Chapter 17 #2
It was about a month later when I was finally getting into a groove and beginning to actually like where I was when she called, and I knew right away something had changed.
She sounded different, and the excitement in her voice was gone.
I thought the few hundred miles between us finally caught up with her, but now I’m not so sure.
“I think it was about a month after school started,” I murmur.
“She didn’t say anything that early, but that’s when she changed.
Before that, it was hard to talk to her for anything longer than five minutes.
Then, all of a sudden, she wanted to talk all the time.
I didn’t mind, since it was nice to feel close to her again, but she seemed different. ”
“Different how?”
“She seemed kind of sad.” I frown just from thinking about it. “I thought she might have been homesick or whatever.”
“But now you don’t. What changed your mind?”
I shrug. “I guess how fast she changed. She kept saying she was fine, that she was just tired or not liking her professors, but I knew there was something else going on after a few days. She was never sad, and if she was, it was never for that long. I think something must have happened. I think… I think—” It takes me a second to get the courage to say what I’ve been keeping locked away in my soul for a while.
Boone patiently sits, waiting for me to continue.
“I think Hayzel did know the person who killed her. I think she was just afraid to tell anyone who it was, or maybe she didn’t think anyone would believe her.”
Boone squints, his brow furrowing. “Someone she knew. You said you thought it was a stranger.”
“I did, and I don’t think this person was close to her, or that she was close to them anyway.
It could have been a bouncer at one of the clubs she was going to, or a guy she met on campus or in one of her classes.
Maybe she rejected him or something, and he couldn’t accept that, or maybe he just likes stalking girls and killing them, but I think she knew something or at least suspected.
There are some pages missing from her diary.
I didn’t notice them at first, but those missing pages fell in line with when she changed. ”
“Why would she take the pages out? Why hide who she thought it was?”
“I don’t know. I’ve tried to make sense of that. Maybe she wrote about him, and then he did something to piss her off, or maybe she just mentioned something she saw or ran into the same person too many times, but someone ripped those pages out, and there has to be a reason why.”
“Will you let me read it?”
I start to shake my head in denial, but the motion doesn’t match my answer. “You can read it, but I won’t hand them over as evidence to anyone.”
“I’m not asking you to do that,” he agrees without hesitation.
“I could be wrong,” I admit, knowing it’s a definite possibility. “It just feels like there’s something there.”
“Everything is a theory until it isn’t. Is there anything else I should know? Anyone you’ve come across who didn’t sit right with you?”
That question gives me pause, but I decide to answer honestly. “It may not seem like it considering how receptive I’ve been to you, or maybe I should say how I pursued you, but I don’t trust many people anymore, or ever really. Hayzel was the sweet one.”
The corner of Boone’s mouth curls up in a little smirk. “There’s nothing wrong with having discerning tastes, and don’t try to take all the credit. I did ask you to breakfast after pretty much inviting myself to join you for dinner.”
As the conversation falls quiet, I notice the distant sound of an emergency siren growing louder and louder.
“Sounds like there might have been an accident.” I make my way toward the front door to peek outside.
I won’t have a great vantage point of the main road, but I’m drawn by the sound nonetheless.
Boone is right behind me, reaching forward to unlock the deadbolt and haul the door open. The scene outside is like something from a movie. There are at least three police cars, two ambulances, and a fire truck all near the front entrance of the community.
“Do you think there’s a fire?”
Boone moves past me to step out onto the small porch without responding, leaving me to trail after him.
One quick glance around tells me we aren’t the only looky-loos.
Several small groups of people congregate near the ends of driveways.
I’m tempted to ask the crowd closest what’s going on, but the fact that I haven’t spoken to a single one of them since staying here stops me.
“Can you see anything?” I ask Boone in a hushed tone.
“No, but I don’t think it’s a car accident unless they rammed the security shack,” he answers distractedly while reaching backwards for me.
Without hesitation, I place my fingers in his and allow him to pull me toward the sidewalk.
I look back at the open front door of the condo, wishing I would have thought to lock it, but my attention is drawn by movement at the door to the adjoining unit.
The brief glimpse provides a vague impression of a man with dark hair stepping out of view and into the shadows of the house before the door snaps closed. I don’t know if I’m impressed or unnerved by his apparent lack of concern.
“Should I run back and lock the door?” I ask Boone as he continues to tow me along with him toward the corner.
“We’ll stay in sight,” he promises without looking back. A sense of dread fills me the farther we get from the house and closer we move to the police, but I can’t be certain which of the two issues is more troubling.
“Isn’t that—”
“Hawks.” Boone fills in the male officer’s name we met before.
As if he heard Boone say his name, the cop in question turns his head in our direction and does a chin dip in acknowledgement before resuming his conversation with another male in uniform.
We’re much closer than all the other residents now, and I feel the weight of their curious gazes on my back.
I want to check the door to the condo again to make sure no one slips inside, but it feels weird to keep looking over my shoulder.
Hawks finishes speaking with the other officer and turns to head our way.
His face is set in a grim line, his mouth drawn tight and brows pulled low.
Whatever is going on seems pretty serious, because two more vehicles have arrived on the scene.
One is the state police, and the other looks like a cross between a converted ambulance and an RV.
Boone remains silent, even when Hawks is standing right in front of us. I want to ask what the heck is going on, but the tension in the air keeps my throat tight.
Hawks breaks the silence. “We have a real mess on our hands.”
“What happened?” Boone’s fingers tighten on mine.
“Can’t say for sure yet, but whatever it is, it isn’t pretty. I’ve never seen that much blood.”
I gasp, drawing both men’s attention.
“Sorry.” Hawks’ lips thin even more, and he shakes his head as if he’s only now realizing what he said.
“Is somebody hurt?” The sick feeling in my stomach grows.
Hawks looks over his shoulder, as if he’s deciding how or if he’s going to answer. “We have one deceased,” he finally says when facing Boone again. “Looks like it might be someone on the security staff. You guys didn’t see or hear anything last night or early this morning, did you?”
The question doesn’t feel accusatory, but Boone bristles. His back stiffens, as does his jaw. “Do you have an estimate on TOD?”
“Not yet. A few of the guys want to take him to the hospital to pronounce him, but… there’s no point. The ME should be here soon. Her office is about an hour away.”
“Crime scene investigators?” Boone questions.
Hawks takes off his hat and uses it to gesture toward the line of emergency vehicles and the RV. “The staties are already here. No one will do anything before he’s declared dead. The blood was thick, and he was cold. I’m guessing he’s been dead for a little while. Poor bastard.” Hawks looks down.
“The guard was in the shed a little before eleven last night.”
“Did you speak with him? Did anything seem out of the ordinary?” Hawks is suddenly back to business.
“No to both. I walked through.” Boone tilts his head toward a small grove of trees that conceals the condo community from the road, but he doesn’t outright say he was trying to get in without being noticed.
“I did see John.” He looks back at me to confirm his name, and my heart does that thing where it feels like it’s falling into my gut.
I nod and swallow the bile crawling up my throat. I didn’t think I would ever be in the position again to know someone who was murdered—not that I knew John well, if it really is him, but still, it hits close to home.
“Not that I can say there wasn’t a shift change, but I saw his face clearly from the glow of his phone,” Boone continues.
“How do you feel about giving me an ID on the vic? Unofficial, of course.”
“I can do that.” Boone begins to move, but my feet stay planted, so he ends up tugging my arm. When he peers back at me, his features soften.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
He turns to face me fully and steps into my space so his blue eyes are the only thing I can see. “I was just going to take you closer to the other officers, but we can go back inside right now if that’s what you need. I can find out what’s going on here later.”
Shame tightens my throat. “I…”
“I wasn’t thinking,” he interrupts.
“It’s fine. I just can’t go over there. I don’t want to see that.” I don’t need any more nightmares.
“Please believe me when I say I wasn’t going to get you near enough to see. I just need to keep you in sight to make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay,” I agree, feeling a sense of relief, which in turn makes me feel guilty for experiencing any kind of reprieve in this situation.
“You can go.” I release his fingers in an effort to get out of this moment.
I feel like I am only seconds away from having a panic attack.
Boone exhales through his nose, but he doesn’t move.
“The staties are mobilizing,” Hawks warns as if the window of time is closing for him to ID John.
“Go, I’m fine.” I put my hand on Boone’s chest and give him a tiny push for motivation.
“I’ll be quick.” He bends his knees so we’re almost nose to nose, and in a tense voice, he says, “Do not move from this spot, Harlyn.”
If the situation wasn’t so dire, I would salute him, but that’s just my nerves trying desperately to lighten the heaviness on my soul. “Okay,” I agree, meeting his eyes.
“I will be right back,” Boone cautions as if I might leave the second he turns around. He doesn’t know me well enough yet to realize it would take a natural disaster to get me to move.
“Ready?” Hawks asks Boone impatiently.
I see the slight change in his features, the tightening around his eyes and mouth before he rises to his full height and turns.
“You’re just a witness for the time being…
” Hawks says as they walk away, but his softly spoken words die off too quickly for me to hear much else.
My eyes, however, don’t leave Boone’s back until he disappears behind an ambulance.
Suddenly feeling very exposed, I finally get the courage to glance around.
Several gazes leap away from me when I do, making it very clear they were staring at us.
I try not to feel self-conscious. I know it’s not really me they are interested in, but what I could know or how I’m linked to whatever is going on.
Hopefully, they will know this has nothing to do with me soon enough.