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She paused before answering. “The story sounds crazy. But there are so many details. With all the other missing women. The red hair. The paper you showed me. It’s worth checking out.”
“You can’t tell anyone else. You don’t know if there’s anyone in your department who is part of it,” I explained earnestly.
“I could tell my—”
“No. You can’t tell anyone. At least not until there is something concrete. I know there’s not enough evidence right now. But we can find it and then take it to more people.” I was adamant. I did not hide for all this time only to go public with no evidence or to get caught by them.
“Okay. We’ll wait,” she agreed. “We’ll do it your way if it makes you feel better. You’re the one who has the most to lose.”
My muscles relaxed, and I sagged onto the couch. Maybe this was it. The answer I needed to get my life back. The weight was already starting to fall off. But the fear was still just a thought away.
“I’m going back to my motel for now,” I said, suddenly exhausted. The conversation had wiped me out. This was the most human interaction I’d had in months.
“You could stay here, if you’d like,” she offered kindly.
I hesitated. “No offense. But I’ve been on my own for so long. I can’t trust somebody so soon.”
“I understand. Here’s my number in case you want to get a hold of me,” she said as she scribbled it on a piece of paper.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m going to try to find the address of the husband, Robert Dailey.”
I nodded as I started toward the door. We said goodbye before I climbed into my car and rested my head on the top of the steering wheel. The reality of what had just happened came crashing down. I’d done exactly what I didn’t want to do. Trusted a stranger. Kiara seemed sincere. But so had Alex. So had Detective Thomas. The more the thoughts came, the more I regretted it. Getting out of Chicago seemed like my best bet. But Kiara didn’t know where I was staying; my name wasn’t on the motel room. A few more days would be okay.
* * *
For the next few weeks, I would meet with Kiara at the coffee shop. At first, I was apprehensive about letting someone in. But that soon changed. We didn’t talk about the society in public. Instead, for the first time in what felt like forever, I had regular conversations. I told Kiara about my life. My dad and my adventures with Lacey. Kiara talked about her girlfriend, Valerie. She told me about her career and her life growing up.
We went back to Kiara’s house a few times and talked about the more serious matters. We couldn’t track down Robert Dailey, not without a more extensive search that could cause questions. But I didn’t care. I had no motivation to find anyone else. Not at that moment, anyway.
I felt safe in Chicago. It was such a busy city and seemed far away from the horror of back home. I was still staying at the motel but saw Kiara nearly every day. For some reason, Chicago felt freer. Like I could do more without having to worry as much. I was still paranoid about most things but didn’t stay cooped up in the motel nearly as much.
There was public transit, so I didn’t have to use my car often. The thought of staying here long term entered my mind more than once. Kiara was a big factor in that decision. It felt safe to have someone around who knew what was happening. She already felt like family. We shared everything about our lives with each other. Connected by the grief of our missing loved ones.
