting to go with this.

“He couldn’t get close enough to me yesterday to bug my phone, but in a crowd, it would be no problem. Obviously, this guy blends in and he knows the area well, which we’ve seen with how he got to me in the forest, most likely on foot, and even the delivery of the flowers. Chances are, he’s a local, so if he is hanging around, it wouldn’t raise any suspicions. What I’m trying to get at—is there any way that you can monitor my Bluetooth? I don’t know if you can figure out who someone is just by connecting through a phone that way, but it’s just a thought.” I was hoping that my long-winded question made sense.

“Sage,” Kasey started slowly, his face unreadable, “That’s actually a really good fucking idea. I’m already tapped in because of our program, so I should just be able to watch from there. But you guys need to go before they clear everyone out and we have to wait like the rest to figure out who was recovered.”

Kasey praised me, but quickly turned back to the initial plan at hand, steering Frank and me towards the sanctuary doors. He warned me to be careful, I agreed, Frank assured him, and then we were climbing into his van and speedily pulling out of the parking lot. Once we were out on the main road, Kasey’s voice came through my earbuds.

“Testing, testing.”

“I hear ya’.” I responded as I rifled through my bag for my press pass.

“You promise me you’ll be careful?” He asked in my ear.

“Yes. Plenty of people, I’m sure, and most definitely the police. This guy wouldn’t have gone free this long if he was that stupid.” I attempted to get Kasey to see it from a logical perspective. And if anyone was logical, it was him.

He sighed softly, before quietly responding, “I know. I just worry.”

It gave me butterflies. Just those few words, even though I’m sure he’d said them before, sounded—different this time. I couldn’t explain and I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“I know, but I’ve got Frank and you’re technically here with me too. One of us has to be a physical presence and it’s safer for me. I’ll be back before you know it.” I tried to speak softly, but I didn’t think Frank could hear me because he was singing rather loudly to a Queen song.

Silence from Kasey.

And it stayed that way the rest of the ride into town and down the way to the Thistle Inn. When we arrived at the entrance to the forest, it was filled with people, at least thirty or so, and cars parked up and down the lane. Frank decided that it would be easier for us to park at the Inn itself and walk down to where the action was.

“We’re here. Radio silence on my end.” I informed Kasey as I prepared myself to exit the car, fixing my hair in the visor mirror as I spoke.

“If you need to communicate, just type it out and hold it up where I can see. But I’m in your phone right now and monitoring your Bluetooth; if someone tries to connect, I’ll see it.” Kasey replied and I gave him a thumbs up as I climbed out of the car and motioned for Frank to pull out his phone to record in case we needed it.

We didn’t have far to walk to the scene and I could already see the blue and white police tape that had been erected to cordon off the area. I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be local news, and two other cameras that seemed to be from nearby towns. The rest of the individuals there were either police or Saltgrove locals. Everyone was quiet, whispering to one another and standing on tiptoes to try and get a glimpse into the forest, some looking absolutely fear-stricken. There were officers standing guard on the other side of the tape, but none of them were addressing the crowd.

“Good to know people are still hanging around. Most likely it means that the media hasn’t been updated on the findings. There’s also a chance they won’t even announce yet for various reasons.” I whispered to Frank as we began to casually mingle in the crowd.

He nodded with a cluck of the tongue, “Because they can’t identify the body just by looking at it.”

I responded with the same head movement, “If the body is severely mutilated or decomposed, they may not be able to get a positive ID unless they do a dental or DNA comparison.”

“Awful, awful business. And you do this for a living? Looking into shit like this?” Frank asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Mostly. Someone has to. The police don’t always do their jobs and there’s constantly a cover-up to be uncovered; someone’s got to do it, right?” I asked, but not because I needed validation.

“You’re one of the good ones, Red. I know what good you’ve done; I looked you up. One of the selfless. Just—be careful. Kasey has a reason to worry and now so do I.” Frank gave me a vague warning, but I didn’t request him to elaborate.

I tried to push Frank and I closer to the police tape, politely weaving in and out till we were closer to where the other reporters were rehearsing what they were going to say before they began rolling. We didn’t need things to be perfect or really even filmed, we just needed to look and play the part so we could get more information.

“Anything suspicious on my end?” I whispered to Kasey, glancing around at the people around me.

“Not yet. All is well so far.” He returned.

I didn’t get a chance to ask any more questions, because I spied what appeared to be the chief inspector and an officer exiting the trees with looks of sheer disbelief on their face. When they saw the crowd that gathered, I thought they might send us all home, but they entertained us instead.

“Now, I know why all of you are here and I’m sure you’re expecting some sort of update, but we don’t really have much to give you yet.” The chief spoke with a resonating baritone to get the attention of everyone.

And then the questions started from the actual press and the citizens raised their voices in displeasure, but the chief held his hand up for silence.

“One at a time.” He barked, pointing directly at me.

Fuck. I wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot like that and suddenly I was a deer in headlights before I heard Kasey’s voice in my ear.

“You’ve got this. Deep breath.”

So, I did. I took a deep breath and tried to remember what I was good at.

“Do you have a possible ID on the body? I’m sure that most of the people here are probably wondering the same thing and have their theories.” I posed a simple question without coming right out and asking if it was Sara. I wasn’t sure if that information had been given to them.

The chief looked at me with a deadpan expression before he opened and closed his mouth a few times, visibly deliberating with himself on what to say.

“Due to—certain circumstances we can’t make a definitive ID until we make a DNA comparison, but based on several markings on the body, we think we may know the identity But I don’t want to officially say because I know how you gossip-mongers can be.” The chief answered me, but directed his agitation on the rest of the crowd, receiving some disgruntled murmurs from more than a few people.

“Understandable, but can you at least confirm whether or not the body was that of a woman or a teenage girl? With the discovery of the young girl’s body just a few days ago, I think a lot of people are curious.” I pushed for a better answer. I knew that he most likely wouldn’t give a name, but if I knew the age range, we could at least infer whether it was Sara or not.

“A woman. It’s not one of the missing girls.” The chief shook his head, appearing as if he didn’t even want to think about finding another one of the girls.

“Is it Lana Miller, Chief Inspector Stansbury? This one may not want to ask the right questions, but someone has to.” A woman to my left chimed in and I turned to see that it was another one of the reporters, and one from a much larger, inland city; she wasn’t even a local.

This got everyone talking at once because clearly they were all wondering if it was Lana and they wanted answers; people were getting scared. But why was the assumption that it was her? What did the public know exactly about this case?

“Quiet down now. I said quiet!” Chief Stansbury raised his voice along with his arms, commanding silence and receiving it before he went on, “Now, like I said, we are almost positive that we know the identity of the body, but due to circumstances, we need to have the DNA tested for confirmation. I can’t either confirm nor deny that the body uncovered this morning is that of Lana Miller or anyone else. The only information I can give to you is that the body was discovered near the old village ruins at around six this morning by a local jogger. There are obviously signs of foul play and we are investigating this as a homicide. When I have more information, it will be released through a town meeting. For now, respect the police tape and do not enter the forest at any entrance. We are currently asking Saltgrove residents to stay out of the forest altogether for the time being. Thank you.”

And the chief was done with everyone’s nonsense, turning to walk back up the path into the forest, leaving everyone a little stunned, but I was rather impressed with how he handled it, if not shocked by the information

“Lana?” Kasey’s voice sounded in my ear.

“I don’t know, but how much you want to be that whoever she is, she was found near the church, just like Fern’s bag and Kacey.” I whispered back, stepping closer to Frank to cover me as I spoke.

“I wouldn’t bet against you on that last part.” Kasey returned.

I was going to say something else when I felt a tap on my back and reflexively spun around in a panic to find Laine, Fara, and Mel.

“I thought that was you.” A worried smile broke across Laine’s face as she opened her arms for a hug.

I returned the gesture and gave the other two women a nod before I replied, “He put me on the spot, but what are you all doing here?”

Fara was the one to answer me.

“We heard about the body on the radio while at breakfast this morning and rushed down here. We know it’s most likely not her, but—” Laine faltered in her speech, her brow wrinkled.

“I don’t think it is. The police still don’t know about Penelope’s disappearance?” I had to be sure before I tried to put their mind at ease.

All three nodded.

“Then it has to be one of the other two, thought I didn’t expect it to potentially be Lana,” I lowered my voice as I spoke, coming closer, “He said there were some specific markings on the body that more or less confirmed the identity, meaning they were already aware of unique identifiers because they knew she was missing; it’s Sara.”

“Your Bluetooth just switched on and someone is trying to connect.”

All of a sudden I heard Kasey’s voice in my ear and just about jumped before settling myself and glancing over at Frank with a look that I hoped conveyed a hundred words.

“Or Lana.” Frank interjected himself into the conversation so that I could keep better focus on what Kasey would potentially say to me.

“Uh, who are you?” Fara rudely addressed Frank, but I could tell she was wary.

I tried to placate her with a lie as I responded, “Frank is a fellow journalist friend of mine. I didn’t think it was 100% safe to be out here alone.”

“Sorry,” Fara apologized, looking a bit sheepish, “Shit is just really scary right now. And you’re trustworthy, right, Frank?”

Frank nodded, “Very. Red here is like family. I just want to help like her.”

“He has to be close, Sage. At least within ten meters if he was able to connect and stay connected. But I am working on collecting his phone data as we speak, just stay on alert.” Kasey warned me and I subtly held up a thumb in front of the camera so he knew I heard him.

“Good, because Sage has become a friend of ours and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to her. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t know anything right now.” Laine started to ramble, clearly unsettled by everything.

Time was running on and we weren’t really that much closer to finding Penelope and now we had lost one woman. Shit was getting really fucking scary, as Fara said.

I wanted to look around for the guy, to attempt to pick him out of a crowd somehow, but I really didn’t know what I was looking for besides the age range, and there were more men than women around and I was too short to really get a good look at anyone which was probably a good thing; he knew what he was looking for and I didn’t so my actions would be obvious.

“He’s hidden the program on your phone again, most likely not in the same place and I can’t physically see his movements. The download from his phone is almost done and then once he disconnects, I’m going to disable your GPS altogether until we can find the bug again.” Kasey spoke rapidly and I could hear him typing away on his end.

I was suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, trapped; like I couldn’t go anywhere until this killer finished violating my privacy with his tracking bug. It had me breathing heavily now as I sort of zoned out from the conversation being had by Frank and the girls, the sounds around me becoming muffled and echoing. I felt a panic attack coming and I didn’t know from what direction because things had been flying at me from every which way. I tried to breathe through it and hadn’t realized that I had stepped away from the group and couldn’t discern what Kasey was now saying in my ear. I felt the zap, the slap to the proverbial face when a flashback was happening and I knew that this one wasn’t going to pleasant, as if they ever were.

“You’re not trapped, my flower; you were chosen. Sometimes things are chosen for us and we don’t really have a say, but that’s what destiny is, isn’t it? This is fate. Your fate, my fate, the fate of this whole place. And you’re going to start it all. I know I said I wasn’t allowed to keep you, but I think I’ve done well enough that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be my gift. And then—then we could be everything together.”

There was that voice again, but this time it was harder to discern the tone and pitch because I was only half in the memory and half aware of my surroundings. But apparently not so aware that I didn’t sense someone coming up from behind me and…

“You good, Sage?”

I took this horrible, heaving breath as I spun around and almost clocked Ewan. Instead, he gently caught my hand while defensively holding up his other. I was going to end up getting an assault charge if people didn’t stop sneaking up on me.

“Jesus, Ewan. Don’t sneak up on someone that was just recently snuck up on and clobbered over the head.” I scolded him, trying to slow my heart rate with good, deep breathing.

“I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you. I just saw the other three talking together and you standing so far back with a very worried look on your face.” Ewan apologized.

His demeanor was very unlike the Ewan I had been around before. He seemed concerned, kind. Not that he wasn’t a good guy, he had just never been particularly warm with me.

“Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking about everything and trying to figure stuff out. Did you come with Laine and them?” I asked curiously, still watching the three girls chat, but I had lost sight of Frank.

“Not really. I was heading home from work when I heard the news on the radio. I was scared that it was Penelope and against my better judgment, I came here to find out.” Ewan stooped a little closer to me as he spoke, seemingly not wanting anyone to hear what he was saying.

“Well, from the sound of it, I don’t think it’s her.” I tried to reassure him as I started walking back towards Laine and the others, Ewan tagging along behind me.

I didn’t know where Frank was and I couldn’t exactly ask, but maybe the others had seen where he headed. But before I could query, I heard Kasey’s voice in my ear.

“I sent him back to the van. Laine and the others were asking too many questions. You ready to come back?”

“There you are, Sage. Everything alright? Your friend said he got an emergency text and had to go, wanted me to let you know.” Laine greeted me before I could even gesture in response to Kasey and I figured it was time to go.

“Oh, fine. Just a lot of people. Anyway, I have to head out of here; got another lead to follow. I’ll shoot you all a message later in the group and let you know if I find anything.” I made up a quick excuse and began to back away from the group.

I didn’t give them a real chance to draw out the goodbyes as I gave a slight wave, getting one in return from almost everyone before I hurried off towards the van.

“Are you alright?” Kasey asked.

“Not now. But I do have someone I would like to question myself.” I replied, breaking into a sprint to get back to Frank faster.

I heard Kasey let out a sigh, “And that is?”

“Miss Mary who works at the diner. Since we know that she did call the police that night, maybe someone saw something that didn’t seem pertinent at the time given that we knew nothing about the kidnapping yet. I just think it’s worth a shot and I’m tired of getting teeny, tiny little leads that are all dead ends. We have a dead body now and more will come.” I started to get heated the more I spoke and had to try and cool my head as I got to the van and threw open the door to hop in.

“Thank God, you found me. Kasey sent me off and I was starting to freak out a little.” Frank looked thoroughly relieved as he patted my hand before he started the van.

“I had eyes on you; I wasn’t worried.” Kasey’s voice was smooth, calm as he responded.

“Frank, we’ve got one more stop. Can you take me to the diner so I can ask about the night that Penelope disappeared? I also want more information on the other two women because we’ve got nothing to put together right now. I don’t know why the police aren’t releasing any information so that the public can help, a tip-line, something, because they obviously are aware of at least two disappearances, which isn’t good. This is getting ridiculously frustrating and someone has to be proactive about this.” It was like a newly lit fire had been kindled within me.

Was it the flash of an old memory that I had just experienced that was urging me to do more than run and hide? I wanted these women to find a way out like did.

“I have nothing against that if you’ll buy me a waffle and some blood pudding.” Frank smirked at me before he pulled out of the Inn parking lot and sped off towards the center of town.

(*)

“I won’t be long. Looks like the morning rush has died down, so hopefully I can get a word with someone.” I stood outside the van as I spoke to Frank and Kasey, prepping myself to go inside.

“I’m just going to listen to one of my podcasts and kick back for a little snooze; stay inconspicuous.” Frank assured me as he scooted the driver’s seat back.

“Good. And Kasey, feel free to listen, but don’t expect me to answer anything if you ask. Just listen and take note.” I felt sort of like an asshole for telling him to basically not talk, but I had to focus.

“Sorry. I keep forgetting that you can’t really talk freely. I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Kasey returned and I felt a bit better because he didn’t sound at all like he was offended by what I said.

I crossed the parking lot and entered the diner to find maybe two patrons and Miss Mary behind the counter, sorting through tickets.

“Morning, love. What can I get ye’?” She asked without looking up at me.

“Actually, Miss Mary, I need to speak with you about something that happened over a week ago with an employee of yours.” I approached her at the counter, holding my head high to appear confident in what I was doing.

“You police or summat?” She finally looked up at me with a wary eye.

I shook my head and took a few steps closer, “No, ma’am. I am a friend of Penelope’s.”

“Oh, Penny. How is she feeling? She’s been out sick so long I had to fill her position, but she is more than welcome to have her job back when she is better. But what exactly are you asking about?” Mary’s demeanor softened once she learned that I was a friend.

“Penny left here on March 9th after her shift ended and then showed up about twenty minutes later, saying that she had forgotten to count down her drawer.” I started, waiting for confirmation that the woman remembered the night.

She nodded with a pensive look, “Ah, I thought that was weird of her. Penny is meticulous when it comes to her job, especially when it has to do with money. I swore to her that she had, but she told me she wanted to just double check, took her drawer, and went back to the office.”

“How long would you say she was back there before she left again?” I queried, hoping that Kasey was taking notes on the other end since I didn’t have anything to write with.

“Mm, maybe ten minutes or so. She came out of the office without her drawer, told me goodbye, and walked out the door. I didn’t actually see her leave though, because I went into the back to get her drawer. I hate to admit it, but I even went through her drawer myself to see if anything was missing because of how strange she was acting.” Mary admitted, seeming like she felt bad for not trusting the woman.

Now came the question I really wanted to ask.

“Did you know that Penny called the police while she was here?”

Mary looked taken aback, surprised, and her expression alone answered my question.

“No. Why would she do that?”

“I think she was being followed, Miss Mary. I think that’s why she came back here with the excuse about forgetting to count her drawer. She must not have felt safe enough to explain herself, but I know that a call came in to the police from her. We think that she may have a stalker.” I tried to put it in such a way that didn’t allude to the fact that Penelope actually had a kidnapper.

“Bollocks, you’re kidding me? Oh, my God, she came here because she thought she was being followed and I didn’t even know! How had I not seen that?” Mary suddenly became emotional, looking a little peaked as she considered the thought.

“A few of her friends, myself included, are trying to get to the bottom of this without contacting the police. You know they won’t do anything if there isn’t some sort of proof.” I urged her with my words to tell me all she knew, but I had a feeling that I already knew everything that she did.

“Well,” Mary started, tapping her chin in thought, “My cook, Robbie, he was here that night. Maybe he saw something back there that I didn’t.”

Mary hollered into the kitchen for Robbie and soon a man who appeared to be in his early forties with a hairnet over his puffy red beard stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his hands off on a dish towel.

“Eh, Mary. What is it?” He asked, glancing over at me as he spoke.

Mary waved him over with a subtle gesture and he let out an exasperated sigh as he came over to the counter, watching me the whole way.

“This is—oh, I don’t think I caught yer name.” Mary tried to introduce me, but she was right; she didn’t.

Did I give her my real name or a fake?

“Sia. Sia Stone. I’m a friend of Penny’s and I just wanted to ask if you saw anything strange the night she came back in to recount her drawer. It was March 9th if that helps.” I took hold of the conversation because I wasn’t going to let this man intimidate me with his disgruntled demeanor.

“Oh, yeah, I do remember that. She came rushing into the kitchen with the drawer in her hand and I asked her what she was doing; told me that she forgot to count the drawer before she disappeared into the office. But she was in there maybe a minute or two before she came out and went to the landline on the wall that we use for pickup orders. I couldn’t hear who she was talking to, but she kept her eyes on the dining hall, like she was looking for something. All of a sudden she hung up the phone and walked out of the kitchen, past Mary and outside. I followed to see what was going on because it was definitely out of character for her.” Robbie recalled rather well what happened that night.

“That’s when I asked what the hell that was all about and went to the back for the drawer.” Mary interjected before Robbie gave an agreeing nod and went on.

“There was a car in the parking lot with its brights on, right next to Penny’s car. It had started to rain so it was a little hard to see from the counter, but it looked like she got in her car, started it, and pulled out of the parking space before the other car turned off its brights and followed her out of the parking lot that way.” Robbie pointed in the direction that led to Penelope’s flat.

As if Penny’s final moments before her kidnapping weren’t strange enough, now they really were. Who was she hiding from and who was the other person in the car that she clearly felt comfortable enough with to leave the diner accompanied by them? I had a feeling that we possibly weren’t being told the whole truth by someone…

“Thanks, Robbie. I’m going to ask around and see if anyone else may know who she left with. Could you describe the car at all?” I wanted to see if I could get one final detail before I got out of there and headed back to St. Nick’s.

“Too dark, but so was the car, so maybe dark blue, green, black. It was a smaller car though with those crazy halogen lights. I mean, it was smaller than Penny’s Jeep.” Robbie replied. He couldn’t give me much, but it was more than we had before.

“That gives me something, at least. Seriously, thank you. We’re all just worried about her. She still says she’s sick and doesn’t want to talk to anyone, but I wonder if this is the real reason. Once we know more, we’re going to take it to the police.” I tried to assure them that she was alright and that we were handling it.

“If either of us need to speak with the authorities, just let us know. Anything to help Penny.” Mary gave me a weak smile and I got a nod of agreement from Robbie.

I thanked them again before I excused myself and hurried back to the van to find Frank nodded off in the front seat with a pair of large round sunglasses on to shield his eyes.

“Up, sleepy head. We can head home now.” I jostled him awake gently and after a few grumbles, he started the van and took us out of the parking lot.

“Good work, Sage. I recorded all of that for us to go over later. If that person in the other car is her abductor, we can possibly narrow things down.” Kasey started to speak once he knew I was able to respond.

“I wish we knew where Penelope’s car is. Because that’s still missing too.” I whispered, feeling a little weird seemingly talking to myself.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll make note of that too. I’ll go silent for now and let you rest. You had me a little worried back there.” Kasey returned.

I had almost forgotten about my little episode and wondered what all had been said to me by him while I was unaware. But he was right, I needed to rest and didn’t want to talk about it at that moment.

“We’ll talk more later.” I was short with my response before I took my earbuds out of my ears and let my head lean against the window.

I just needed a moment.