CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kaitlyn awoke late the next morning. She and Uncle Jack had gotten home at four in the morning. As she lay there, daylight seeping through the curtains, memories resurfaced—the gunshot, how Marianna’s body had slumped, the sickening give of it as she’d climbed into the front seat, jumping from the car, the sound of the shredder, standing by the shed and waiting for that man, the way his head jerked when the chunk of metal hit him, being in the emergency room, blood flowing from the vein in her elbow into the test tubes. And fear. Not fear itself, but the memory of what the fear had felt like.
She changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. The blue and white quilt Mrs. VanDyke had given her hung over the back of her desk chair. When she opened the door, she saw a large, dark blue object lying in the hall.
“Boo!” Kaitlyn’s heart skipped a beat. Then Julia threw off the blanket. “Aunt Zoë told me not to wake you, so I stayed out here. Are you okay? Look at what I got.” Julia held up her arm to show a pink cast encasing it from the hand to the elbow.
“Very cool.”
“The doctor said it can come off by Christmas.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Forever.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring you back your elephant at the hospital,” Kaitlyn said, leaning back against the wall.
“It’s okay. How come you’ve got all those bandages?”
“Just some cuts. No big deal.”
“And what’s that on your ankle?”
“It’s an ace bandage. I’ve got a sprain.”
“Can I see?”
Kaitlyn lowered herself onto the carpet and unrolled the bandage. Her ankle was a little swollen and black and blue on the outside. “It doesn’t hurt much. Probably less than your arm.”
“I missed breakfast too, like you, because I stayed up late waiting.” Julia crawled close to her. “Aunt Zoë said someone tried to kidnap you, but you got away. Is that for real?”
Kaitlyn nodded. She didn’t want to talk about it, but how did you tell that to a four-year-old? She felt warm air from the register waft across her feet.
“But why?” Julia pressed.
“Bad people do bad things. It’s over now.”
“It’s almost time for lunch,” Julia said. “Are you hungry?”
To her surprise, she was.
Zoë was sitting at the kitchen table reading. She hugged Kaitlyn long and tightly. “I was going to make a pizza for lunch but got lazy,” she said. “How about toasted cheese sandwiches instead?”
“Where’s Uncle Jack?” asked Kaitlyn.
“Back to the hospital—where else? Before I forget, he tried to call your stepmother last night but had trouble getting information across. You might want to give her a ring, before she reads about it in the paper.”
“I don’t think she reads the paper much.”
“Still, a good idea.”
“My phone’s gone,” Kaitlyn said. “I think the lady took it last night. It was probably in the car when it went through the shredder.”
“Shredder?” asked Julia.
“Use mine,” Zoë said. “You make the call, and I’ll round up some grub.”
“Don’t say grub,” said Julia. “It sounds like bug.”
“By the way, Kaitlyn, Investigator Dirkens called. She wants to come over and talk with you.”
“I’ve already told her everything.”
Zoë handed her the phone, and Kaitlyn went to her bedroom. For a moment the spinning sensation she’d felt when she had woken up in the car returned. Lying down, she draped the quilt over her and pulled it up to her chin. The quilt still had the warm, wholesome smell of the VanDykes’ house. The spinning went away but an ache rose behind her eyes as more memories resurfaced. She muffled a sob and heard the door creak open. Julia’s head appeared. Kaitlyn sat up and blew her nose.
“Where’d you get the new blanket?” asked Julia.
“A nice lady.” She let Julia climb up, awkwardly because of the cast. Kaitlyn put one arm around her, and with her free hand she called Stella’s number. It rang several times before her stepmother answered.
“Hey,” Kaitlyn said.
“Why are you calling from Zoë’s number? What happened to your phone?”
Kaitlyn sighed. Julia was listening. “I don’t have it anymore. Something bad happened last night.”
“What was that?”
Kaitlyn hesitated. “I got kidnapped.”
Stella was silent for a moment then made something like a laugh. “Oh, really? And what was his name?”
“How can you say that?” Anger swelling, Kaitlyn sat up straighter. “Do you want to hear what happened or not?”
“Did he take you to a motel?”
“That’s awful,” Kaitlyn said, trembling. “You have no idea.”
“I was kidnapped when I was your age too. His name was Vince. So why don’t you level with me?”
Kaitlyn moved Julia aside and stood, trying to hold back tears, feeling her throat tighten.
“Kaitlyn?” peeped Julia.
“I tell you one thing,” said Stella. “You’re getting a pregnancy test as soon as you get home. But that can wait till next week. Donald and I are going to celebrate my graduation. He’s booked us an Airbnb at Reno Beach near Toledo for the weekend.”
“He’s what?” Kaitlyn closed her eyes and felt her chest tighten. Stella and that jerk were going to spend a weekend celebrating. The familiar ache bulged in her throat. Julia hugged her leg.
“It’s not that far away, Kaitlyn,” Stella said. “You’ll be fine at home till we get back.”
Her breath was coming faster. “I was almost killed, and you don’t even want to listen to me! I’m coming home Friday and you’re going away Saturday?”
“Actually, we’re leaving Friday, sweetie. He’s booked us starting Friday night. So we’ll be home Sunday. You know where the spare key is. No friends over. No kidnappings. No booze, no drugs, no hamsters.”
Kaitlyn wanted to scream. She wanted to throw something. She wanted to stab herself. Julia looked frightened, still sitting on the bed.
“Are you there?” Stella continued.
“I have to go now,” Kaitlyn said sharply. “Aunt Zoë’s made lunch. Julia’s hungry.”
“Did you hear what I told you?”
“Loud and clear.”
“So, what time will you be getting here on Friday?”
Kaitlyn’s breath was coming faster yet. Sharp pains jabbed at her breastbone. “Not sure. I’ve got to go. Bye.” She threw the phone on the bed and moaned.
“Kaitlyn?” Julia said, her lower lip quivering. “Why doesn’t she like you?”
Kaitlyn couldn’t stop the tears. “I don’t know. Because she’s crazy. Because she thinks I killed my father.”
“She thinks you killed your father?”
Kaitlyn looked at Julia. That was a stupid thing to say. “Forget I said that, okay? Just forget it, please.”
Julia’s cheeks were wet now too. “Why do you have to go back? Stay here.”
Kaitlyn grabbed tissues. “I hate this. I hate this.”