AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But just as I reach the first plateau, I see a figure coming toward me, and as I take in his gait, I know instantly that it’s him. His face is shadowed by a hooded sweatshirt despite the oppressive evening heat, and my jaw drops when I notice the color. Black. It’s the same hoodie worn by the person I saw leaving Lucy’s room earlier.
The realization hits me in an instant. Not only did Daniel spend his time at the Full Moon Party following Lucy, but he was also trying to break into her room earlier today.
What did he want to find? Or cover up?
I watch his head rise slowly, and without thinking, I throw myself behind one of the massive palm trees lining the walkway a moment before his eyes pass over the spot where I’d been standing.
I had planned to confront him, but a pulse of fear lodges in my chest.
I want to see where he’s going, to catch him doing something that will give me enough evidence for this to all make sense, to smash this entire story open.
I watch him walk closer to my hiding place. I expect him to turn into the Tiki Palms, but instead, he takes a sharp right, heading onto the beach road that leads away from the resort and toward Kumvit.
I take a deep breath, and when Daniel’s about twenty yards away, I step out from behind the palm tree to follow him.
I stay close enough to see which way he goes but at a safe enough distance for him not to notice. After a while, though, as we get closer to Kumvit, Daniel veers suddenly off the main road and into an alley I’ve never noticed. I look toward where he’s heading, but the dark trees lining this stretch block out the dim light filtering in from the sunset, darkening the path. Even so, I can make out Daniel’s form walking ahead of me.
With his head covered, walking down a nondescript alley, it’s clear he doesn’t want to be seen.
The thought further raises my already strong suspicions, but I don’t pause to consider the potential ramifications.
After a few steps, I feel a vibration against my leg, the sound exploding against my eardrums. I scramble into my shorts pocket for my phone, fumbling until I find the switch on the side that stops the vibration. I hold my breath and force myself to lift my head and look upward.
But Daniel doesn’t seem to have noticed.
Cautiously, I pull out the phone. It could be Cass, and I want to let her know where I am in case something goes wrong.
I quickly change the settings to lower the brightness of the screen, and with my eyes flicking up regularly to trail Daniel, I pull up the message.
Itisfrom Cass, but it’s not at all the message I expected.
Where are you? Found something new about Daniel. He’s dangerous, stay away.
Despite myself, I feel a warmth from her message. She’s concerned about my safety. But the feeling is quickly dissolved by my curiosity. What does she meanhe’s dangerous? I click on the link she included at the end of her message, and for once on this island, the internet loads mercifully quickly. I inhale sharply as I take in the headline and Daniel’s mug shot.
I glance upward to check that Daniel hasn’t noticed anything is amiss—he hasn’t—and move to the side of the alley so that I’m in the shadows offered by the trees before I feverishly read the article.
HACKNEY MAN CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FLEES COUNTRY, VIOLATES PAROLE
Daniel Ayadebo, a 22-year-old Hackney man, has reportedly fled the UK following his recent release from HMP Pentonville. Ayadebo was convicted by a London court on charges of sexual assault and actual bodily harm two years ago, following an incident in which he reportedly attacked his former girlfriend.
Ayadebo’s accuser, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed that Ayadebo followed her home from a Londonnightclub, forced his way into her apartment, and sexually assaulted her. Evidence presented at trial, including the accuser’s physical injuries in the form of a black eye and a sprained wrist as well as testimony from witnesses confirming that Ayadebo and his accuser had argued at the nightclub that night, led to his conviction. Ayadebo served twenty-four months of a twenty-eight-month prison sentence and was released early for good behavior.
According to Ayadebo’s probation officer, he disappeared less than a month after his release, and the belief is that he has left the country. Ayadebo’s flight from London constitutes a violation of his parole and warrants his return to prison.
Readers with knowledge of Ayadebo’s whereabouts are encouraged to contact us at [email protected].
I stare at the words for a moment. Daniel is a convicted felon. Of sexual assault.
He’s more than capable of violence.
I’m so invested in the article, my mind racing with its implications, that I don’t hear it: the sudden blanket of quiet that drapes the alley.
There are no more footsteps.
I look up, but the alley in front of me stands empty. I hurry to the end of it, ignoring the unemptied trash cans and discarded palm fronds lining its sides, until I reach a passage that is so narrow it’s almost hidden. I follow it for a few seconds before it deposits me onto another road just outside Kumvit, on the opposite side of the resort. But there’s no sign of Daniel.
The road is busier in this area closer to town, backpackers and locals alike gearing up for the evening. I look frantically both ways—any attempts at furtiveness long discarded—but I don’t see anyone in a black hoodie.
