AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I hope this doesn’t make things worse...”
He was worried about what Remy and Bastian might do in response. So was she. But she didn’t get the chance to agree. The female officer at the front desk called her name, and she and Jack stood at the same time.
“Detective Livingston can see you now.”
“Detective?”Ismay echoed. “We...we’re only here to file a police report.”
“You said you had a complaint against Remy Windsor, is that right?”
She nodded.
“Then you might want to speak to the detective.”
Ismay exchanged a glance with Jack before they were escorted to a small office that contained files and stacks of paper piled on almost every horizontal surface. A medium-sized man, probably in his fifties, with a sprinkling of gray in his dark hair, a jacket that didn’t quite go with his slacks, and a dated tie was just clearing off two seats so they’d have a place to sit down.
“Thanks for coming in,” he said, turning to shake hands. “What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to file a report,” Ismay said and started with what she’d found in the wall of the closet, showing the detective the picture of Lyssa she’d taken on her phone and telling him why she didn’t have other pictures—that the duffel bag had been gone when she went back to get it.
“This is alarming,” he admitted, frowning as he passed her phone back. “You said the duffel bag was in Remy’s room?”
“Yes,” Ismay confirmed. “In his closet, right by his notebook.”
“That notebook isn’t necessarily proof the bag belongs to Remy. It was Bastian we arrested on a Peeping Tom complaint when he was in high school.”
Ismay gripped the arms of her chair. “He was peeping in windows?”
Livingston sighed before replying. “Charges were dropped and nothing ever came of it. I was afraid it might lead to bigger problems. A lot of Peeping Toms progress into...” He waved his hand. “Well, never mind. But it’s been so long now I’d almost forgotten—until today.”
“That gives me the creeps,” Ismay said, “especially because he stole a pair of my underwear when I was staying at the cottage—I’m almost positive of it.”
“And what about the picture of Lyssa Helberg?” Jack asked. “Does anyone really know what happened that night?”
“The boys had a huge fight, possibly about Lyssa. Things got physical, which led to the fire. Witnesses said Lyssa wasn’t in the living room when it happened. She didn’t get out in time. I don’t think they meant to kill anyone.”
It still freaked Ismay out that Bastian had stolen a pair of her underwear—especially since he had a history of peeping. “So...what do we do about Bastian takingmyunderwear?”
“I’m going to have a talk with him to see if he can explain where your underwear went and where all the other underwear came from.”
Jack scooted forward. “Um, that worries me a little—given that they just tried to run us down before we came here.”
They showed the detective their scrapes and he rubbed the beard growth on his chin. “Sounds like I need to talk to his brother, too. Were there any witnesses?”
Jack shook his head and explained where it happened, that the bend in the road kept them out of sight.
“Then they’ll probably deny it. But... I’ll do what I can. Those boys have run unchecked for too long.”
His reaction to what they’d told him didn’t provide much comfort, but Ismay thanked him and kept her mouth shut until she and Jack were out of the police station and in an Uber on their way home.
“What do you think?” she asked Jack.
“I’m nervous,” he admitted.
So was she. Going to the police had felt like such a bold, decisive move—as if that was “the answer.” But now that they’d been there, Ismay realized how limited the police response would most likely be. Even if she was able to parlay the visit into a restraining order, would she be able to get one against both twins? And what did that do for the women whose underwear were in that duffel bag?
Nothing.
She feared their visit would turn out to be ineffectual, or worse—that it’d make Bastian and Remy angry enough they wouldn’t miss the next time they saw Ismay and Jack walking down the road.
