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“Who?” North asked.
But Shaw already knew. It had been swimming in that dark place inside him, and now, as she spoke, the answer rose to meet her words.
“He’s a state representative.” She gave a disbelieving laugh. “I didn’t vote for him, thank God.”
“Eric Brey,” Shaw said.
She gave him a startled look. “You know him?”
“Did you approach Brey?” Shaw asked, but he already knew the answer.
Maleah shook her head. “Wait, how did you know?”
“We’ve heard a similar story,” North said. He looked at Shaw, and he didn’t have to say what he was thinking: that Brey must have gotten scared after his intern left, must have worried she’d talk, and so he’d escalated. He’d started looking for girls who wouldn’t tell. Who couldn’t tell.
“Oh God. He did it to someone else?”
North nodded. “Maleah, what did you say when you called Philip?”
“I had to leave a message, you know; you can’t call them direct. I told him to leave me alone. I told him I knew who his friend was, the one he’d brought to my house, and if he ever bothered me again, I’d tell everyone.” She looked from North to Shaw. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Shaw said, “but you might be in danger. Do you have somewhere you can go for a while?”
“I can’t leave; school just started. What do you mean in danger?”
“Philip Welch escaped from jail,” North said. “I’m going to call John-Henry.”
“He can’t do anything for her in Auburn,” Shaw said.
“What do you mean he escaped?” Then she moaned, wrapping her arms around herself. “Oh God, what do you mean he escaped?”
“I know he can’t do anything here,” North said. “But he still needs to know, and I don’t want him snapping my balls off because we didn’t tell him as soon as we heard.”
“Oh my God,” Maleah said. “Oh my God, oh my God.”
Shaw waved for North to go, and North let himself out onto the stoop, and the door clicked shut behind him. Catching Maleah’s shoulders, Shaw said, “Maleah, listen to me: everything’s going to be fine. But right now, you need to pack a bag, and then you need to go stay with a family member or a friend. Somewhere away from Auburn. Just for a few days.”
Maleah moaned again, the sound long and wordless and vibrating through her body, but then, with what must have taken an immense effort, she dragged herself upright. She wet her lips. Her eyes shone like she might start crying again, and she wiped the tears before they could fall, and then she nodded.
“Don’t worry about school,” Shaw said, “and don’t worry about anything else. Where are you going?”
“I—I have an aunt in St. Louis.”
“Great. We live in St. Louis. We’ve got some friends who can check on you, and if you need anything you can give them a call.”
She nodded, but Shaw wasn’t sure she’d heard him. “I have to pack. I have to—he could come here. He could come here right now.”
“He’s not coming here right now. He’s got bigger things to worry about. He’s on the run, and there are a lot of people looking for him, people who are good at their jobs and who are going to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. But right now, I need you to help us. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sure, you can. You’re going to take a deep breath, and then another, and then another. And then you can do anything.”
She took a few breaths. They weren’t all that deep, but some color came back into her lips and cheeks, and the glassiness left her eyes.
“I need you to think of anywhere Philip might be, or anyone who might know where he is.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know where he could be. I mean, we only ever went here or back to his place, and I liked here better.”
