Chapter 34 – Haley
Thursday is moving day, and it’s bittersweet. On the one hand, I’m happy to be returning to the dorm. But on the other hand, I hate leaving Philip. I hate leaving the safehouse, too. I wasn’t here for very long, but it quickly became my new home.
And then there’s Charlie and Mateo. Charlie has been like a big sister to me, and I feel really close to her now. I’m going to miss her. Mateo has been like a big brother. The two of them always had my back and made me feel not just safe, but welcome.
After my classes are finished for the day, Philip helps me carry my boxes up to my dorm room and put my stuff away. Melissa’s there, so we have a small reunion of sorts.
Philip hangs around for the afternoon, and we go out with Melissa for an early dinner.
Tacos on Lafayette Street! As we pass Mama Bella’s, a chill runs down my spine.
I keep picturing the gun Christian had hidden beneath his jacket.
Just thinking about what could have gone wrong that night makes me shudder.
After dinner, Philip heads back to his apartment. He needs to catch up on laundry because he was away for so long. I want to walk him to his truck, but he insists on coming in and seeing me to my dorm room.
Melissa is kind enough to make herself scarce while we say goodbye, giving us some excuse that she needs to go to the library.
I can’t help tearing up as I say goodnight to Philip.
He wraps me in his arms, and I melt against him. “Do you want to spend the weekend at my apartment?” he asks. “I can pick you up tomorrow after I get off work.”
I nod against his shirt. “I would love that.”
* * *
Friday is the first day I’m back on campus without Philip. It feels weird not having him with me. I got spoiled.
As I’m having lunch with Layla and Jasmine after our history class, I receive a phone call from Detective Bauer. It catches me off guard. I thought everything was done in relation to Christian.
“Hello, Detective,” I say as I answer the call.
“Haley, hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could come to my office this afternoon when you’re done with classes. Is Philip with you?”
“No, he’s gone back to work now that Christian has been apprehended and I’m living on campus again.”
“Do you mind if I give him a call and ask him to join us? I’d like for him to be here for the meeting.”
“I don’t mind. My last class gets out at two.”
“Great. How about two-thirty?”
“That’s fine. Can I ask what this is about?”
When the detective doesn’t reply right away, his hesitation puts me on edge.
“I have some updates on Christian’s status,” he finally says, “as well as some additional information that has come to light. If you don’t mind, Haley, I’d rather wait until we’re together to go into detail.”
Now I’m really getting nervous. “Okay. We’ll see you at two-thirty.”
“What was that about?” Jasmine asks after I end the call.
“Detective Bauer wants to meet with me and Philip this afternoon. It’s about Christian.”
Everyone at the table gets quiet.
“What else is there?” Layla asks. “I mean, they got him in custody, right? And you have an audio recording of his confession. It’s sounds like an open and shut case.”
“He wouldn’t say. He wants to speak to us in person.”
After lunch, I go back to my dorm room to relax before heading to my last class of the day. On the way, I get a text message from Philip.
Philip – Bauer asked me to come to a meeting at 2:30. I’ll pick you up at your chem lab.
Me – Did he say what the meeting was about?
Philip – Not really. He was pretty hush hush. I guess we’ll find out.
Me – OK. See you soon. <3
When I walk into my chemistry lab, Mark nods at me. “Hi, Haley.” But that’s it. He’s friendly, but a bit reserved.
I walk past his table to the one I share with Andrea. She’s already seated, busy digging her lab manual out of her backpack.
I take my seat. “Hi, Andrea.” I don’t want things to be awkward between us.
She gives me a small smile. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Good. I’m trying to get back to normal.” I have to remind myself that Andrea’s suffering, too. She lost her best friend, at least for the foreseeable future. She’s probably feeling a bit disoriented as well. “Maybe we could have dinner one night next week.”
Her smile widens. “I’d really like that, yes.” She seems less nervous now after she’s had some time to get over the shock of what Christian did.
The rest of class is a breeze. When it’s over, I walk out of the room to find Philip leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. I saw him just yesterday when he helped me move back onto campus, but last night was the first night we spent apart since this whole stalking thing escalated.
And today was the first day I spent on campus without him shadowing me. I already miss him terribly.
“Hi,” I say as I walk over to him.
He reaches for me, and we hug. “Hi.” I feel his lips in my hair as he kisses my temple. “I missed you last night,” he whispers.
“Me, too.”
Mark walks past us on his way out. He doesn’t avoid eye contact, but he also doesn’t say anything. Whatever Philip told him before class on Wednesday has had quite an impact on him.
Andrea waves as she passes us. “Hi, Philip. I’ll see you in class Monday, Haley.”
“Ready?” Philip asks me as he holds out his hand.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
We walk across campus to the police department. When we enter the office, Detective Bauer is waiting for us by the front desk. He motions us toward his office, and he follows us in and closes the door.
“Thanks for coming, guys,” he says as he takes his seat behind the desk. “Please sit.”
Philip gets right to the point. “So, what’s the news?”
Detective Bauer opens a manilla folder on his desk and sorts through some papers.
“Christian pled guilty, so there won’t be a trial.
We got his confession on audio, so there really wasn’t much point in him denying the charges.
Additionally, some new evidence has come to light which pretty much seals his guilty fate.
He’ll go straight to sentencing, which is scheduled for about two months from now. ”
“What new evidence?” Philip asks.
He’s reading my mind, because I’m wondering the same thing.
Bauer pulls a few sheets of paper out of the folder.
“After the arrest, we got a warrant to search his phone and laptop. We uncovered a large number of photos and videos of Haley taken here on campus. Apparently, he’d been following her, photographing her, and video recording her, more than we realized. ”
The detective lays the pages out on the desk in front of us. “This is a compilation of a small sampling of the images. There are several hundred in all.”
We glance down at the pages showing pictures of me in the library, walking across campus, eating in the student union, having breakfast with Melissa in the cafeteria. Eating lunch with Layla and Jasmine.
“Several hundred?” I say, feeling sick to my stomach.
The detective nods. “Several hundred images, as well as a dozen videos.”
Philip reaches for my hand and lays it on his thigh, covering it with his own hand. “How will all these images play into his sentencing? Obviously, he was even more obsessed with Haley than we first realized.”
“It strengthens the prosecutor’s case, that’s for sure,” Bauer says. He frowns. “There’s more, though.”
“More?” I ask, frowning in confusion. “How could there be more?”
Bauer looks from me to Philip. “The images and videos are bad enough, but we also found some AI-generated videos on his laptop. He’d been experimenting with creating AI videos featuring Haley’s likeness.”
My stomach knots. I don’t like the sound of this.
“What kind of videos?” Philip asks as he squeezes my hand.
“Videos of a sexual nature,” the detective says.
He looks as uncomfortable as I feel. “That’s why I asked you both here.
” He makes a point of looking at Philip.
“The images and video recordings Christian took are pretty tame, but these AI videos—they’re more disturbing.
They depict Christian’s likeness and Haley’s engaged in sexual activity.
I don’t know if you want to view some of them or not. ”
I shake my head adamantly. “I don’t want to see them.”
Detective Bauer nods. “I think that’s a good idea, Haley. It’s why I asked Philip here. Maybe he wants to see a bit of them just to know they exist. Or, if Philip isn’t comfortable seeing them, maybe you want someone else from McIntyre Security to view them.”
I study Philip, who’s gone perfectly still. “Philip doesn’t have to look at them if he doesn’t want to, right?” I ask.
“That’s right,” Bauer says. “I’ll write up a report on what I saw in the AI videos, and a summary will be sent to the judge. You can have a copy of the summary if you like. That’s optional.”
“Can you summarize the nature of these videos?” Philip asks. “Just top level stuff? No details.” He nods toward me.
“I can,” Bauer says. “Haley, maybe you should step outside the room for a few minutes.”
“No, I should hear,” I say despite feeling sick. “Just don’t go into a lot of detail, okay?”
Bauer sighs heavily. “Some of the videos are pretty standard fare, shall we say. Vanilla. Others are of a more concerning nature. Some of them are quite violent.” He regards me with sympathy. “I think it’s best if I stop there.”
“I think so, too.” My stomach is churning, and I’m furious at Christian all over again.
“Of course, I’ll notify Haley’s attorney about the videos. They’ll be part of discovery, and he’ll have copies of them.”
“Is that everything?” Philip asks.
Bauer nods. “Yeah, that’s everything. I wanted to tell you in person. And as for the sentencing hearing, Haley will be invited to make an impact statement prior to the judge’s final announcement.”
We rise from our chairs.
Philip shakes the detective’s hand. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for Haley. We appreciate it.”
Once we’re outside, Philip pulls me into his arms.