Perhaps they are.
Once we’re well away from the scene and I’m sure no one is following us, I pull into an empty parking lot and put the car into park. Charlotte hasn’t said a single word since we left the cemetery, just sits quietly, the only movement her chest rising and falling.
Looking her over, I take in the changes. She was a gangly ten-year-old the last time I saw her, just starting to go through that awkward phase girls go through between childhood and teen years. Her hair is the same; dark with blonde highlights, a riot of curls that never could be tamed easily. Aqua eyes framed by long lashes—she’s turned into a beautiful woman.
“Charlotte—”
“It’s Rebecca. Not Charlotte,” she whispers, her eyes void of even the smallest spark of life. “Charlotte’s dead.”
Pulling my lips into a hard line, I nod. Grabbing my cell, I place a call to the police, reporting gunshots fired. They’d already had several calls, and police and an ambulance are on their way. There isn’t anything more I can do, so I take a minute to just breathe.
I wasn’t expecting it to go down this way. I was hoping to reconnect with Charlotte, help her in any way that I could. I need to let my parents know that she’s alive, that the man that murdered their daughter is dead.
I’ll leave out the part that Charl—Rebecca was the one to kill him.
Breathing out a deep breath, I turn to Rebecca, taking her hand in mine. “I missed you so much, nugget,” I say, my voice gentle and soothing. “I became an FBI agent to try to find you, to bring the man to justice that killed your parents.”
She huffs a small laugh. “Yeah, well, I beat you to it.”
“I know. I saw. Rebecca, I—” my throat closes off with the threat of tears as I think back to the House of Horrors and everything we discovered there. “I can’t even imagine the horrors that you endured. How much suffering. Can I take you home?”
Tears leak down her face as she faces me, her eyes meeting mine with a sadness so potent that it steals my breath. “He was my home. I have nothing now.”
“You have me, Rebecca. And grandma and grandpa. They never gave up hope of seeing you again. They stayed in the same house all these years in case you were able to make your way back. And I will always be here for you, whatever you need.”
She says nothing for a moment, just stares down at her hands twisting in the folds of her shirt. The same deadened expression on her face. Then she raises her head, her eyes meeting mine. There’s something almost feral about the look in them, like something monstrous lurks within.
“What am I doing?” she whispers, beginning to rock herself back and forth. “This is wrong! I can’t leave without him. He’ll be waiting for me. Trey promised.Always.That’s what he said.”
Fuck.
Her rocking gets faster, her shoulders shaking as a smile stretches across her face. “We have to go back!” she shouts out, laughing. She grabs my hand, squeezing it. “Auntie Sannah, I know it!” She thumps her fist against her heart. “He’s not dead, he’s not! He’ll be waiting for me, he won’t leave without me. We have to go back.”
“Rebecca, we—”
“TAKE ME BACK NOW! Now! I need Trey, Auntie Sannah. Please!”
Jesus. What am I supposed to do? I can’t take her back to a crime scene that’s crawling with cops. There’s no way Trey made it out of that alive. No fucking way. And I can’t let her get arrested.
While I’m desperately thinking about what to do, Rebecca switches the radio on, then starts screaming relentlessly as they confirm that two bodies were found at the scene, an FBI agent, and an unidentified black man.
Removing my seatbelt, I pull her against me the best I can in the car, holding her as she breaks apart, screams dissolving into sobs, sobs into hiccups. I have no idea how much time goes past before she finally goes quiet.
Drawing back, the look on her face nearly kills me. There’s nothing at all. It’s like she’s wearing a mask; eyes sightless, staring into the abyss. Reaching up, I brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. She doesn’t move or even flinch, just stares straight ahead.
What the fuck do I do?
Pulling the car out of the parking lot, I make a decision. The only one I can think of. I head east. We’re going home.
Chapter 44
Rebecca
Two Weeks Later
Nothing matters anymore. Not a single fucking thing. Not reconnecting with my grandparents, who were at first excited to see me, only to be followed with confusion and hurt. Not food, not sleep, not even the upcoming holiday season.
Auntie Sannah requested permission to move back to Chicago, citing family obligations. I heard her on the phone discussing the Arizona investigation. Apparently, agents from the Phoenix department will take it over. I’m sure if I could feel anything right now, the guilt over her changing her life around for me would be crushing.
