Chapter 26 #3
“It’s that orange one,” he says, referring to a key with the FC Laurient symbol printed on it. “I’ll get you a copy made.”
“Why’s it locked.”
“Gets too crazy with people sometimes. Got some pricy stuff in there.”
It’s the first sign I’ve seen that Rourke’s even aware that things cost money. I thank him and grab a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of vodka from the bar before locking back up. We do a shot together and then I go back downstairs to face the carnage.
I get through the rest of the video by fast forwarding.
They sexually assault her and make her do something humiliating with the cucumber, but I’m relieved to get to the end without an actual rape occurring.
On the next disk, I’m not so lucky. By the third one, I can’t stomach it even when it’s accelerated to breakneck speed.
I copy the videos onto my hard drive, checking the first few shots to confirm that my mother and Devin are in them and then dropping them into a folder I’ll zip and forward to Anton.
It takes a while, and by the time I get to the video that says L&D, I’m pretty drunk.
The alcohol is not making this situation any more bearable.
I copy the first solo D disk and check the opening shot.
My mother is not in it. Instead, a pint-sized Deja is sitting on the old sofa drinking juice from a glass with a straw.
Devin is sitting next to her, a friendly smile on his face.
I hit play and listen to him telling her about Disney World and asking what her favorite attractions are.
He urges her to finish the juice and puts the glass aside, his expression affectionate.
Only minutes later, her eyes go hazy the way my mother’s were.
It’s confirmation that my mom was drugged, and I want to stop the video here.
Whatever is about to happen I don’t need to know do I?
“Can you stand up for me?” he asks.
She does it, looking unsteady the way my mom did.
He runs through the same sequence of weird actions he asked of my mom, barking, crawling, kissing his shoes.
I realize now he’d doing it to make sure she’s completely under the influence of whatever drug he gave her.
Once he’s satisfied, he tells her to strip.
At that point I shut it off. I don’t need to see this fucking shit.
It’s bad enough I have the knowledge in my brain, the actual image would just about destroy me.
Even thinking about what he probably did to her makes my skin crawl.
My god. She’s in that house, sleeping down the hall from that monster.
I want to go over there and yank her out, but I’m too drunk.
Why did I think it was a good idea to drink this much?
I don’t watch the last two videos, spaced months and then a year after the preceding one.
I copy all of them and zip the file. I text Anton.
This is some awful shit, man. Video of DT r-wording my mom and Deja ten years ago. Couldn’t watch most of it. Not sure what you can do with it, but I feel sick. I’m uploading now.
I log onto Anton’s secure server and upload the files.
A few minutes later I get a text “received.” I wait, nerves driving me to take more shots until the whole world feels like it’s spinning.
One bad choice after another, but I haul myself up the stairs, to find Rourke in the same spot he was in earlier, fooling around on his laptop.
“Damn, dude, you look like shit.”
“I need you to drive me to Devin’s house?”
“What?”
“I gotta get her outta there.”
“Dude, what are you talking about?”
“Deja.” I sit next to him. The way he looks at me I know my expression is too intense, but I can’t control it. “I found out Devin’s a pervert, man. I’ve got to get her out of that house.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” he says, “but you’re drunk AF. You can’t go over there. He kicked you out yesterday. They’d probably call the cops this time.”
“Fuck!”
“Do you want to tell me what he did? Do you think he’s going to hurt her?”
I shake my head and bury my face in my hands.
Even as drunk as I am, I know that I can’t tell him.
If I do, then he’ll know what was done to Deja and I can’t do that to her.
I don’t even think I should tell her. From what I can tell she doesn’t remember it.
I wondered at the time why my mom mentioned being in Deja’s family’s basement and how Deja had no idea what she was talking about.
But my mom said it was a dream. Shit, I can’t think straight right now.
“Hello,” I say into the receiver. Rourke watches me warily over the top of his screen.
“I saw the first video,” Anton says. “I recognize the other man.”
“Can you help me now?” I ask, his words not really registering. “I need to get her away from him.”
I hold my breath for several seconds as I wait for him to respond. “Are you drunk?” Anton asks.
“What would you do if you had to watch that shit with your own mother on it?” My words are slurred, I guess. I didn’t notice till he pointed it out.
“Hang on,” he says. “I’ll send a driver to get you.”