Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Della’s moan echoed. Where was she? Her head hurt too much to open her eyes.
Her body shivered. She curled into herself, needing to conserve whatever warmth she could find.
She finally cracked one lid open. Stark cement walls and a dirt floor.
The lone light bulb dangling on a cord from the ceiling gave out meager light.
Not enough to push back the darkness creeping in from the corners.
She had to get out of here.
With shaky arms, she pushed her torso up. The thin sleeves of her work shirt did nothing to fight off the chill. Looking down, she had her uniform pants on still, but only socks on her feet. What happened to her turnout gear? Her boots?
More importantly, where had Vaynes taken her, and how was she going to escape?
“So, you’re awake.” The raspy voice followed by the sound of footsteps descending a staircase sent a shockwave of ice through her body.
She tried to inject confidence into her words. “You’re not going to get away with this.”
He laughed, the mirthless sound bouncing around the empty room. “I have, and I will. We have unfinished business. You cut our last game short. And I’ve had plenty of time to dream up new ways of playing.”
He didn’t move closer to her. He stayed in the middle of the room, outside the faint light from the bulb.
It took everything Della had to hold eye contact. But she refused to back down. She refused to show the fear that ricocheted through her. She dug deep to find the anger, anything to push aside the hopelessness. She couldn’t let him see how much he affected her. It only fed his appetite.
She could focus on getting information and escaping though.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Somewhere no one will find you. Not for a very long time.” He smiled and circled around the light, sticking to the shadows.
“Had quite the time getting up here with this weather. And it’s only getting worse.
So if you think you’re going to sneak away and flag down help, think again.
We’re too remote. If I don’t kill you, the elements will.
But that’s not really something I’m anticipating. I took precautions.”
He said “up here.” So they must be in the mountains outside of the city somewhere. She’d much rather take her chances with nature, but she kept the words to herself. She needed more information.
“What are you going to do with me?”
He moved close enough to reach out and touch her hair. Della pulled away, but not fast enough. His grip tightened, and he yanked her head up close enough to smell his foul breath in her face. “We’re going to set the record straight.”
“What record?” She could barely breathe with him right in her face, but she couldn’t let him know that. He needed to keep talking.
“The official court record. You know, the one you lied in. That’s cheating. That’s against the rules.”
“You killed Lily. That’s murder. You got better than you deserved when they sent you off to prison.”
He wagged his finger in her face. “That’s not how we play.” He released her hair and stood. “But no matter. We’ll make it official. Show the world that you lied. Then we’ll even the score.”
That didn’t sound good. The man was sick. But these were the same phrases he’d used in the notes. No doubt he was the one who’d written them. “How did you send those letters to me from prison?”
Vaynes’s sinister smirk grew. “What letters are you talking about?”
“You know which ones. The ones you stole out of my locker. Isn’t that cheating too?”
“I couldn’t have evidence just sitting around to be found. I know you called the police. They needed to see that you’re a liar. You can’t be trusted.”
“Who delivered them in the first place? You were in prison.”
Vaynes yawned. “I would love to keep this conversation going, but I have more to prepare.”
“Oh, so you don’t know.” Maybe she could taunt him into spilling more.
But he just shrugged. “I don’t. Mackey took care of that for me. It was part of our agreement.”
Mackey? The criminal who had escaped along with the other guy and Vaynes. “What agreement?”
Vaynes’s grin grew full force. “Who do you think planned our escape?” He moved closer. “Mackey might think he was the mastermind, but he couldn’t have done it without me.”
He was dying to show how cunning he was. She needed to goad him into revealing more. What was the other criminal’s name? The one that had gotten away from Anthony.
Della remembered. “I heard Sosa was behind it all.”
“Sosa? That man is worthless. I am the brains of this operation. And enough stalling. I have work to do. But I’ll be back to get you. Soon.”
He climbed the wooden steps and shut the door.
As soon as he was gone, Della stood. The room swirled around her, and her legs shook.
She fell against the wall to hold herself up.
She waited for the dizziness to pass and tried again.
But whatever Vaynes had injected into her still coursed through her body, sending swells of nausea to crash over her.
But it was her spirit that was truly in distress.
Her heart cried out.
God I need You! I can’t do this anymore.
I can’t hold up under the weight of this lie.
The darkness is about to swallow me whole, and I’m so afraid.
I’ve been letting fear dictate my words and my actions when instead, I should’ve trusted You.
I should’ve told the truth and left it in Your hands.
You’re bigger than the court system. You’re bigger than Jason Vaynes.
And so if this is the end, I want to be clean before You.
I need Your forgiveness. I thought justice was up to me. But it has always been Yours.
I’m so sorry I didn’t believe Your word that the truth would set me free.
Della rested her forehead on the cold wall, willing her head to clear.
Instead, she slumped down to the ground and passed out again.
She awoke to find herself blindfolded and sitting in a chair with her hands bound. Her chin rested on her chest, her neck craned at an uncomfortable angle.
“Now you will know the truth. You called her a hero, but I’ll show you what she really is.”
Who was Vaynes talking to?
Della lifted her head. Whatever Vaynes had covered her eyes with had left a slice of visibility.
Della studied the old wooden floorboards beneath her feet.
Two electrical cords ran next to her chair.
The room here wasn’t any warmer—in fact, it felt bigger, more cavernous.
Icy drafts sent shivers throughout her body.
But somehow, even in the cold darkness, she felt lighter.
Unburdened. She didn’t know what would happen, but she knew who she belonged to.
Where she would go if this was the end of it all.
But she didn’t want it to be the end.
“Now our trial can begin.” Vaynes ripped the blindfold off.
Della squinted, trying to protect her eyes from the bright light flooding them. A phone on a tripod stood next to the construction light trying to blind her.
Vaynes wore a black robe and stood behind a podium with a gavel in hand. “It’s time you had your day in court, Della Nixon.”