Ripple Effect: A Novel (26 page)

“You really think we can work together? Though we swore we were mortal enemies?” I wonder.

She almost laughs, but it turns into a pained grimace. “I promise you that I will do everything I can to help stop him.”

I allow myself to smile. “Fine.” Then I tell her we’re going to my house, the place she’ll call home for the next few days. I need to watch her and make sure she isn’t going to do something to jeopardize our efforts, like see the enemy and turn me in.

“Oh, and, there is this guy that is going to help us––” I add as we head for the pavement.

“No cops!” she yells. I shush her. “I’ve had my chance to tell the cops at the school and I realize that we can’t solve this problem that way. Leison is a smart man, a tricky man, and if the principal or kindergarten cops go for him, he’ll kill the others. He’s dead serious, Cecily!”

“This guy is different. He’s like a federal agent or something. We need the brains of the outsider, Sabrina. No one in this town can be trusted.” I pause and look down. “Not even Sheriff Copper will know what’s going on.”

Sabrina nods, caving into my idea. “If this goes south, we do it my way.”

“What’s your way?” I’m surprised she has something planned.

Her eyes narrow. “We kill that sick freak by ourselves!”

After retrieving Sabrina’s things, she told her father that she was having a sleepover at a friend’s house for a few nights and would call him later. Apparently her father had lost hope in her and swept her away with his hand. He said something about a coffin and picking one out, so that if they found her body she could be buried properly. All of this is according to her.

This means that she is crying all the way to my house and that I have to grit my teeth and not smack her. And find sympathy, I guess. She is amazing at burning bridges and collecting enemies.

I turn the car off and stare at the dash for a minute––filled with the speedometer, the temperature gage of the engine, the gasoline gage, RPM gage, and lights and stuff. I feel like I’m driving in a high speed chase, even though I am sitting in my car . . . turned off and in my driveway. Yes, an emotional high speed chase with a serial killer.

Am I being an idiot to think that we can we really do this? With Sabrina? Can I rely on her? Am I being an idiot?!

“Cecily,” Sabrina says, pulling me from my doubt-filled mind. I glance at her and wait for her answer. She’s like a dark shadow sitting in my car. “Do you trust me?”

“Can I?”

“I want you to . . .” She looks down at her hands.

As I stare at the bruises on her arms and chest, an uneasy feeling seeps through me. She is an ill girl, with sunken eyes and pale skin. Maybe bringing her here was a bad idea. Allowing her to die would be an even worse one. I rub my face and sigh, then open my door to get out of the old car before panic threatens to completely take my sanity.

My sights set on the white moon surrounded by stars and black sky. There is a particular star that shines brightly, near the eastern side of the sky. It brings me hope and I name it Diamond Heart––for a reason I can’t possibly explain. It just seems right.

Sabrina stands in the shadow of the car and watches me. I get my head together, knowing that things are going to work out somehow, and turn around to help her carry a bag into the house. Once inside I set it down near the couch, where she’ll be sleeping. She seems grateful for my generosity and I’m more than positive that her gratefulness is not fabricated.

Mom is instantly there, instantly wrapping her arms tightly around me and saying her thanks that both Sabrina and I are safe and home. I called her when Sabrina was in her house and told her the story of why I was inviting my arch enemy to stay at the house, though skipping the parts with mean words and ruthless fighting. It was all done so that we could reach a common ground. Mom wouldn’t be happy to hear that I had kind of been a brat.

“Hello, Mrs. Wolf,” Sabrina says with respect. It was one of those things that needed to be replayed because I never thought I’d see such humility come from her.

My mother smiles. “Hello, Sabrina. It’s been quite a while.”

“Thanks for letting me stay here . . .” She smiles meekly.

My eyes narrow as I read her.
Is she just playing coy?

Hazel bursts through the front door with Darien behind her. She’s laughing about something and carrying two pizzas. Her golden hair is twisted up above her head and she’s wearing a pair of pink sweats. Darien has the sodas and his dirty blond hair isn’t his usual; greasy like a used cotton swab filled with ear wax. Perhaps Hazel has worked her magic. Regardless, he still wears his old t-shirts with random phrases.

“CSI: Can’t Stand Idiots?” I ask him, in reference to the shirt. It’s actually amusing.

Darien shrugs and smiles. “My favorite one.”

My face lights up and I teasingly—but not really—say, “You’ll need it.”

He looks toward Sabrina and his eyes widen. With a questioning look directed at me, he points his finger at Sabrina, who is talking to my mother.

Hazel is not as kind when she sees the surprise guest. As soon as she sees Sabrina, Hazel’s smile disappears from her face. The color goes red—and not because she’s just warm.

Earlier, when I told Hazel about my fight with Sabrina, Hazel was fuming mad and red in the face, kind of like now. It was her only intention to go over to Sabrina’s house and dump a bucket of one hundred percent bleach on her black hair to make it orange. “Then she’ll have to cut it all off,” Hazel snickered. “Her beauty runs surface deep. If you ruin that, her exposure as an ugly and wicked person will be all that’s left!”

At the time I was horribly pissed and vindictive toward Sabrina, especially for scratching my face. I was actively looking for a place to find that percentage of bleach. To my dismay, it was far too difficult for us to get our hands on it. And it would sear her flesh, which was a little more than what I thought she deserved.

“Hazel,” my mother says sweetly. Mom is no fool and saw the dagger-filled look that Hazel shot Sabrina. “Sabrina’s going to stay here for a few nights.” Mom smiles.

Looking at me, Hazel shakes her head. “No! No a
thousand
times!”

My finger points at her, a warning to behave herself. “She’s on our side now.”

“Cecily Wolf! You freaking pushover!” Hazel storms past us with the pizzas.

Not even Darien gives Sabrina recognition, being that he knows the whole story, I’m sure, and treats her as if she is just the trash in the garbage can. Actually, trash in a garbage can would be more fascinating than Sabrina to them. She isn’t exactly welcomed here.

A pit of sadness fills me and I just might cry.
I can’t please everyone, can I?

There is a knock on the door. I grab it because I’m closest and in comes Kelly and a man, who is a replica of Kelly, but ten years older and wearing a black leather jacket and denim. A few wrinkles surround his blue eyes, perhaps holding secrets of his past. Based on their deep grooves, they aren’t pleasant.

In all honesty, if that’s what Kelly looks like in ten years, I will have no objections.

“Cecily,” Kelly says with relief. He looks at Sabrina and is just as shocked as Hazel. I sigh and fold my arms. “Finally, I can put a face to a name,” Kelly says to Sabrina, trying to be polite. After looking at the healing scratch on my face, he shoots me a wary look. He knows who she is. His hand glides through his spiked brown hair and he takes a breath when she looks away.

I step to his side and rest my forehead on his shoulder. His cotton shirt is soft and he smells like laundry detergent. “Thank you,” I whisper. And he knows that I’m thanking him for being nicer to her than the others were.

“Come and sit,” Mom says, leading the way to the living room.

Everyone passes us and Sabrina leans in to say something to me. “You said just us, remember?” She sounds pissed. I would be pissed if everyone hated me, too.

I look into her stern face. “This is
us
. Everyone here knows about it and we are in it together. Do you really think we are going to try to stop this serial killer by ourselves?”

Sabrina shakes her head. “Fine.”

I leave her side and sit between Kelly and Hazel on the big couch. Sabrina stuffs in between me and Hazel, and Darien lounges in the loveseat by himself. Kelly’s arm wraps tightly around me and I already feel like the world is going to be okay.

“This is my uncle, Lee Owens,” Kelly introduces. “He’s with the FBI.”

Knowing that Kelly can personally vouch for his uncle makes me feel a thousand times better. If he’s as good at his job as Kelly promises, then I think we’ll be okay.

My mother leaves to grab Owens a glass of water as he sits down in a leather arm chair across from the couch. The aroma of pizza fills the room and makes my stomach pang with hunger, but I think it would be better to talk first and eat later.

“Start from the beginning and tell me everything that has happened,” Owens says.

Silently, Sabrina and I exchange nervous glances and Mom enters the room.

“Thank you,” he says, after taking the glass of water from her. His leg crosses over the other and he rests his arms on the padded arm rests. “Perhaps I should be more specific. Tell me about Leison,” he says, looking from me to Sabrina, “and his interactions with you.”

Sabrina nudges me with her elbow to go first. I can hear an annoyed hiss come from Hazel.

“I––yeah, he’s a bad guy,” I say with nervousness, my voice barely audible. It isn’t every day that you tell a strange man that you were molested by a serial killer teacher, is it? “What has Kelly told you?”

Owens tilts his head just barely and his eyes narrow for a split second, as if he is ripping down my walls of protection and reading my mind. “I want to hear what you have to say about it,” he says to me, his voice smooth, “Cecily.”

I clear my throat and nod. “Okay.” I pause. “Leison attacked me the Friday after last, did bad things, threatened me––”

“Bad things?” Owens asks, his head moving forward slightly. “Like what?”

Does he not believe me? He doesn’t even know me! He is awfully judgmental.

“Not rape!” Hazel pipes in quickly.

I lean forward, past Sabrina, and give Hazel a look to shut up, and then face him again. “Just molestation . . . I guess.” My stomach fills with dread and Kelly’s grasp tightens on me.

Owens simply nods. He beckons me to continue with just one look.

“He bruised me really badly, and––” I can’t talk about it anymore and look away.

“You said he threatened you?” Owens asks. “How so?”

I try not to look at Mom. “He mentioned my sister,” I whisper.

Mom becomes uncomfortable, already well aware of the Adie fact. Hiding her panic, she turns to leave the room. This is too hard for her.

Owens holds his hand out. “Mrs. Wolf, stop.” He stands up quickly.

She stops and looks down at the ground. “Mr. Owens.”

“I know you’re worried about your other daughter, and we’ll deal with that soon enough, Mrs. Wolf,” Owens says, a promise in his blue eyes.

“Where is Adie?” Hazel whispers to me from behind Sabrina.

I glance at Owens and back to Hazel. “Daphne’s,” I whisper.

“You so lucked out.”

My narrowed eyes meet hers. “
Shh.
”

“Cecily,” Owens says, his voice domineering now. “What else did he say or do to you that kept you from seeking the help of the authorities?”

“He claimed that no one would believe me. Though he mentioned my sister, he didn’t threaten her life directly––but I couldn’t be so sure over it.” I wish I had never said that part about Adie. “The reason he didn’t… go all the way is because he said I was being reserved for initiation.”

Owens stood straighter. “What is
initiation?
”

Sabrina speaks now, “It’s where his goons collect you at a party and rape you.”

“Did you do initiation?” Darien asks her.

“No, I slept with Leison directly.” She is trying to be tough as stone, but I see the soft cottony core underneath her shell. It holds a pulsing heart, filled with terror and ache.

Hazel laughs. “We all know that.”

“Watch it,” I hiss to my best friend.

Owens doesn’t even blink. “When were you to be initiated?” he asks me calmly.

I clear my throat and look at Sabrina. “Last Friday,” she answers.

“Why weren’t you?”

My gaze meets my Mom’s, who is chewing on her nails anxiously. “I didn’t go to the party,” I reply. Tears fill my Mom’s eyes and I can see the prayer of thanks on her lips.

“Sabrina, tell me your side of the story.” He coolly sits in his chair and watches her, evaluating everything she does with his analytical mind. “When did it start for you?”

She looks down as she speaks, “Well, I had noticed Leison when he first started teaching. He had a mutual interest and assigned me a spot to be his teacher’s aide starting my first semester of senior year.” Sabrina looks at Owens. “I willingly had sex with him.”

Darien and Hazel cover their mouths in shock and I have to do the same. We all know it, but to hear it from the horse’s mouth is priceless.

Owen’s face pales a little, but he keeps his blank composure. “Leison did not push or threaten you to do sexual acts?”

“I was in a dark place,” Sabrina admits. “And it felt good to be lost in something. How was I supposed to know that he’d be such an evil man?”

Mom points a worried finger at Sabrina. “I’m calling Gordon. As soon as this is over.”

Sabrina jumps to her feet, nearly pushing a growling Hazel to the ground. “No, Mrs. Wolf! Please!” she begs, tears spilling down her cheeks. “My father hates me as it is!”

Owens rises and stands with his hands above his belt, jacket pushed back to reveal a black button up and the straps of a shoulder holster. “Mrs. Wolf, if you will.” He points to the kitchen and she goes ahead, him following behind her.

I tiptoe over to the red-painted wall and tell the others to be silent.

“I will swing by the Sheriff’s office tonight, Mrs. Wolf. Don’t make a ruckus with the girl’s parent’s—it will only escalate the situation,” Owens says.

“The situation? Our girls are being raped! The—the parents have a right to know!”