Page 54 of Arseni
What do I care?
Great question.Greatfucking question.
“Are you really risking your life so you can tell me your old foster mommy wouldn’t let you smash; therefore, she couldn’t possibly be a pedo?”
“No… I’m risking it because I need a favor.”
He arches a brow.
“I need you to check Margot’s doorbell camera and the camera at her back porch for anybody entering her home over the last couple of days.Unless he came and left through a window, you should see a man our age who’s been stalking her for the last seven years.He planted the photos.”
“What?”Hudson smiles, but it’s stilted.
“I’d do it myself, but the place is being surveilledin case she comes back… Just tell the detective working the case you got a tip.”
“Why don’tyoutell him?”He hitches his thumb.“We can go to the station now.They’re definitely gonna have some questions for you.”
I just stare at him until his eyes dim.
“Oh… Right,” he says like he’s just remembering why I can’t talk to cops.He ruffles his untidy hair and leans forward on his elbows.“Ars, is there something else you wanna tell me?”
“Like?”
“Like… Do you know where Margot Stevens is?”
I shake my head.“I got a no-reply email from her last night asking for my help.She thinks I’m the only person anyone might believe, given our history.And I believe her.”
Hudson’s lips twist while his eyes roam my face.I can tell he thinks I know where she is.I like the guy, but I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if the police started following me.It’s too bad there isn’t a cop's chance in heaven they could get a warrant to search Nikita’s house.
“Remember what I said about that hundred-thousand-dollar reward?”he hints.
“I don’t know where she is, Hudson.”
He stares at me another few moments before leaning back and lifting up his hands.“All right… I’ll give your tip to the detectives.Will we find prior evidence of thisstalker?”He says it like the word deserves quotes.“I’m assuming she’s filed reports on the guy?”
Turning my eyes to a ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ street sign on the wall, I consider it.It doesn’t take long.
“No.”
She would’ve been too ashamed.If I had his name, this might be simpler, but I’m guessing it’s a little too late to insist on her giving it to me.It’s doubtful she’ll ever trust me again.
Her wounded voice enters my mind, making me flinch.She sounded more heartbroken than I’ve ever heard her when I left the basement.It was like I disappointed her.Like she expected more from me.
But it’s too late to be her hero.It’s too awkward to be her friend.
This is the best I can do.
“She went seven years of being stalked without ever making a report?”Hudson asks.
“She had her reasons.”
“Such as…” he twirls his hand, but I’m finished with the conversation.He’s a good guy.I’ve always liked him, and if I’m honest, talking to him reminds me of all the things I don’t have in common with Luka.It reminds me that there are people out there who get me, who’ve seen pain and have known what it’s like to fall to the slums.
And there are some, like Hudson and me, who were lucky enough to get a second chance at life.The world is cruel, but it’s kinder than I am.No one gets a second chance from me.
“Thanks, Suds,” I say, standing and throwing a couple of bills down.I pat his shoulder as I walk by and pull my hood up before walking out of the bar, hoping like hell my paranoid boss doesn’t have someone following me.He’d never understand this.
Hudson and I may be a lot alike, but we’re on opposite sides of the fence.
