Текст книги "Thread of Hope"

Автор книги: Jeff Shelby

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

SEVENTY-SIX

“You’ve been here the entire time?” I asked.

She was on one end of the sofa and I was on the other. Megan sat cross-legged on the floor. They refused to turn on the lights and my eyes were adjusting to the darkness with the help of the nightlight.

As far as I could tell, Meredith appeared fine. She wore jeans and a sweatshirt and she seemed a little tired, a little pale, but otherwise fine. She was nervous and had pushed herself into the far corner of the sofa, as if she could shoot out her feet and kick at me if she needed to.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice ragged.

“Why?”

“Because I knew no one would look here,” she said.

“Kind of a big gamble,” I said. “This is your official address.”

“You didn’t look here,” Megan said.

Hard to argue with that.

“So why are you here, Meredith?” I asked.

“Because I didn’t know where else to go,” she said.

“You aren’t dumb,” I said. “So you must know that your parents are going out of their minds.”

“My parents? Or my dad?” she asked, a knowing smirk on her face. “You don’t even know my parents.”

“I know a lot more than you think I do,” I said.

She raised a cynical eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Why don’t you tell me what you know then?”

“You sure?” I asked. I glanced at Megan. “You care if she hears?”

The cynical eyebrow became an angry one. “Megan knows everything. And she is the only one I trust.”

Megan played with her shoelaces and remained silent.

I spent the next fifteen minutes laying out everything I had learned about her life over the previous three days, leaving out nothing. Chuck, the beating he took, the prostitution, her mother’s past, her boyfriend. I put it all on the table for her.

Meredith’s eyebrow went from angry and cynical to disbelieving, embarrassed and uncertain. By the time I finished, her hands were clasped together in her lap and she was staring at them.

Megan had not flinched so she apparently did know everything.

“That’s what I know,” I said. “But I need you to fill in the blanks. Why did you blame Chuck for beating you up?”

“He was an easy target,” Megan said.

“Megan, no offense, but shut up,” I said. “Thanks for bringing me here, but I want answers from Meredith. Not you.”

She went back to fiddling with her shoelaces.

“I knew people would take me seriously if I said it was him,” Meredith said. “Everyone knew we’d been spending time together, but he was new at school.” She paused and even in the dark, I could see tears in her eyes. “I felt horrible. I know that doesn’t make it better or right or whatever, but I felt horrible. But I didn’t have a choice.”

“You could’ve told the truth.”

She made a noise that was some combination of a laugh and a grunt. “Yeah, right. So easy to tell the truth.”

“It’s easier to ruin a coach you say you like?”

“I do like him,” she said, straining to keep her composure. “No one’s ever taken the time to help me like he did. No one.”

“But you did get angry with him when he gave you the ultimatum, right?” I pressed. “When he told you to get out of the hooking?”

“Yeah, but I was more relieved than anything,” she said. “He was giving me an out.”

“So what happened?”

“I got the shit kicked out of me,” she said, her voice full of anger and hurt. “I didn’t want him to tell my parents. I didn’t want to tell them, either, but I wasn’t going to make him do it for me.” An angry smile crept onto her face. “And part of me did kinda want to see my mother’s face when I told her.”

I didn’t respond.

“But when I tried to get out, I got the shit kicked out of me,” she said, the smile disappearing. “And I got scared.”

“Who beat you up?” I asked. “Was it Derek?”

She pressed herself further back in the sofa. “Derek thought he was controlling me, but he’s an idiot. I was never scared of him.”

“Derek said you wanted out.”

“I did. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep doing it. Yeah, the money was cool, but it was…I don't know. I thought I was just done.”

“But you didn't get out.”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “No. I didn't.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you,” she said. “I can't tell you a lot of things.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t wanna die.”

It sounded melodramatic, but there was weight to her words. She believed what she was saying.

“I’m here to help you, Meredith,” I said. “I don’t think Megan would’ve brought me here if she didn’t think I was here to help you.”

But it was like a wall had come down. She wasn’t budging.

“So why did you come here?” I asked, trying to maintain some momentum in the conversation. “Why did you run away?”

“I needed to hide,” she finally said, wiping at her nose. “I was afraid.”

“You didn’t think your parents would be worried?” I asked. “Your friends?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I knew they’d be worried. And I’m sorry, okay? But I wasn’t sure what else to do.”

Again, it sounded overly dramatic, but there was sincerity in her words. I wasn’t sure if she was accurately describing her situation, but she believed what she was saying.

“Why did you get into this Meredith?” I asked, trying a different path. “Why the prostitution?”

She wiped at her nose, then her eyes and looked away. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “This isn’t something you get into without knowing why. I don’t believe that for a second. Maybe it doesn’t feel now like you knew what you were doing. But you did.”

She sniffed and wiped harder at her eyes. “Because I was stupid then, I guess. I didn’t say out loud ‘I want to be a hooker,’ okay? I was mad at my mom, I needed money and I was stupid.”

“You aren't stupid and no one does this just for money.”

“Some people do.”

“Well, I don't believe for a second that was your reason. Had to be something else.”

She stared into her own lap, her hands clasped tightly together. “I was tired of being perfect.”

“What?”

“Everything I did, I was perfect,” she said, slowly. “Everything. School. Basketball. Everything. And I got sick of it. Because God knows if I wasn't perfect, I would've heard about it.”

I didn't say anything.

“So I decided to take the pressure off. Myself. Screw up badly enough and then I would't have to worry about being perfect. No one would expect a thing from me. For sure, not perfection.”

“And you thought this was the best way to do that?”

A sneer crossed her face. “Or maybe the apple just doesn't fall far from the tree…”

I thought that was closer to a more honest assessment, that all of this was somehow tied to her relationship with her own mother. It didn't make perfect sense, but you could draw a line from her actions to what she'd learned about Olivia.

“You weren't worried about putting yourself in danger?” I asked.

“No.” Meredith threw up her hands. “I don’t know anymore, okay. It all made sense then. It doesn’t now. I get it. And I didn’t think it would end up like this.” She closed her eyes and her body shook as she sobbed quietly.

I doubted there was anything she could say to me that would make me understand and forcing her to explain herself wasn’t my responsibility. That was something she would have to work out with her parents.

“I’ll ask one more time,” I said after a minute. “Will you tell me who beat you up? Tell me who you were freelancing for?”

“It’s okay, Meredith,” Megan said. “I think you can trust him.”

Meredith thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m afraid.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Then we’ve got two choices. I can take you to the police or I can take you to your dad. You don’t have to tell me, but you’ll have to tell one of them eventually. I will take you to either place you want to go and I will get you there safely. But you aren’t staying here. I’m sorry. I promised your father I would find you. I have. So those are your two options. The police or your father.”

She looked at her friend.

“He’s right, Meredith,” Megan said. “You can’t stay here. It’s not safe. You have to trust him. It’s why I brought him here. I know you told me not to bring anyone, but I believe him. He’ll keep you safe.”

Meredith was staring at her lap now. “Okay. I wanna go home.”

I stood before she could put up any more of a fight. “Let’s go then.”

When she stood from the sofa, she seemed smaller, younger than when I’d seen her on the basketball court. There was no confidence, no command, like it had been ripped out of her. I didn’t know what all she was hiding, but that didn’t prevent me from feeling sorry for her.

She walked over to the kitchen and grabbed her backpack from the counter. Megan went to her and put her arm around her.

“It’s alright,” Megan said, squeezing her around the shoulders. “It’ll be alright.”

“Anything else you need?” I asked.

Meredith shook her head and we headed for the front door, the two of them in front of me, Megan still with her arm around her friend.

Megan looked back at me. “We’ll go straight to her house, right?”

“Yes. I promise.”

Megan nodded and smiled at her friend. “Good.”

I reached around them and opened the door.

And ran right into some familiar faces.

SEVENTY-SEVEN

Kelly Rundles and Robert Stricker were blocking our path.

Kelly reached her hand out. “Meredith? Are you alright?”

Meredith shrank from her coach’s reach and backed into me. I guided her around to my side and she pressed into me, a shy toddler clinging to a parent.

I put an arm around her shoulders. “She’s fine.”

Megan took several steps back and was now on my other side. She wasn’t radiating the same fear that Meredith was, but her demeanor had changed and it wasn’t for the better.

Kelly’s eyes were fixed on Meredith. “Where have you been? Do your parents know you’re here?” She glanced at me. “Do they know?”

I was taken aback by Kelly’s concern because it was genuine. She seemed shocked to see Meredith and there was no anger, no animosity, no aggressiveness on Kelly’s part. After our half-time confrontation, I had pegged her as somehow being involved in the downward spiral that had become Meredith’s life. Now, looking at her face, I was fairly certain I was wrong.

“I’m taking Meredith home,” I said, my arm tightening around her shoulders. “We’re going to her home right now. Her parents know we’re on the way.”

To the girls’ credit, they didn’t blanch at my bluff.

Kelly hesitated, then stepped out of the way.

Robert Stricker did not move.

We locked eyes.

The situation crystallized for me.

And he produced a gun.

SEVENTY-EIGHT

Stricker herded us back into the house.

Kelly Rundles’ face was the epitome of confusion. “What the hell is going on?”

He had the gun firmly aimed in my direction. By the way Meredith was clinging to me and the way Megan had taken up residence behind me, I had a pretty good idea.

“You follow us here?” I asked.

Stricker nodded.

Kelly looked from him to me. “He said you wanted us to follow you.” She looked back to him. “You said he wanted us to follow him, but that he didn’t want Megan to know.” She blinked and it seemed to dawn on her how strange that sounded. “What the hell are you doing with a gun?”

“You saw Megan and me in the hall,” I said. “Before the game.”

Stricker held the gun steady and nodded again.

“And when I wasn’t on the bench in the second half, you knew something was up,” I said.

The corner of his mouth flared up into something that on anyone else would’ve resembled the beginning of a smile. It was nothing more than an admission on him.

“What the fuck is going on?” Kelly asked, completely exasperated.

I nodded at Stricker. “Meet Meredith’s pimp.”

Kelly stared at me for a long moment then rotated her head toward Stricker. “What?”

“Vegas,” I said, as I processed the connection that I’d missed from the beginning. “You went to UNLV.”

The corner of his mouth flared again.

“You knew Olivia,” I said. “Before Jordan did, right?”

He didn’t say anything.

“You were the one who told Meredith about her mother,” I said.

Meredith’s hands clenched tighter to my midsection. I took that as confirmation that I was right.

“And I’m guessing you knew what Derek was running,” I continued. “Maybe you heard whispers in the hall, maybe Derek shot off his mouth, I don’t know. But you already knew she was in the game.”

Kelly was staring solely at Stricker now.

“She was pissed off at Derek and you pounced,” I said. “Offered her more money, made it sound better. Then when she wanted out you beat the crap out of her. And you told her to blame it on Chuck.”

There was no flare now on his mouth. Just a blank expression.

“There are details I can’t fill in but I don’t need ‘em,” I said. I shook my head. “I don’t need ‘em. Because I’m right, aren’t I?”

Stricker didn’t say anything.

But Meredith whispered “Yes.”

“He’s an asshole,” Megan said from behind me.

“Been called worse,” Stricker said, his voice low and unfamiliar as he spoke for the first time. “Been called a lot worse.”

“I’ll bet,” I said. I glanced at Kelly and recited the cell number Jon Jordan and I discovered in the phone records. “That number mean anything to you?”

She looked confused for a moment. “I think it's my old school phone.”

“School phone?”

“The school gave me a phone and I think that was the number. I lost it a couple months ago.”

I looked at Stricker. “You didn't lose it, Kelly.”

Stricker's mouth twitched again.

“I don't know what the hell you're talking about and none of this is making sense,” Kelly said. She moved her attention to Stricker. “Robert. Put the gun down.”

She had edged closer to us and further from him.

“Can’t do that, Kelly. Because we’ve got a problem here.”

“Don’t make the problem worse,” I said.

He chuckled. “This where you tell me we can all walk away friends?”

“No,” I said. “But you use that gun and this whole thing goes from bad to horrible.”

“Not sure there’s anywhere else to go,” he said.

“There’s always somewhere else to go,” I said. “Always.”

“That what you learned lookin’ for your kid?” he asked, smirking. “Some sort of feel-good bullshit about moving on? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“Bet your salary isn't the same at school as it was in the NFL, right?” I said.

He smiled an ugly smile. “Good guess.”

“So what was all this? Supplemental income?”

The ugly smile remained.

“Maybe you just liked being in charge? Missed that from your playing days?”

He stared at me.

“Or maybe you're just an asshole who likes hurting kids.”

I didn't expect him to answer and it didn't matter. There was nothing he could say to me that was going to justify his actions. Maybe he had them straight in his own mind, but it wouldn't make sense to me.

“Stricker, come on,” Kelly said. “This is insane.”

He pivoted and fired a single shot in her direction.

The noise was deafening in the house, but I heard Meredith scream. Or maybe it was Megan. I wasn’t sure. Kelly fell backward, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Her hands clutched the giant red circle spreading on her left shoulder. Her mouth was open but she didn’t say anything.

Stricker quickly moved the gun back to me. “Is there somewhere else to go now?”

I didn’t say anything.

“Gotta take care of this, Tyler,” he said, a resigned expression on his face. “As soon as you found out your friend was okay, you should’ve walked.”

“I won’t let you hurt her,” I said.

“I’ve got the gun, Tyler.”

“You’re not gonna hurt her.”

He seemed amused by my defiance. “Are you blind?”

“No. But you aren’t gonna hurt her. You’ve done enough of that.”

The amusement in his expression faded. “Oh, God. Please don’t give me some fucking speech, alright? These girls, they know what they’re doing. They aren’t innocent.”

“Either are you,” I said. “And you’re gonna have to kill me if you want her.”

Meredith’s hands were like claws in my stomach. My arm was still around her shoulders and her face was buried in my shirt, unable to look at Stricker. I could hear Megan breathing behind me to my right. I didn’t look at Kelly because I was afraid of what I was going to see.

“Not a problem, Tyler,” Stricker said and he aimed the gun at my throat.

Another explosion roared through the room and I jerked. Meredith pushed harder into me and we toppled to the ground. I lay there for a moment, my ears ringing, unsure of what had happened. Then I sat up.

Stricker was on his back, his face a bloody mess. The lower half of his face was gone, the area where his mouth had been now one large vacant space. The gun had fallen from his grip and his body was twitching, as if someone was tickling him. I popped to my knees, crawled over and grabbed the gun, then looked back at Megan.

She was holding a gun with both hands, her eyes still on Stricker. The gun was shaking.

I stood and walked over to her, carefully taking the gun from her. Her eyes were still locked on Stricker.

“Megan?” I said and my voice sounded quiet after the two gunshots.

“It’s my dad’s,” she finally said, her words slurred, heavy. “I brought it in case…” She looked at me. Her eyes were glazed over, staring through me. “In case you wouldn’t help Meredith.” Her eyes focused and she finally looked at me. “In case I had to shoot you.”

SEVENTY-NINE

The small narrow street was now packed with police officers, fire trucks and curious eyes.

“You should’ve called me,” Mike Lorenzo said.

We were standing off to the side of the Jordan’s buy-in home. Lieutenant Bazer was in the middle of the yard, directing his officers. He glanced at me, then looked away.

“I didn’t know what I was walking into, Mike,” I said. “Otherwise, I would’ve.”

That was the truth. I had learned early that it was better to let the local police handle things when the time was right. I wasn’t looking to showboat or steal anyone’s spotlight. If I’d known Meredith was inside, that Stricker was a piece of crap and that Megan was armed, I most definitely would’ve called Mike.

But sometimes you don’t know.

Mike rubbed at his jaw. “You alright?”

I nodded. “Fine. Did you call Jordan?”

“Yeah, he should be here soon,” Mike said. “Didn’t tell him everything that happened, just that his kid was safe.”

Mike’s colleagues had Meredith and Megan separated, talking to them individually. As long as they told the truth, they would be fine.

EMTs spilled out of the house, Kelly Rundles on a gurney. She was moving, alert. She would be fine.

“It was absolutely self-defense, Mike,” I said. “That girl probably saved my life.”

Mike looked over to where Megan was talking to another officer. “I’ll make sure she’s alright.”

There was movement amongst the gawkers in the street. Jon and Olivia Jordan emerged from the middle of the pack, their heads twisting and turning, eyes wide. Jon saw Meredith first and broke into a sprint toward her. One cop attempted to grab his arm, but Jordan shook him off, missile-locked on his daughter.

Meredith saw him and her body shook as she began sobbing. Jordan slowed as he approached, like she was a deer and he didn’t want to scare her away. Meredith’s chin sunk and her body shook harder. Jordan stepped in and swallowed her with his arms and they shook together.

Olivia was slower in getting to them and when she did, she seemed unsure of what to do. She put a hand on her husband’s shoulder and another on her daughter’s. Her eyes scanned the crowd until they settled on me.

She gave a slight nod in my direction and I had no idea what it meant nor did I have any any desire to ask her.

Jordan never took his eyes off his daughter. I imagined that it would be hard for him to ever let her out of his sight again.

I was envious.

“If you wanna get out of here, go ahead,” Mike said and I knew he was reading my thoughts.

“Thanks.”

He walked with me away from the crowd and guided me toward his car. “Hang on a sec.” He opened the door and pulled out a thin envelope.

He handed it to me. “This was what I was gonna give you at breakfast tomorrow.”

I took the envelope and flipped it over in my hands a couple of times.

“It’s probably nothing,” Mike cautioned. “But it’s something I’d take a look at. Since you’re here, I figured I’d just pass it along.”

I knew by his tone and demeanor we were no longer talking about Meredith Jordan and the subject was Elizabeth.

I stared at the envelope. “Okay.”

“Like I said, it’s probably nothing,” Mike said again. “But it’s the kind of thing that I’ve been looking at over the last few years when it rolls in. You can take a look, see what you think.”

I folded the envelope and stuck it in my pocket. “Thanks, Mike. For everything.”

“That sounds like a goodbye,” Mike said with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded at Meredith and her parents. “We found her. Chuck’s clear and he’s gonna be alright. I think I’m done.”

“You gonna be alright?” he asked.

I offered him my hand and we shook.

“I hope so,” I said.