“I KNEW IT,” I blurted out, the phone pressed against my burning cheek. “The woman on the beach was Miracle, wasn’t it?”
The phone line crackled. I heard static in the background as I held my breath, needing to know.
“A miracle,” Jasper said, sounding lost.
“No, I mean the girl on the beach. It was Miracle Jones. The daughter of your first victim.”
“You’re not listening, Theodore.”
“I am! I know she met you. I know she lied to me.”
“Maybe she did,” Jasper said. “Maybe I am.”
“What does that even mean? Just tell me, was it her? Did you find her?”
There was a pause before Jasper spoke. In it, I could almost see his face, his birdlike eyes growing distant, vulnerable even.
“It’s almost over. I’ve searched for so long. For so many years. For so many lives. And all I know, all I can tell you, is one thing. Some questions are better left unanswered.”
The line went dead.
“Jasper! Jasper!”
There was no response. I dialed the number back, but no one picked up. As I ended the call, someone pounded on the adjoining door. I startled.
“What?”
“Open the door!” Zora called out.
I got up, cursing under my breath. It took me a minute to fiddle with the lock. When I got it, she burst into my room like some Wild West sheriff.
“What happened?”
“Huh?” I muttered.
“I heard you yelling his name. I thought he found us.”
“Jasper?”
“Jesus, Theo. Yes. What is wrong with you?”
I tried to tell her about the call. Before my mouth could open, though, Miracle followed her into the room. Her dark eyes locked on to mine, and Jasper’s words swarmed my head, but suspicion kept my mouth closed. Dark eyes … I knew she’d lied to me.
“I must have been dreaming.”
Zora focused on me, into me, searching for something. I shivered, like a snake trying to free itself from its old skin. I swear she nodded. It was slight, barely a tip of the head, but I saw it. I know I did. And it gave me the strength for what I did next.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, with a conspiratorial twitch of the eye. “Alone.”
Zora blinked. “About what?”
“About the project.”
“You really think we have time for that?”
“Jasper just called,” I whispered.
She stared back at me for a second, then turned to Miracle.
“I’m sorry. Do you mind waiting for us in our room?”
“Sure,” Miracle said, clearly uncomfortable. “But I think we should keep moving.”
“We will,” Zora said.
I just nodded. Once Miracle was gone and the door between the two rooms shut, I didn’t hold back.
“She’s lying to us,” I blurted out.
Her jaw clenched. “Really?”
“I know she seems all innocent, but—”
“Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?”
Zora’s words felt like a slap. I wavered, despite the confidence I had felt only a minute earlier.
“I … I’m not saying …”
“What are you saying, Theo?”
“I know she’s been through a lot and all. With her mom. And—”
“You mean the part about being left in a sink for four days, or the part about her mother being murdered by a serial killer?”
I put my hands up. “Come on. I know that. I do. I just … She told me that she’s never met him—Jasper. But it was a lie. I’m sure of it.”
Zora stiffened. I had pushed her to an edge. I could feel the tension between us, and I knew I’d fractured her internal need to save me from myself.
“You’re telling me that Miracle met the Halo Killer? And when do you think this happened? You think she visited him in prison? I can make a call, find out in a second, if that’s really what you want me to do.”
“No,” I protested. “Not in prison.”
“Jesus! When, last night, then?”
“Before,” I said.
Zora moved so quickly. All of a sudden, she had thrust her face within an inch of mine. I startled, trying to move away, but my knees buckled on the mattress. I sat down, hard, and she leaned in closer, over me.
“How the hell would something like that happen? What, you think she hunted him? Who do you think this woman is? Another of your stories? Really, Theo, you’re in the wrong business. You should be some two-bit thriller writer, the way your mind makes shit up.”
“How dare you!” I sputtered, failing to sound as imposing as I wanted to.
“How dare I? You just accused this woman that we barely know of mysteriously tracking down the most elusive serial killer in history. Finding him. And what? Sitting down for a little chat? And then just walking away? That makes absolutely no sense.”
“What if he found her?” I said.
“Why would he—”
“When they identified his first victim. When the article came out identifying his first victim as Abbie Henshaw, Miracle’s mother. What if—stay with me here—when he read that, he felt … I don’t know, threatened? Like she was stealing his attention?”
“Is that what he told you?”
“Um, no. He said he was out getting a flower for Barbara Yost and he saw her on the beach. He followed her to a car. And found a motel key card.”
Zora hissed. “Quiet. Come on. That is total bullshit, and you know it. What, is your plan to march in there and confront her? Tell her that crap? Do you have any idea how that would make her feel? She’s a person, not an actor from one of your reenactments.”
“I don’t use reenactments,” I snapped, offended.
“Get ahold of yourself!”
I shot to my feet so fast that it was her turn to take a step back. “Stop saying that!”
“What?”
“You keep telling me that I don’t look good. Telling me I’m diving too deep. That I’m reckless. That I need to get ahold of myself. You know what … fuck you!”
I’d finally done it. Zora was speechless. She stared into my eyes for a second. Then she turned and walked away. I was too full of adrenaline to follow. I thought I’d give us both a second to cool down. Then I heard a loud slam. I didn’t move, not right away. Instead, I stood still and listened. But after that, there was just silence.
Slowly, I moved to the adjoining door. My hand hovered over the knob for a moment; then I turned it. My side opened. And so did theirs.
“Hello?” I called out softly.
No one answered. When I stepped into the room, it was empty. The only sign that Zora and Miracle had been there was the two key cards thrown on the desk. I knew, right away, that she was gone. That Zora was off the project. And I was alone.