Darkness Falls Read online

  Aidan speaks first, beating Jeff by about a millisecond. “I’ll go with you.” When he holds my gaze, I wonder if admiration lurks in his eyes, or maybe that’s just surprise at my stupidity. In the seconds it took to settle who’s going, I’ve morphed from brave to terrified. The last thing I want to do is walk into a dark trailer harboring a dead body with a guy I just met.

  In one fluid motion, Aidan stands. “Let’s do this,” he says. Rising on shaking knees, I chant a silent prayer that my mind can propel my body forward. If Aidan notices my hesitancy, he’s decent enough to keep it to himself. “Do you two have any flashlights we could use?”

  Riley nods and rises, striding toward the kitchen’s junk drawer. Jeff stands and eyes me warily. I have to prove that I’m useful. “I’ll grab a bag we can use to carry the food.” As I head toward the bedroom, the guys’ whispered words float through the air, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.

  Just a few minutes later, the four of us are once again facing each other in the living room. Riley hands Aidan and I flashlights. Patting the empty beach bag slung over my shoulder, I announce, “Okay, I think we’re ready.”

  “You two hold down the fort,” Aidan says. “We’ll be back soon.” Tugging the door open, I lead the way outside with Aidan following close behind. We walk briskly and speak quietly. A chill dances through the air, and goosebumps erupt on my bare arms.

  “Let’s not use the flashlights until we get inside the trailer,” he starts. I can tell he’s gauging my reaction, appraising my willingness to let him lead. I nod my head in agreement. Although night has fallen, and the path is draped in darkness, we stay close as we move. I can see him clearly, so I’m guessing he saw my assent.

  Glancing over at me, he whispers, “I need you to stand guard. We can’t risk both of us going inside and not seeing someone approach. You stay low right outside the door while I run inside, grab the food, and get out of there.” Oh, thank you, Jesus! I really, really, really didn’t want to go back inside there.

  Shrugging, I try to play it cool. “Yeah, sure. I can do that.” He flashes me a warm smile and returns his eyes to the path. The wishing well comes into view, and we both know it’s not far now.

  When we reach the door, Aidan gives me a slight nod and pulls it open, slipping inside. I take my lookout position, hunkering down against the doorjamb. As I wait, my mind flashes back to the evening’s events. It doesn’t feel like we just had dinner with Dan and Jim tonight. I involuntarily shake as I recall my suspicions. Rubbing my arms to soften the goosebumps, I’m pulled from my thoughts by the sound of Aidan shuffling inside the trailer.

  I trace a finger over the nearly-healed scratch on my arm. My souvenir from Tiger has almost faded. And just like that my mind drifts back to what I swear was Tiger’s collar in Jim and Dan’s trash. A thought strikes my mind like lightning. I shoot to my feet just as Aidan slips out the door, bloated beach bag in hand.

  Meeting Aidan face-to-face, I grab his arm, unable to control my need for information. “Remember the day we met? Remember all the cats at that house?”

  He exhales a chuckle and runs a hand through his hair. “That’s not what I expected you to say just now. You’re kind of…intense sometimes, huh?”

  I grab his shoulders, shaking him slightly. “Listen to me.” I may be bordering on lunacy here, but I’m powerless to stop myself. He wipes off a smirk and replaces it with a serious look. I think he’s humoring me, but I’ll take it. Inhaling a deep breath, I ask, “Do you remember the cat that scratched me?” He nods. “Do you remember if he had a shiny yellow collar?”

  He busts out laughing, quickly covering his mouth to suppress the noise when he remembers we’re supposed to be sneaking around out here. When I cross my arms and glare at him, he has the decency to feign slight remorse. Swiping a hand over his mouth, it settles there as if to clamp down a response. Before my eyes, he turns on the charm. “I’m sorry, I thought you were joking,” he says, guilt overtaking his features. “Um, what are you asking?”

  I struggle to tamp down my annoyance. “Do you remember if any of the cats were wearing collars? You know, the cats we saw at that house the day we met.” The words sound condescending as they fly out of my mouth, but I feel the need to be as specific as possible.

  He scrunches his face in thought, narrowing his eyes, and answers my question with a question, “They were wearing collars?” Ugh. I give up.

  “Look, just forget about it,” I say, frustration oozing out of each word. I give up. “Let’s get going. I’m sure Riley’s worried about us by now.” I turn and lead the way back to our trailer. We walk the short distance in silence.

  Chapter 15

  Once we reach the familiar porch of my temporary home base, I hold the door open wide for Aidan and the loot. He plops the beach bag on the kitchen table, and Riley and Jeff practically sprint over from the couch.

  She’s wringing her hands as she rushes over. “I was starting to wonder if something went wrong,” Riley confesses. “I wanted to come after you.”

  “Oh, nothing to worry about,” Aidan reassures her. “Quinn rushed right in there and cleaned the place out. I slowed us down carrying all of this stash back. I probably should have just let her carry it. I think she would have been faster.” He gives me a wink.

  Why would he say that? But if he wants to make me look good, I’ll take all the help I can get! Okay, maybe I can forgive his earlier discretion—flaking on the cat details. Flashing him a smile, I focus my energy on preventing my cheeks from flushing.

  The four of us hover around the kitchen table, dividing the food into two equal piles. The conversation is easy, and Jeff’s humor keeps the mood light. When we finish, my eyes wander over the stack Riley and I will share: four boxes of brown rice, three pouches of lentils, two boxes of dried pasta, two cans of tuna, six single-serving mixed fruit cups, and a canister of mixed nuts. It’s a big improvement over the box of almost-stale saltines that was the highlight of our food inventory before tonight.

  “Wow, guys,” Riley says. “Thanks so much for bringing this back. I hate that we had to take it from someone’s home but more than that, I hate that she doesn’t need it anymore.”

  I gently rub Riley’s arm and turn to the guys. “Let’s get your half packed up. You can use the beach bag.”

  Riley helps me pack their share and I hand the bag to Aidan. “Thanks,” he says, almost shyly. “Want us to bring your bag back tomorrow? I think there’s more to discuss.” I glance at Riley and the hint of a smirk on her face tells me she’s fine with that. “Yes,” I say confidently. “Why don’t you come a little earlier though? If we are going to come meet your friends, I don’t want it to get too late.”

  With that, Aidan flashes a perfect smile. The guys start walking toward the door and Jeff calls over his shoulder, “Nice doing business with you.” Aidan throws us a small wave and says, “Until tomorrow.”

  As soon as we close and lock the door, I exhale a deep breath and announce my intent to catch some ZZZs. Riley agrees, and we ready ourselves for some much-needed rest.

  Morning arrives way too soon. When sunlight illuminates my eyelids, I know it’s time to start the day. Glancing across the room, I spy Riley in her bed, propped up on one arm, reading a book. I watch her for a few minutes, thinking about how we haven’t even stepped foot in the trailer’s other bedroom. I can’t even count how many times Riley and I burst in there when the first rays of sun spilled into our room. We’d rouse our parents from sleep, so we could greet the day with sand and seagulls.

  Maybe someday I’ll be able to smile when I recall those memories, but right now they just renew the pain. Riley shifts her position and glimpses me watching her. “Hey, Quinn. Stare much?” My embarrassment pulls me from my thoughts. “Sorry, just waking up.”

  Riley switches off her Kindle and stretches. I refrain from criticizing her for using it again when I see her dig out a charger and plug it into the wall. It must be getting low on its charge
by now. “Wanna grab some breakfast and check on Benny?” she asks.

  “That sounds great, Riley,” I say just before I rise and attempt to shine.

  After we dress, we clear off the sand-colored kitchen table. We were so tired last night after Aidan and Jeff left that we didn’t bother to put the food away. When I present a fruit cup to Riley, she nods and marches to the utensil drawer, retrieving spoons for us.

  As we both peel off the thin plastic lids separating us from our tiny feast, Riley eyes me. “Quinn, why did you ask Aidan and Jeff about driving north with us? I thought we were planning to go to the military base since we finally convinced Benny to go with us.”

  “Honestly, Riley, I don’t know what I was thinking,” I admit. “I was just excited by the prospect of going home, but you’re right. I don’t want to leave Benny.”

  She smirks. “Are you sure it didn’t have anything to do with Aidan and those sky-blue eyes? Or maybe Jeff and his muscular arms?”

  “Wait, Jeff’s got muscular arms?” I ask.

  She doesn’t even bother to answer me. “I knew it!” she exclaims. “Quinn likes Aidan,” she chants in a sing-song voice. We both collapse in a fit of giggles. For a brief moment, it feels good to just be a girl who can laugh about her latest crush.

  We finish our breakfast and squirrel away last night’s food bounty in a cupboard. No matter what, we won’t be staying here for much longer, but if whoever ransacked Mrs. Adams’ trailer decides to peek in our windows, I don’t want to leave a bullseye sitting right out in the open.

  As I slide the last box of rice into one of the lower cupboards, the word organic catches my eye. That’s right, all of the food I saw in Mrs. Adams’ trailer was organic. Flashbacks of cleaning up Jim and Dan’s kitchen last night come to mind. The noodle packaging I threw out—it was organic rice noodles. At the time I thought it was strange that Jim and Dan would be in possession of healthy food. I shoot to my feet in one swift motion.

  Startled, Riley gasps and casts her wide eyes at me.

  My hand flies to my mouth as I rethink my accusations.

  “What—what’s wrong?”

  Thoughts rush through my brain like a roller coaster plunging downhill. Grabbing Riley’s hands, my intense gaze latches onto hers. “Riley, I think Jim and Dan are the ones that killed Mrs. Adams. I think those noodles Dan cooked last night came from her trailer.”

  Riley shakes her head no and slowly backs away from me, out of my grasp.

  “No, Riley, just listen to me. I didn’t tell you, but the other night I heard a scream. I didn’t say anything about it because I didn’t want to scare you, but then when Aidan and Jeff told us about what they found…I thought maybe that was what I heard.”

  Riley brings her hands together to cover the lower half of her face, but at least she’s stopped shaking her head. I take it as a sign to continue. “And remember what I told you last night? About seeing that collar in the trash bag after we cleaned up from dinner?”

  She nods.

  “I think Jim and Dan killed Tiger and Mrs. Adams.”

  “That’s quite an accusation,” Riley starts, pausing for a moment. Her eyes narrow as she processes my words. “I guess it could make sense, though. I would have never thought…” she trails off, shaking her head.

  As much as I detest Jim, I never figured he was capable of something like this.

  “Although…” Riley continues. “Their dad is gone, and he probably kept them in line. Now they’re in survival mode, only thinking about themselves.”

  “Let’s take a walk and visit Benny,” I say. “We should fill him in on what’s going on and see what he thinks. And no matter what, we need to make sure he’s been packing.” Riley nods in agreement.

  Chapter 16

  The trek to Benny’s house is largely silent as we’re both lost in our thoughts. My sister and I are the same in this respect. We need to slide all the pieces of this puzzle around mentally, trying to decipher what truly makes sense. When we reach his door, I raise my fist and rap my knuckles on it.

  We hear fast-shuffling feet approach the door. When it cracks open, a middle-aged woman, slightly taller than me, peers out. She opens the door wider when she recognizes us. The funny thing is, I have no idea who she is. “You must be Quinn and Riley,” she says, smiling.

  Riley and I nod slowly, gawking at the woman. “Girls, come on in, I’m Benny’s friend,” she says, stepping aside and motioning us forward. Crossing the threshold, we both search our surroundings for Benny, to no avail.

  “Come sit for a moment, girls,” the woman says, leading us to the couch. Once we’re all seated, Cindy introduces herself and fills us in. She’s a longtime resident of the park, and also a longtime friend of Benny’s. As a nurse, she makes a habit of checking in on the elderly residents. When she stopped in this morning, Benny was out of breath and sweaty, exerted from answering the door. After quizzing him on how he was feeling, she ran home and got her blood pressure cuff. When she checked Benny’s reading, it was sky high.

  As she speaks, I take in her appearance. Stray gray hairs mingle with the midnight black mane that drifts to her shoulders. I wonder if those follicles display the worry she feels for the older residents like Benny. Shaking myself out of distraction, I return to the conversation.

  Cindy explains that she spent the day watching over Benny to make sure he took it easy.

  Riley and I sit politely and listen, but we both grow antsy as the words we have to say threaten to spill out. It’s great Cindy’s taken care of him, but we’re here now.

  “Girls,” she starts. “I know Benny talked about going to the Air Force Base with you, but he really needs to stay put until we’re sure he’s okay.” She pauses and looks between us, waiting for a reaction. My heart plummets. “But we’re just going to sit in a car, he can do that,” I counter.

  “Oh, honey,” Cindy speaks softly. She adjusts her glasses and her warm brown eyes meet mine. I know that we all want the same thing—what’s best for Benny. We just have different definitions of what that is in this moment. “He has to relax to keep that blood pressure down. I know the group is leaving tomorrow for Dover Air Force Base. Benny told me you girls were going to come by today. He’s resting, and I don’t want to wake him, but he told me that he wants you girls to go with the group.”

  I start to shake my head no, but Cindy gently places a hand on each of our shoulders. “Girls, I promise you both that I will bring Benny to that base myself as soon as his blood pressure reading is normal.” She looks back and forth between us. I don’t know her, but Benny does. And I believe he trusts her.

  Riley nods her head. “Cindy, you’re right. We want Benny to be safe. When you think he’s ready, we’ll be waiting there for him.”

  Shuffling gravel as we go, Riley and I trudge back to the trailer, deflated from our visit to Benny’s. “I guess we should start packing, huh?” I murmur.

  Riley doesn’t even look my way when she mumbles, “Yeah.”

  In near silence, we gather our dirty clothes. Digging into my impressive mound, I separate out like articles to form smaller piles. Apparently, Riley was folding her dirty clothes the whole time we’ve been here, so her bags are packed in record time.

  Riley plops on her bed and watches me fold. She speaks slowly, as if she’s thinking out loud. “Quinn, you know how you said last night about maybe borrowing the dirt bikes from Jim and Dan?” I forgot that thought even crossed my mind. She must be cooking up an idea.

  “Yeah, of course,” I respond. “Well,” she continues. “If they really hurt that neighbor and the cat, then maybe they deserve a little payback. Maybe we should take their bikes. It’ll put them out of commission for a little while and it could help us get out of here faster.”

  Electricity shoots through my veins. I didn’t think Riley had it in her to support a plan like that. “I’m not against it, but what do we do once we have the bikes?”

  “Let’s go home,” she says, defeated. “I’m
tired of trying to figure out what to do, where to go. I don’t want to go to some military base. I just want to go home.”

  She’s right. We’ve been through enough. Home won’t be the same, but it’s where we belong. “Me too. Let’s do it.”

  “Okay, good,” she continues. “I have a plan.”

  Chapter 17

  Riley and I finish up a simple dinner of tuna and mixed nuts just as a knock thuds on the door. True to their word, Aidan and Jeff arrive before dark. I let them in while Riley quickly clears the table.

  “Evening, ladies,” Jeff greets us.

  Aidan gives a slight nod.

  “Hey, guys,” I say.

  “So, you ready to come meet our gang?” Jeff asks.

  Riley and I glance at each other before she responds. “Why don’t you guys have a seat? We have a little proposition for you.”

  Jeff rubs his hands together and smiles. “Woohoo, this sounds interesting!”

  Aidan chuckles and they both step to the living room area and sink into the couch.

  Riley and I explain our plan. If the guys are agreeable, Riley will go visit Jim and Dan, luring them to our trailer. I’ll be hiding outside of their trailer, and I’ll run in while they’re distracted and find the keys for the dirt bikes. Once I have the keys in hand, I’ll hoof it back to our trailer as if I just came back from a run. I’ll turn on the rude to try and get them to leave. Once they’re back home and settled, the four of us will sneak over and wheel the dirt bikes out of the trailer park. After we’re a distance away, we’ll start them up and drive back to Aidan and Jeff’s camp.

  Aidan rubs his chin and squints. “Let me get this straight. You got all judgy because Jeff and I were collecting food from vacated trailers. But now you want to steal dirt bikes from your neighbors? How is that okay?”