“Don’t worry about it,” I say. I crouch down. “You can untie yourself, bro.”
“I don’t want to,” he says. “I fucked up. I let this happen.”
“No you didn’t,” I say. “He set you up.”
“You need some protection,” Taz says.
Peg Leg Mikey looks at Taz. “What do I do? Shoot Stimmy?”
“Hell yeah,” Les says. “Do us the favor.”
Peg Leg Mikey hangs his head.
I grab the rope and untie him from the pier.
I stand up and help him to his feet.
“Look at me, bro,” I say. “Shit happens. Got it? Shit fucking happens. But you never stop fighting. You want control of this place? You want to help us? Expect this shit. Now… are you going to finish this?”
Peg Leg Mikey nods.
I look at Taz and motion for the skatepark.
He starts to run.
Me, Les, and Peg Leg Mikey walk slowly to the skatepark.
“I didn’t even see the guy,” Peg Leg Mikey says. “He literally jumped on my back. And I went down. Then they attacked…”
“Look, bro,” I say and point.
Taz has Stimmy by the shirt.
“Fucking asshole,” Peg Leg Mikey says.
“He’s all yours now,” Les says.
I stop walking and so does Les.
When Peg Leg Mikey gets close enough, Taz lets Stimmy go.
Now Peg Leg Mikey can make his presence known.
I just hope he doesn’t kill Stimmy because I would miss Peg Leg Mikey.
But that’s not my problem.
I light a cigarette and my phone starts to ring.
“Now what?” I ask.
It’s Declan.
“What the fuck do you want?” I ask.
He tells me what he wants…
I drop my lit cigarette to the sand and start to run.
8
JOLIE
“I think I know you.”
I throw an elbow and hit the man in his stomach.
“Hey!” the woman yells from behind the counter. “What are you doing?”
“You’re the girl that’s missing!” the man yells at me.
Now I have everyone looking at me.
“I saw your picture,” the man says. “You’re kidnapped. Is the person who took you right outside? Are you okay?”
“I’m not kidnapped,” I say. “I’m not anyone. Leave me alone. You’re a stranger.”
“No, it’s okay, sweetheart,” the man says. “You don’t have to be afraid. You’re safe here.” He looks at the woman behind the counter. “Anne, you need to call the police right now. This girl was kidnapped.”
“I’m fine,” I say to the woman. “I’m just leaving.”
“You didn’t take your sandwich,” she says.
“I’ll pay for it,” the man says. “Just stay here and eat. Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. You’re safe here.”
The man moves toward me.
I’m creeped out.
He’s just trying to be nice. I get it. But he knows nothing.
He’s right. Yet he’s wrong.
I turn and bolt for the door.
“No! Wait!”
The man starts running after me.
I’m faster than him, but he’s coming after me.
He’s the one who looks like a kidnapper.
I just want to be left alone.
This was a big mistake.
It’s takes an entire block of running before the man finally stops.
“Please stop running!” his voice yells at me.
I don’t stop running though.
I can’t stop running.
I have no choice but to go to Mama Dae’s.
And tell her what I did.
Now I’m afraid of her.
I’m afraid of getting caught by the cops too.
I need Mac.
I didn’t bring the cell phone with me though.
There’s literally nothing I can do right now…
But run.
When I get to Mama Dae’s, I bust through the back door and she turns around in the kitchen, holding a knife.
She looks at my face.
She looks at the door.
“What did you do?” she asks.
“I screwed up big time,” I say. “I’m so sorry. I screwed up big time.”
I start to cry.
Mama Dae puts the knife down and steps toward me.
She slaps me across the face.
“No crying right now,” she says.
She opens the back door.
I hear the sound of a police siren.
Mama Dae looks back at me.
“Oh, Jolie… what the fuck did you do?”
I’m in the basement of the house.
In a room that no human should ever be in.
And I have no choice but to hide in this room.
Mama Dae swore to me she wasn’t going to lock the door… and, yes, I’ve checked. And, yes, the door isn’t locked.
The room in perfectly square, dark, and looks like the kind of room where a serial killer in a horror movie would take his victims to chop them up.
I mean that literally because all over the walls are different kinds of knives. Big, little, machetes, axes… blades that are tall and curved…
It’s scary as hell.
The floor is concrete and there’s a drain in the middle.
I shiver, not wanting to know what goes on in this room.
I calm myself by saying that maybe Mama Dae comes from a family of farmers and these are all old fashioned tools that she’s collected or inherited or something.
Do I actually believe that though?
Not a chance in hell.
But, again, there’s no other choice.
I did this to myself.
I should not have left the house.
But I can’t reverse time.
All I can do is wait.
I have a small light turned on above a bench that’s as old as everything else in the room.
I hear the sound of knocking and my heart jumps into my throat.
Mama Dae is right above me.
She opens the back door to the house.
It’s the police.
They’ve tracked me to the house.
I touch my forehead and want to cry.
But I can’t cry.
It won’t do anything.
I hear voices…
“A young woman here?” Mama Dae’s voice says. “Are you sure, Officer?”
“I’m sure,” the officer says. “She was reported missing and was just seen not far from here. A man spotted her in a restaurant and she took off. He followed her with his car… to this house.”
I shut my eyes.
No. No. No. No.
“This house is empty,” Mama Dae says. “I’ve been standing here making sauce. Which is probably going to burn now since I’m not stirring it properly. You know that’s the secret to good sauce, right? You have to keep stirring.”
“My grandmother came from Italy, ma’am,” the officer says. “I know how to cook. I’m not here for lessons. I need to look around this house.”
“Are you serious?”
“Ma’am, there’s a woman missing…”
“Then go find her,” Mama Dae says. “She’s not here.”