Cyber Dawn (A Ben Raine Novel) (12 page)

“How long were you in the apartment before you found her?” Merrick asked.

I shrugged. “Not long. Maybe a minute or two.”

“So, she didn’t say anything?” Merrick asked again.

“I said no.”

The two men shared a glance and Frost jotted more notes in his black book.

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s . . . hard to talk about.”

Detective Frost smiled warmly. “I know it is, Ben. Just bear with us a few more minutes.”

“Did she give you anything?” Merrick asked.

“Give me something?” I replied. “No. I just said she was unconscious the whole time I was there.”

Merrick smiled briefly, then turned serious again. “Did you take anything from her apartment?”

My face warmed.
Whose side is this guy on?

Before I could answer, Detective Frost said, “Dr. Merrick, when my officers arrived, Ben was on the floor next to Megan, clearly doing his best to keep her alive. There was nothing to indicate that he took anything.”

“No. I didn’t take anything from her apartment,” I added. “Even if I wanted to, I was too busy trying to plug the bullet hole somebody put in her chest.”

Merrick and I locked eyes. I shivered. It was a side of him I had never seen.

Eventually, he turned to Frost, and said, “That’s all I have for now, detective.”

Frost slipped his pen into his pocket and shut his black book. “Okay, Benjamin, I think we’re good. I’ll let you know if we have any additional questions.”

There were still ten minutes left in first period. Instead of going back, I wandered the halls. Dr. Merrick had struck a nerve, and I couldn’t shake the idea that he thought I was somehow involved in Megan’s murder.

I stopped in an empty hallway and fell back into a row of lockers. I resisted the urge to punch them. As I sat on the cold concrete floor, my phone buzzed. Certain it was Sarah, I quickly pulled it from my pocket and checked the Caller ID.

Not Sarah.

I shut my eyes and sighed, knowing that answering meant reliving Monday night a second time in less than an hour. But I had no choice. Ignoring it would only delay the inevitable.

I lifted the phone to my face, and said, “Hi, Mom.”

17

I held the phone at arm’s length and waited. Finally, after what felt like five minutes, she calmed down enough to speak.

“Benjamin, I still can’t believe it.”

“I know, Mom. I can’t either.”

“You weren’t hurt were you, baby? You’re okay?”

I winced at the word baby, then said, “Yeah, Mom, I’m okay. Whoever did it was already gone when I got there.”

I heard typing through the line. “Benjamin, I’m coming home. Just give me a few minutes to find a flight.”

I sighed. “Mom, please. You don’t need to do that. I’m okay. I have plenty to keep my mind busy.”
Understatement of the century
, I thought. “And Sofia is here. She’s taking care of me.”

“Benjamin . . .” my mom said, clearly shaken.

“Mom, it’s okay,” I continued. “I’ve got some experience dealing with this sort of thing.”

She hesitated, then said, “But Benjamin . . .”

“I know, Mom. But it’s okay. I’m fine.”

The line was silent for a full minute. I knew the internal debate she was having. Her heart was telling her to come home and take care of her son. Her brain was telling her how important the trip was to my dad.

“You’ll be home in two weeks anyway for Thanksgiving,” I added.

“Okay, Benjamin,” she finally said.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The bell rang signaling the end of first period. The halls immediately filled full of kids. Unable to hear my mom anyway, I said, “Mom, I have to run to class.”

She paused. “Okay, Benjamin. I love you.”

“I love you, too, mom.”

Just before I hit END, a thought crossed my mind. “Mom?”

“Yes honey?”

The hall was noisy now, so I stepped inside an empty classroom. Satisfied nobody was within earshot, I asked, “I had . . . cancer. Right?”

As I expected, the words sounded just as crazy as they did thinking them. My mom’s reaction confirmed it.

“Did you have cancer?” She laughed. “That’s kind of a silly question, Benjamin. Why are you asking?”

I hesitated. “I dunno. Been thinking about Megan a lot this week. Guess it got me thinking about being sick, too.”

“I understand, Benjamin. I still think about it more than I care to admit.”

I silently groaned. “I know it’s a stupid question,” I said. “But, you saw it right? Like the x-rays or something?”

“Of course, honey. When the doctors first told us about your diagnosis, they showed us the MRI images and results of the biopsy from the bump on your knee.”

Just then a teacher walked into the room, followed by several students. Each shot me a questioning glance.

“Oh yeah, I remember now,” I said, needing to get off the phone. “Thanks, Mom. I better run. I love you.”

I hung up and made my way across school toward my next class. Megan’s words repeated over and over in my mind.

You never had cancer.

You never had cancer.

You never had cancer.

18

Perhaps sensing my shock from across the room, he turned, grinned, and pointed at the empty seat next to him. I shot back my best
you’re crazy
look. No way I was sitting in the front row. Not in Mrs. Bradley’s class. The bull’s-eye on my head was already big enough.

When Mason realized I wasn’t joining him, he stood and stormed to the back of the room. “Dude, what’s your deal,” he said. “Come up there and sit with me.”

“Um, what’s
my
deal?” I replied. “You want to sit in the front row with your little girlfriend, be my guest. I’m staying back here.”

“Oh come on,” Mason said. “Holly says Mrs. Bradley really isn’t that bad. She’s just misunderstood.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

When I didn’t answer, Mason said, “Fine, whatever. Hey, what are you doing tonight?”

The bell rang, signaling the start of class. I worried Mrs. Bradley would notice us. The last thing I needed was another of her verbal quizzes. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “But go before Bradley sees us.”

“Come to the movies with me and Holly tonight,” Mason pressed. “Maybe she’ll bring a friend.”

“Fine,” I said, just wanting him to leave. “Now go.”

He slapped me on the back and headed back toward the front of the room.

Without a
hello
or
good afternoon, class
, Mrs. Bradley dove straight into a lecture on how poorly everyone (except Holly) did on the midterm exam. She also stated that, due to a technical error, she wouldn’t be able to release the grades until Monday. Nobody seemed disappointed.

Ten minutes into the lecture, my phone buzzed. Mrs. Bradley, able to hear the faintest hint of a phone ringing—silent mode or not—stopped her lecture and peered around the room.

The entire class froze.

After what seemed like an eternity, she returned to her lecture. When she looked down to read from the textbook, I slipped out my phone and glanced at the screen.

Sorry about the other night. Meet after school?

Sarah.

I grinned and felt a sudden sense of relief. I waited until Bradley turned her back, then typed a simple response.

K—in class

Hoping Sarah would wait to text me back, I pocketed my phone.

I looked up and saw Mrs. Bradley staring at me from the front of the room.

Does she have some sort of Ben happiness radar?

“Mr. Raine, since you seem so happy today,” she boomed. “Why not answer a few questions?”

Less than a minute after the final bell rang, I received another text message from Sarah.

Picnic area

I replied:
OMW

I grabbed my bag from my locker and hurried through the school. The outdoor picnic area was near the back of the school grounds. On most days during the week, it was a popular hangout. Not on a Friday. Other than Sarah, it was empty.

She sat on top of a picnic table, hunched over her laptop.

“Hey, Ben,” she said as I walked up.

“Hi, Sarah.” She was smiling, which I figured was a good sign. I hoped for the
sweet, listen intently to my story
Sarah and not the
call me a jerk and punch me in the arm
Sarah.

I climbed onto the table and sat next to her. “How are you?”

“Good. Just doing a little research.”

“On?”

A mischievous smile crossed her lips. “You.”

I angled to get a better look at her screen. She was on the Colorado Pediatric Hospital website again. “Um, me?”

“Yeah, you. I’ve spent the last two days in the library coming up with a plan to hack the hospital network.”

“Really? I stopped by there at lunch to find you.”

“Checking up on me?”

My cheeks turned pink. “Kinda. Just want to see if you were okay. The last time . . .”

Sarah closed her laptop and stuffed it into her bag. “I’m fine. Sorry about how I reacted. Probably not what you were expecting.”

“Just worried I scared you,” I said with a shrug. “Pretty sure I said too much.”

“No, not at all. I’m glad you told me. Makes me want to help you even more.”

“So you’re going to help me?”

“Of course,” she replied, smiling.

“When you left the money, I thought you had decided not to.”

“Yeah, I just forgot it. Was in a hurry to get out of there.”

I shrugged. “Sofia found it before I did.”

Her smile faded. “Oh no . . . did I get you in trouble?”

“Nah. But I did have to make up a story. Told her your computer broke and I had offered to loan you the money to fix it.”

“Did that work?”

“Yeah. Although she did tease me a little about wanting to help the cute girl.”

“Cute girl?”

My face flushed, again. I had known Sarah for two days and already had a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth around her.

She laughed and climbed off the table. “Come on, Ben, let’s go.”

“Go?”

“Yep,” she replied. “Unless you’ve got plans tonight.”

I thought back to history class.
What should I do? Mason, Holly, and some strange girl? Or Sarah?

A millisecond later, I said, “No plans.”

We walked across the grass together, headed for the student parking lot.

“Um, one question though,” I said. “Where do we have to go?”

“The hospital,” she answered. “It’s time to get that medical record.”

19

“So, you didn’t really have plans tonight?” Sarah asked after she woke up.

“You sound surprised.”

“I don’t know. Guess I figured you were popular. Going with Katherine to homecoming and all.”

“
Was
popular,” I said. “But even then, it was only because I played football. Now? I’m a social pariah. In fact, you’re taking a huge risk being seen with me.”

Sarah laughed. “Nah. I don’t really care what people think. Besides, pretty sure the school has moved on.”

“Doubt it,” I said. “Wait until they find out if any games are forfeit before you decide that.”

“Forfeit? They don’t have to forfeit any.”

Keeping one eye on the road, I turned to her and asked, “What?”

“You didn’t know? First time offense for the school. No games forfeited. They posted it on student intranet a few days ago.”