Splintered (27 page)

He’d gotten lucky with the weather again yesterday. Though it’d stopped raining, the job site was still too wet. Working on a soft bridge embankment was dangerous. However today, the weather forecast had called for sunny skies, so he’d been forced to take a sick day.

“If she’s going to be my girlfriend, why can’t I stay and help?”

Hank turned away from the kitchen counter. He stepped up to Daniel, moving in close. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve started to doubt me. That it? You don’t think I know what’s best anymore?”

Daniel squirmed under Hank’s stare. “I didn’t say nothing like that. Only . . .”

“Only what?”

“When I talked to Maddy last night—”

“You did
what
?”

Daniel took a couple of steps back. “I couldn’t sleep. I kept hearing her cry and the couch is all lumpy. I just wanted to see if she was okay.”

“I told you to leave her alone, that you weren’t allowed to interact with her for at least the first two weeks.”

Daniel looked down at his feet. He kicked at the floor with the toe of his shoe. “You said she’s mine. I want to be with her.” He looked up at Hank. His face was all flushed. A vein bulged in his neck. “You said you got her for me.”

I’m tired of being second-guessed by this moron. Who is Daniel to question me? Every day of his pathetic life, I’ve watched over him. And now, when all I ask for is a little patience, he can’t even give me that. I’m sick of always putting his needs first. Where has it gotten me? It’s my turn now.

Something inside Hank snapped.

“No,” he said with a growl. “She’s mine. Go get your own girl.” His hunger for breakfast had suddenly been replaced with another type of hunger. It was time he taught Maddy the hard lesson of breaking one of his rules. Hank grabbed the keys from the kitchen counter and threw them at Daniel. “Now get out of here, you idiot.”

Forget about putting one foot in front of the other. Lily needed help with something more basic. Breathing. She barely had the strength to pull air into her body. It felt like a gorilla was crushing her chest.

She knew the sensation would pass, but almost wished it wouldn’t. If only her body would stop remembering how to breathe, then she could give in to the darkness. The never-ending blackness where there was no pain, no emptiness.

Pills helped her escape for a while. She’d found a few Vicodin Emma had missed while searching the house. But no matter what she took, there always came the point when the haze receded and she was forced to relive the moment of finding an empty house and calling out her precious daughter’s name. Lily had broken down, told God if he would only spare her baby, she would go to church, volunteer at the soup kitchen—anything. If only Maddy would walk back through that door.

She was lying on Maddy’s bed again. She had a fierce grip on Tiger Lily, Maddy’s favorite childhood stuffed animal. Though Maddy said she was “too old” to sleep with the tiger anymore, she hadn’t been able to part with him. He’d been relegated to a top shelf—though not so far away that he couldn’t be taken down if he was needed. Lily definitely needed him now. With all the pills gone, she had to have something to hold onto. Her sanity was hanging in the balance.

All her life, she’d been preparing for the worst. Preparing for this very moment. The loss of her daughter. She’d naively thought if she could shore up her defenses enough, then when it happened it wouldn’t be so devastating. She’d thought keeping Maddy at arm’s length would help cushion the blow when it came. But her preparations hadn’t been enough. Probably because no matter how much distance she put between herself and Maddy, she could never sever the emotional ties.

She loved her daughter with a fierceness that scared her. Scared her so much she’d erected a steel box to keep her heart safe. Lily hadn’t understood how to deal with all the pure, unconditional love she received from her daughter. It was foreign to her, almost painful because she didn’t know how to accept it.

A faraway noise caught Lily’s attention. She blinked slowly, trying to concentrate on the sound. She turned over onto her side and felt something jab her in the back. When she pulled the hard plastic piece out from under her, she saw it was her phone and it was ringing. She remembered Emma telling her to keep it near, that she would call periodically to update her. Lying back on the pillow, she kept hitting the screen until a voice began speaking.

“What’s going on, Lily?”

“Tom? Tom, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. Why didn’t you call me? I had to hear about our missing daughter from Emma Parker, of all people.”

“Emma called you?”

“What is wrong with you, Lily? You sound out of it. Are you on something?”

“Oh, Tom. You’ve got to find her. You’ve got to find Maddy.” Lily started sobbing, unable to say another word.

“No more, please,” Maddy whispered as she buried her face in her hands when the door opened again.

“I brought you some water, but if you’d like me to leave . . . ?” Hank stood in the open doorway, a tall, clear glass in his hand.

“Yes! I mean no, please don’t leave. Sir. I appreciate your kindness and would like to have some water. Thank you.”

“Very good. You’ve been learning your lessons well. You may have a drink.”

Hank handed Maddy the glass. She bit her lip, holding back her feelings when she saw that it held less than an inch of liquid. She couldn’t let her face reflect her thoughts though, or she knew Hank would take the water away. She may not have excelled in school, but she sure learned quickly around here. She knew she had to do everything in her power to stay alive. It was only a matter of time before she was rescued. Everyone would be looking for her and somehow, some way, they would come.

As if reading Maddy’s mind, Hank said, “You do know that no one’s going to find you, right? The quicker you accept your new reality, the better.”

Maddy shook her head, trying to block out his words.

It’s not true. No matter what, I have to hold on to the belief that I’ll be rescued.

“You need to focus on
me
. Learning what I want and pleasing
me
. I am your only source of food and water. Make me happy, and you’ll be rewarded.”

Maddy brushed her tongue along the roof of her mouth. She tried to work up some spit, but her mouth was so dry even the one sip of water hadn’t helped. If anything, it only made her want more. “May I please have more water?”

“Did I say you could talk?” Hank took the glass away from her and flung it against the wall.

She screamed and tried to shield her naked body from the flying shards.

“Tell me the rule!” Hank hollered.

Maddy’s shoulders shook with terror. “I . . . I . . .”

“Now!”

“I am not allowed to speak unless asked a direct question.”

“And what happens if you break a rule?” Hank towered over Maddy. She was huddled on the floor, trying to make herself smaller.

“I have to be retaught the lesson until I learn to obey.” She berated herself for forgetting, but there were so many rules. It was hard for her to remember them all. For some reason, she couldn’t concentrate. She was so thirsty, so hungry, it made thinking difficult.

“Lie down,” Hank said.

Maddy crawled over to the mattress pad and laid on her back. Her body trembled. With every step Hank took, her body involuntarily jerked like it was receiving a shock.

He picked a large shard of glass off the floor and straddled her. She knew she wasn’t supposed to speak, that to do so would only make things worse, but she couldn’t help the mewling sounds that escaped.

“Why are you so scared?”

A question. I can talk.

“I don’t want to die.”

Hank let out a hard laugh. “This isn’t new to you.”

Maddy was confused. She didn’t understand what he was talking about.

“For someone who cuts her own skin, pain must be a welcome friend.” He pointed at the scars on Maddy’s calves and stomach.

It finally dawned on her what he meant.

He yanked her right arm up off the floor. She wanted to close her eyes, but couldn’t take them off the jagged piece of glass. He pushed the sharp edge against her skin, creating an angry red line from the crook of her elbow to her bicep. Blood droplets emerged from the skin. A groan of pleasure escaped Hank.

Frustration weighed Emma down. She was getting nowhere, fast. So far, every investigative path she’d followed had led to another dead end. There’d been no sign of Maddy at the Amtrak or Greyhound stations. If the girl left town, she hadn’t bought a ticket to do so.

Emma had been pounding the pavement of Maddy’s neighborhood for the last thirty minutes when she saw a car pull up to the house next to the Eastins’. A knock earlier at that door had yielded no answer, so she’d skipped it and gone on to see if any of the other neighbors had seen anything the previous morning. No luck yet, but Emma had been keeping an eye on the next-door neighbor’s house while canvassing.

An old woman got out of the car and waved to the man in the driver’s seat. He returned the gesture and backed out of the driveway.

Emma jogged over to the fenced gate. “Excuse me, ma’am. May I speak to you for a moment?”

The old woman looked behind her. “Me?” she asked, pointing to her chest.

“Yes, ma’am. My name is Emma Parker. I’m a detective with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.”

“Nice to meet you, detective. My name is Addie Addison, but you can call me Addie.”

“Thank you, Addie. Do mind talking to me for a few minutes?”

“Sure. Come up on my porch and sit a spell.”

Emma opened the gate and followed Addie. She slowed her pace once the woman started climbing the stairs.

“Sorry, detective. Arthritis. Don’t ever grow old.”

“I’ll try not to, ma’am.”

Emma scooted out the metal chair for a winded Addie and then sat in the seat next to her.

“First off—” Emma stopped midsentence when Addie’s front door opened.

A woman peeked her head out the door. “Addie, is that you? What are you doing out here? Oh, I didn’t realize you had company.”

Emma stood and introduced herself.

“This is one of my caregivers,” Addie said by way of explanation. “Go get us some iced tea, Nell.”

Emma saw the woman bristle at the order.

“That’s not necessary,” Emma said. “I won’t be here long enough to enjoy it.”

“Oh, posh. Nell would be happy to get it. Wouldn’t you, Nell?”

The woman went back in the house, slamming the door behind her without a word.

Emma pulled out her notebook and pen, then opened to an empty page. “Your next-door neighbor is missing, a young teenage girl by the name of Maddy Eastin.”

“Maddy who?”

Emma pulled out her cell phone and brought up a picture to show Addie.

“Oh, my. How terrible.”

“She was last seen walking to her bus stop yesterday morning. When I noticed you standing at your window earlier today, I thought you might have been doing the same thing yesterday and might have seen something?”

“Yes.”

“Yes? You were standing at your window yesterday morning, or you saw Maddy Eastin?”

“Both, my dear.”

A hum of electricity built inside Emma. “Can you tell me what you saw?”

“I don’t sleep much these days. It’s often three or four in the morning when I wake up. I get bored since nothing much is going on that early. Oftentimes, I stand at the window and watch as the neighborhood wakes up.”

“So yesterday morning . . ?” Emma prompted.

“Yesterday I was standing at my window. I saw the young girl, the one in the picture, walk by my house. Most mornings I see her walk by. Shame she has to leave the house so early to catch her bus. It’s so dark out and—”

“She walked by yesterday morning?” Emma said, steering the conversation back.

“Yes. I saw her walk by.”

“Then what?”

“A white van pulled up with its side door open. The girl was looking at me and didn’t notice the man until he picked her up and threw her inside. The van made a horrible squealing noise driving off.”

The humming coursing through Emma’s body intensified. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Addie thought for a second. “I did. Well, I tried. I sat down to call 911, but when the operator asked me what I wanted to report, I must have forgotten why I called. My memory’s like that. Here one second, gone the next.” Addie gave a dismissive wave. “Nell found me on the phone and put me back to bed. I hadn’t thought about it again until you showed me the girl’s picture.”

“Can you tell me what kind of van it was?”

Addie seemed to search her memory. She shook her head in confusion. “What kind of van it was?”

“Right. Do you know the make?” Emma tried to keep her patience in check. “Maybe a Chrysler or a Dodge?”

“A Chrysler or a Dodge. Maybe,” Addie said.

“Do you remember which way the van was headed when it left?”

“Hmm. Which way?” Addie shook her head.

“What about a description of the man who took Maddy?”

“Who took Maddy?”

Emma scratched her head, confused by Addie’s answers. She’d been so coherent just a minute ago. Now she just looked tired. Emma decided to cut the interview short and to talk to her again later. Addie had said she was an early riser. The woman might have a clearer head in the morning.

Nell came out on the porch holding two glasses of tea filled to the rim with ice. “Here’s your tea.”

“Thank you.” Emma took a hearty drink, afraid Nell would throw it in her face if she didn’t have any. “Addie here was telling me you found her early yesterday morning on the phone with 911. Did she tell you why she was calling?”

“No. She seemed confused. When I found her, she thought the person on the line had called
her
. I tucked her back into bed, and she hasn’t spoken of it since. Why do you ask?”

“The girl next door has disappeared. Did you happen to be looking out the front window around six thirty a.m. yesterday morning?” Emma didn’t want to say too much in front of Addie, or it might contaminate her eyewitness account.