Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Vanessa
I sat on my bed with my files spread out in front of me. This was everything I had gathered on the people of Willow Creek.
It wasn't much. Mostly clippings of the different newspaper articles that have been written since I moved to Willow Creek almost seven months ago.
A few tidbits about people I had met since coming to town.
The nice thing about working at Sophisticated Sheen––the only clothing store in town––was the fact that I was able to meet most of the women in town one way or another.
Sure not everyone shopped there, but a good majority did, and I had come to know them well.
Like a good profiler, I had nailed it down to women between the ages of twenty-five and sixty. Originally a few of the gossip queens in town had been on the list but I quickly realized most of them couldn't navigate technology if their life depended on it.
Take Ms. Daisy for example, the biggest gossip lady I have ever met, and she could barely operate her flip phone let alone publish a blog on the internet.
The same could be said for Bee––the owner of the Crazy Fox––that woman knew everyone's business, and sure she could send out letters every now and then, but no matter how much I wanted it to be her, it just didn't feel right.
I was going over my notes for the millionth time when a knock on my bedroom door had me scrambling to gather all the pieces.
"Who is it?" I hollered as I shoved every wrinkled piece into the folder.
"Valerie. I wanted to check in to see how you're doing."
I looked around my bedroom in a panic as to where I could hide the evidence that wouldn't cause me pain to move fast. Without giving it much more thought, I tossed the folder under the covers and quickly pulled them up so they wouldn't be visible.
"Come in." I could hear the panic in my voice, and I prayed that it went unnoticed by Valerie.
The door creaked as it opened and my boss stuck her head in. "Are you sure? I can come back at a better time."
"Nope, now is good." I plastered a fake smile on my face and waved her in. To keep my shaky hands busy, I fluffed the pillow behind my back and did my best to get comfortable.
My face drained of color when Valerie sat down on the bed right on top of where I had shoved the papers. There was no way she couldn't feel the difference, so I waited patiently for her to ask but it never came.
"Are you sure you're okay? You look a little pale."
Words were stuck in my throat, so all I could do was nod my head as I visibly swallowed the lump down.
"Should I go get Nolen?" Valerie hiked her thumb in the direction of the hallway.
I shook my head and forced myself to say the words. "No need."
If I didn't get my shit together and fast, I was going to give myself away because Valerie was looking at me like I had lost my mind.
I forced my body to relax farther into the pillow and changed the subject so it was no longer focused on me. "Who's watching the shop?"
Sophisticated Sheen was Valerie's pride and joy. There was no way she would close even for a little while just to come check on me.
"Nancy's in town and offered to work for a little bit. Apparently she is sick of her boss today and needed to get out of the office before she strangled him."
Nancy worked for another security company the next town over. Actually his company and Willow Creek Security were good friends and often helped each other.
"I'm sure Wes is just being his usual self."
"Probably. Which means he's probably being annoying." Valerie laughed.
I chuckled with her but quickly stopped when I felt the pull on my ribs. Damn, being hurt was annoying as hell.
"Sorry, I shouldn't make you laugh. I'm guessing that probably hurts." Valerie winced.
"It really does."
Everything hurt. Taking any form of deep breaths made me want to curl up in a ball and cry, but that too would hurt, so it wasn't even an option.
Damn my sister for putting me in this position.
"Not that I want to invade your privacy, but is there a reason I'm sitting on a stack of papers?" Valerie shifted on the bed.
So much for hoping she would just gloss right over that fact.
"I was just doing some light reading."
I winced at my explanation as soon as it left my mouth.
Light reading? Really?!
"Anything I would find interesting?"
I cleared my throat. "No, probably not."
"Would it be okay if I moved it? I feel like whatever it is, is getting crushed under my ass."
Oh shit! How was I supposed to do that without her seeing what I had? The only other option was to tell her no, and I couldn't do that. Not without sounding like a complete ass.
Blowing out a breath, I dropped my chin to my chest. "Can you keep a secret?"
Valerie was a little too quick to agree. "Absolutely."
This was taking a huge risk considering one of the stipulations was that I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing. Not without my sister getting hurt, but after all this time in town, if there was anyone I felt I could trust, it was Valerie.
"Go ahead and grab the folder."
I waited as Valerie stood up and moved the covers back to grab the folder I had hastily shoved there just seconds before she walked in. I continued to stay quiet as she opened it up and started to riffle through everything I had collected.
"What is all this?" With each new piece she turned over, I could see the confusion grow.
"Someone is blackmailing me to figure out who B. Feather is."
Valerie looked genuinely shocked by my statement.
"Why haven't you told the guys? I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you."
I was already shaking my head before she could even finish her statement. "They said if I told anyone, they would hurt my sister, and believe me, this isn't a threat they made lightly."
Realization dawned on my former boss. "So you've been dealing with this all on your own? And the attack?"
"A message that I need to hurry up or my sister dies."
"Do they have your sister because I can promise you the guys would find her and bring her back?"
I guess I was about to confess more than just what I was doing.
"No, my sister is in a drug rehab program."
The look I hated the most crossed Valerie's face.
Pity.
"She's not safe there?"
"I thought she was. That's where I went when I had to leave for a few days.
I was getting her checked in and dealing with the mess she left behind in her wake.
Unfortunately she called me to tell me another patient checked in who was simply there to threaten her.
I've done what I could to make sure they're kept apart, but my blackmailer is getting impatient. "
"Is it someone in town? I guess I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this is worth that much to someone."
You and me both.
"No, I've never seen them in town, and the few times we've met have always been out of the area. I have no idea how they have a connection to Willow Creek. Honestly I've racked my brain trying to figure this out and constantly come up blank."
It was so damn frustrating. I was being held accountable for something that should never even be on my damn radar.
"Is that why you moved here?"
At least that was an easy question to answer.
"No. I moved here like so many others because I wanted a fresh start. My mother died when I was nine, and I've been taking care of my sister ever since. We used to live close to each other, but after years of watching her destroy her life, I needed to put space between us."
"Then this happened."
I sighed. "Yes, then this happened, and my new home suddenly felt constricting. Everything I loved about Willow Creek just vanished because I was now spending my time looking at everyone like they were suspects in some crime novel."
"How come you didn't tell me sooner? I would've helped you."
Now I just felt embarrassed. "I had to make sure it wasn't you."
Realization dawned on Valerie. "You looked into me."
"I've looked into everyone and I still can't figure it out.
I've eliminated some people just based on the fact that technology isn't their strong suit but nothing makes sense to me.
There isn't a single person in town who goes into the news building on the regular or at all, for that matter, except the editor.
I'm surprised the place isn't shut down.
And I just learned that you can submit topics for B.
Feather to write about, so it isn't even like whoever it is needs to be around when things happen. "
Valerie looked to be contemplating something. "You know I've always wondered about this. I mean not to the extent that you have, clearly, but it's always been on the back of my mind simply because I hate mysteries."
"Well, you're more than welcome to go through what I have and see if anything sticks out to you because I've got nothing."
"Don't worry. We will figure this out together." Valerie sounded determined, and for the first time since I was given the ultimatum, I felt like maybe I could do this.