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A small flash drive landed soundlessly on top of the gritty mountain. I lifted it, blowing pieces of Dad from between its little crevices. This small hunk of plastic was the root of so many problems.
Like every other clue he’d left for me, I didn’t understand what it was for. I’d hooked it to my laptop and hadn’t been able to make it beyond the extensive password encryption someone had coded it with. Probably the same person who was smart enough to write with the Egyptian alphabet.
I rubbed a hand over my face. I was no closer to figuring this situation out than I had been a month ago. All I knew for certain was that people were dying over this device. I’d killed two men because of it. If not for my mother, my father more than likely would have died for it too. In a totally messed up sort of way, she’d done him a favor.
My phone vibrated with an incoming text. I read it over quickly.
Finally. Shoving the flash-drive into my pocket, I gathered up the envelopes contents and then pushed away from the table.
I could leave now.
Right after I made one last pit stop.
I stared into my parents’ bedroom, taking in all their untouched things. It’d been mon
ths, and I still couldn’t bring myself to pack their belongings away. It wasn’t as if they would be returning home from their trip and picking up where we all left off.
As with everything else, the finality of emptying this room was one I wasn’t ready to deal with yet. I hadn’t come to terms with what happened. I’m not sure I ever would. No matter how many times I looked in here, I always asked myself the same questions.
What was she thinking that morning?
Did she know I’d never see her again?
Were her actions premeditated, or did she simply snap?
I stepped over the threshold, and immediately felt weighed down by melancholy. It clung to me like an anchor at my feet. Sunlight streamed through the slits in the curtains, doing nothing to change the depressing shade of gray coating the walls.
My sole reason for coming in here sat on my mother’s nightstand, the bottles still neatly arranged. It was amazing what a tiny capsule of drugs could do. Sad how quickly the effects of them faded when they were no longer being taken.
As I surveyed Mom’s collection of prescribed goods, a small voice in my head told me to stop and think about what I was doing, wait until I had all the facts. This was contradictory to what I’d claimed less than an hour ago.
I’d told myself that Nika wasn’t important right now. I tried to shut down any train carrying thoughts of her, but it wasn’t that simple. The way things were going this might have been my last chance to do anything at all. If the trickle of paranoia that was riding the coattails of my disgust turned out to be a valid concern…Well, I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.
After selecting a bottle from the nightstand, I stashed it inside my purse. Next step was retrieving Rhett’s gun from the closet. A second text from Nika came in as I made my way downstairs.
She had no idea of the things that had transpired in the past twenty-four hours, clear across town in her own little bubble. I was surprised Emery hadn’t filled her in, but this kept things working in my favor.
After retrieving my things, I checked out the front window to see if anyone was around. Thus far the coast was clear.
I jogged outside to my car, and quickly pulled it into the garage so that I could load the trunk. When I was finished, I did one last walk through the house.
I took it in through the eyes of the person I’d grown to be, and not the ghost of the girl still crying for her broken family.
I’d once thought of this town, and this house, as a sort of haven. They contained years of sentimental value, but these walls and this community had been my cocoon for too long. I would never grow here or change enough to find myself. So, I’d keep the good memories close to my heart and leave the painful ones behind.
I exited through the garage, thinking it some small miracle that Mrs. Richardson wasn’t stalking me from one of her windows. I drove away with one last glance in my rearview before turning off my street for the last time.
The drive to Annika’s was uneventful.
I didn’t catch a glimpse of Rhett, or anyone else that could potentially be following me. Still, I knew better than to let my guard down or relax. I didn’t trust anyone or anything around me, not even the birds in the trees.
Parking behind Nika’s beamer, I stared at her chic two story-house. Having heard my car, her front door swung open, and she smiled brightly, waving for me to come in before disappearing from my line of sight.
I checked my reflection, and then grabbed my purse, eyeing my surroundings as I got out of the car. It felt as if someone were watching me, but Nika’s street was quiet and empty, save for the sound of a lawn mower coming from a nearby yard. I did my best to shake the feeling off, chalking it up to paranoia.
I returned my focus to Nika’s house and hitched my bag over my shoulder feeling as if I were about to walk the plank.
CHAPTER SIX
