Chapter 18 #3
“Nah. Shannon called and told me her date was a bust, he never showed up. So I have to get my ass down there. I’m using any opportunity to get us on the right footing again. I bought her blue roses, her favorites. Any other advice?”
I used my key-card to get inside. “If you dance, let her lead.”
“Damn, but I really can’t figure out how the steps go in reverse.”
“Bye, Quinn.”
He grumbled and disconnected.
I climbed to the Scribe floor, expecting to have the office to myself this late on a Friday evening, but milky light came through Scribe’s fogged glass doors. I let myself inside—
A large grunting sob echoed through the room, tensing my limbs. Stiffly, I searched where the sound emanated from. I was never one to deal well with other people’s tears, and when my gaze settled on Jill, head tucked into his elbow at his desk, I was even less prepared.
He hadn’t heard me. That much was clear. If he had, he’d have shut up quick—I was the last person he’d want to humiliate himself in front of.
I considered sneaking back out of the office and finding a Starbucks where I could finish my article. It wasn’t ideal, but neither was listening to Jill sobbing as I worked.
Of course, the other option was to man-up and go over there. I didn’t like the fact it was probably the option Hunter and Quinn would have cheered for most.
That thought had me reluctantly picking my way over to Jill and his heaving back. I kept my stance assertive and packed with as much confidence as I could muster.
But just in case Jill wasn’t the victim Hunter thought him to be, I fished for my cellphone and readied it.
“Jill?” I had to make a quick decision—go to his side, or sit at Jack’s desk opposite him.
I chose Jack’s desk. Space was good.
Jill’s body went rigid, and he slowly peeled himself from his arm. He twisted his chair toward the wall where I might not see his face, but from this vantage, I already caught his teary-eyed, blotchy profile.
“What do you want, Davis?” he asked, his voice devoid of its usual sharpness. “Or are you here to rub it in?”
I shifted, my chair squeaking as I leaned forward and placed my elbows on the desk.
“I’m the last person you want to speak to, I get that.
I’m not thrilled about this either. But .
. . something is up with you and has been for the past few weeks.
And—let’s just put it out there—I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with you liking Jack. ”
Jill spun his chair in my direction, scowling, angry. “You don’t know shit.”
“You’re in the closet then.”
His face twitched from a blotchy red to something close to the color of my robe . . . or those tights I wore to the Halloween party. He stuttered, and I thought he’d yell at me again, but instead a gurgled sob escaped his throat.
“It’s more than just that,” he said, knuckles whitening around a phone.
“You told him, and he doesn’t feel the same way.”
Jill shuddered and he focused on the phone.
A tear seeped from his eye. When he didn’t say anything, I rested my cellphone on the table and took out my outline.
“Tell you what,” I said, “You take your time. Talk if you want. I’m just going to sit here and do some work.
But if and when you’re ready, I’ll be listening. ”
I unzipped my laptop and started it up.
It was beyond awkward, working across from him as his breath shuddered and he constantly murmured “fuck.” I sat stiffly and within quick reach of my phone.
I’d done less than ten minutes of work when he said, “You think I’m the guy, don’t you?”
I reached for my phone and brought it to my lap. “The one threatening The Raven? I did.”
“That’s why that wheelchair dude kept harassing me about my arm.”
“His name is Hunter, and he’s the best dude you’ll ever have harassing you. How is your arm?”
“Just a sprain.”
I held his tough-guy gaze that no longer looked so tough, but rather uncertain and pained.
He passed the phone to his other hand and tapped the end of it against the edge of his desk.
“Who do you want to call?” I asked, saving my document. “Jack?”
Another sob. “No. The police.”
I straightened, grabbed a packet of tissues from my bag and handed one to Jill. “Are you finally going to tell them about The Night Warrior?”
He snatched it and rubbed his nose. Through a billow of tissue paper came, “He hurt me. He’s going to hurt again.” He glanced at his arm. “But—but I just can’t bring myself to give him up, because . . . because . . .”
“You’re afraid?” I said.
He shook his head, choking on a sob.
“You think it makes you look weak?”
“Fuck off.”
“Because you’re in the closet?”
He threw the tissue between us and banged the phone against the desk. “Because it’s Jack. Because I’m in love with him.”
Silence.
And then it all came crashing into place. How The Night Warrior had slipped the threat into Hannah’s mail, how I thought Freddy had known my name, why Jack had been so cold toward Jill . . .
I clutched my phone. “You need to file a report immediately. And if you think he’s going to hurt someone, call the police. Immediately.”
Jill rubbed the top of the phone against his forehead. “Don’t you think I know that? He wants to teach The Raven a lesson.”
“The Raven,” I repeated. A shiver wormed its way down my spine to the tips of my toes.
“I’m in love with him. He keeps a spare key taped to the back of his desk drawer.
” Jill rummaged in his pocket and procured a key.
He tossed it between us. “I stalked. Snuck into his apartment, and he has all this stuff on The Raven. He’s hated him with a passion for years.
I always thought it was because he didn’t believe in using violence to stop violence.
” He glanced pointedly at his arm. “I don’t think that anymore. ”
I leaped to my feet. “Do you think he’s figured out who—?”
“Yes,” Jill said, pressing something on the phone. “From the stuff I read, Jack’s been working with someone to gather information on—and lure out—The Raven.”
“Why does he care so much?”
Jill rested the phone and swiveled his chair. He fumbled through a bag and brought out a folder-full of newspaper clippings and photos. “The Raven knocked Jack’s brother down and held him until the police arrived. He disappeared just as they pulled up.”
I took the folder. “Is this what you found at Jack’s?”
“Everything. Call me pissed, but I took it all. Among a few other things.”
I marched to the shredder and fed every scrap of evidence about The Raven into it. Glancing out the windows, I was met with the view of Cathedral of Learning lit with featured lights.
The Raven’s gonna lose his wings
We’ll smile while he sings and sings
Then we’d love to watch him fly
Through a deep, dark, angry sky
Acid rose up my throat as I remembered Jack saying he would be at the cathedral party to work. I sucked in a sharp breath. He was going to attack tonight.
Fingers trembling on my phone, I rushed out of the office, dialing the police—
“Someone I know is about to commit an assault . . .” Jill spoke firmly into the phone.
“Tell them that it might be happening at the cathedral party,” I said. I barreled for the door. The police would take anywhere from seven to ten minutes to get to the cathedral?
My friends were across the street. I had to warn them.
I ran.