Page 86 of Fallen Creed

“Murder is a serious allegation,” Maggie told Mrs. Hobbs. “They must have evidence that suggests your daughter was involved somehow. You can’t think of anyone she may have met, perhaps at one of the parties?”

“Unfortunately, I never met any of them. You have to understand, Emma has always been so very responsible and conscientious. She’s never lied to us, let alone just taking off and disappear. I’ve been worried sick about her. I thought she left me a message on my Facebook page three weeks ago, but my ex-husband said it was probably someone playing a cruel joke on me.”

“What was the message?”

“It was just a few lines. The week of her eighteenth birthday. It said that all was good. That she had a job at Menards. When I asked how she was, she said she was doing great and that she’d be in touch soon. That she loved me.”

Maggie fought the urge to tell her Emma was safe. But honestly, she had no clue if that was true. And if Emma was eighteen now, she could legally be on her own. If that’s what she wanted.

“Why did your ex-husband think it was a joke?” Maggie asked.

“He thought it was ridiculous that Emma would get a job at a hardware store, of all places.”

—66—

Creed conjured up enough energy to slide out of the booth-style dining table. Both women turned from their respective places in the trailer to stare at him. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“I need to take Grace outside, then I need to feed her.”

“Permission denied,” Ariel said. She had her drug paraphernalia spread out on the counter. “You both can stay sitting there in your urine and feces.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Libby told her. “He can go outside. And you’re not toking in here.”

“It’s freezing outside,” Ariel whined.

“Then maybe you should stop using.”

“Come on. I bet you’ve never tried shatter. I have a whole sheet here.” She pointed to the thin, amber-colored wafer that looked like glass. “It’s ten times stronger than marijuana.” She tapped it with a small mallet and it broke into tiny pieces, just like glass. “You put a few pieces into a joint. Believe me, it makes everything better, and I have plenty to share.”

While Ariel pleaded her case, Creed stood up. In the tight confines, he was only three feet away from her. Libby was on the small bed at the back of the trailer, less than ten feet. He kept his back to both of them, hoping neither would see that he grabbed the end of the table and needed to lean on it, just to stay upright.

“I know what shatter is,” Libby told Ariel. “It’s the crack of cannabis. It’s also ten times more addictive and can make you paranoid, cause hallucinations and affect your memory. I like to keep my mind sharp.”

“Wow, what a good girl you are! Keep your mind sharp.” Ariel’s snort pretty much said she didn’t care what Libby thought. “Suit yourself,” she added as she shoved her cell phone out of the way to give herself more room.

Creed could see that small motion was enough to trigger a glance from Libby.

“Ariel, you never told me. How did you get my phone number?” she asked. “How did you know Ruben was coming for me?”

Creed only half listened to them by now. Thankfully, they had forgotten about him for the moment. He motioned to Grace, lifting and cradling her close to his body. Her sixteen pounds felt like he’d hoisted a crankcase. The pain in his side made him forget the bruised back muscles, but now every part of him screamed, the pain punching at him from all sides.

“I told you about that, didn’t I?” Ariel didn’t raise her head from the task of sprinkling pieces of shatter into the joint she was about to roll.

Creed braced against the wall close to the door, trying to figure out how to bend over to put on his boots. Grace sat, ears pinned back and her eyes focused on the bloody T-shirt.

“No, you didn’t tell me,” Libby said. “Remember, sharp mind.” Her index finger tapped her right temple to emphasize her point, which was lost on Ariel, who still didn’t look up.

Across the length of the trailer, Libby’s eyes found Creed’s. Even at fifteen feet, he could see that she knew he was hurting. Her face remained expressionless as she lounged with a pillow between her back and the wall. Was she distracting Ariel to take the attention off of him and Grace? He couldn’t tell.

“So how did you know?” she asked, prodding Ariel.

“Just because I left doesn’t mean I don’t have connections.”

“You stayed friends after you left?”

“I wouldn’t say friends. More like adversaries with something in common. Something we can’t share with anyone else except each other. Because truthfully, all the stuff Ruben had us do, who would believe us, right?”

Ariel rolled the joint like an expert, but she wasn’t finished with her explanation. “It’s kinda nice to keep in touch. Most of us don’t have friends or family anymore. Ruben made sure of that. You know how good he is at alienating us from every single person who might have liked or loved us. Of course you do. You’re here in the middle of nowhere because you don’t have anywhere to go either.”