I got off the cot and tip-toed over to the dresser, trading the witch costume for a pair of pink pajama pants and an oversized white t-shirt, and hurried back to my cot. The basement wasn't heated. I dreaded the winter. If it was cold in here in October, it could only get worse. I curled up in the fetal position and wrapped the thin quilt over my body.
Worry about Phoebe competed with the fear and disappointment that swam in my head. I knew she wouldn't get any sort of medical care. She would get better. She had to. I didn't want to see her suffer just as much as I didn't want her to leave me.
Hot tears dripped down the corners of my eyes. A bubble of sadness began to form in my stomach and tears dripped down the corners of my eyes. I had been recognized. I was so close to being saved again, and the chance had slipped right through my fingers. I wiped my eyes and sighed.
Was part of me happy Zane had shot Mario? I didn’t want to be glad about anyone's death, well, anyone who wasn’t Nate or Zane. Did he—the guy dressed like Mario—deserve to die? He knew who I was, knew I had been kidnapped. He could have brought me in, saved me. I would have promised not to tell that he bought me for a party. He would have saved me and gotten the reward money.#p#分页标题#e#
But no, he wanted more. He was a greedy, horny bastard. Yes. I was glad he was dead. I didn’t feel bad about that.
The bubble popped when I thought of the agony my mother must be feeling. A sob escaped my lips. I turned my head into my pillow and cried myself to sleep. I had only slept for a few hours when Lily and Rochelle came down the stairs, chatting loudly about the wild party they had been to. Rochelle talked like she was there as a guest, enjoying the food and free drinks. I pretended to be asleep, not wanting to talk.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"WHAT'S THIS?" LILY asked the next morning, her voice thick with sleep. She unfolded a newspaper. I sat up quickly. Everyday was exactly the same. We never got the paper. "An article is circled," she told us. Wide-awake, I got out of bed and padded over, ignoring the cold floor on my bare feet.
The story didn't make the first page, but there was no mistaking the seriousness of the situation. A picture of Mario, minus the costume, looked up at me, under the headline MAN FOUND DEAD IN PARKING LOT.
“I don't get it," Lily said and tossed the paper to the side. She picked up a banana and began to peel it. "Why would we care about some dead guy?"
Nerves prickled my skin. I reached around her and grabbed the paper. "You wouldn't," I agreed. "But I would."
"Huh?" she asked with her mouth full.
"This guy … he ... he was my client from last night."
"And you killed him?" Lily asked with an eyebrow raised. "What you do, fuck him to death?"
I shook my head and skimmed the article, too freaked out to slow down and read the entire thing. “No, Zane did," I breathed.
"Huh?" Lily repeated.
My hands began to shake. "This guy," I said and tapped the picture. "He knew who I was."
Lily took another bite of her banana and shrugged. "So?" She eyed the paper before it dawned on her. "Oh! Like he knew you were Adeline Miller, this missing girl."
"Yes. He said he recognized me from being on the news. He wanted to turn me in for reward money or get paid to keep quiet." I closed my eyes in a long blink. “He's quiet now."
"What if Zane gets caught?" Lily asked, and I thought I heard genuine concern in her voice.
"I hope he does get caught," I stated. "I'd love to see him in an orange jumpsuit put in with general population."
Rochelle sat up and rubbed her eyes, smearing electric blue eye shadow. "What are you guys talking about?" she groaned.
"Zane killed someone for Addie!" Lily exclaimed.
That caught Rochelle's immediate attention. "What?" she asked, her voice too shrill for someone who just woke up.
"He didn't kill for me," I explained. "He killed someone to save his own ass."
Rochelle scrambled up, her feet catching in the blankets. She flailed to untangle them and rushed over to the table. "What?" she repeated.
It felt like everything had just happened. I remembered the chilly night air, the trick-or-treaters running up and down the streets, the way I could see the false eyelashes every time I blinked. I remembered how hopeless I felt, how I didn’t see a way out. And then I heard my name.
"Addie!" Rochelle yelled.
"Quiet!" I told her. "You'll wake Phoebe."
"I don't give a fuck about Phoebe," she spat. "What the hell happened to Zane?" Her eyebrows pushed together and I could see her clenching her jaw.#p#分页标题#e#