Page 101 of The Lost Bones
Sadness washed over, thinking about what the boy’s fate would be now. Would his aunt take care of him? Was she good to him?
She moved ahead and noticed there was another door. A chill crept up her spine. Getting closer, she opened it to find a small room. When she arced the light around it, her heart thumped painfully against her ribcage. The wall was covered with surveillance photos of her.
On her morning jog.
Standing in her front yard.
Grabbing takeout from the Chinese place across from the station.
Walking with Nick back to the car.
There were old pictures too. From her yearbook when she graduated primary school in Lakemore. When she graduated the police academy. When she got married. Snippets of her life were mapped out. Captured for posterity and displayed on a bulletin board. Multiple copies of the same pictures.
“Oh my God.” She felt like snakes were crawling on her. She had an inkling she was being watched. This was vile. Like her life wasn’t just hers. There was an invader taking up space without her permission.
She was sifting through the room, looking for any clue to Andrew’s whereabouts, when she noticed a cupboard. The door was slightly ajar. When she opened it all the way, a scream clawed out of her mouth.
A body dropped on top of her. She fell back, sandwiched between the floor and the heavy weight. She screamed until her voice grew hoarse and her throat was dry.
“Mack…” There was a strained whisper in her ear.
It was Sterling lying on top of her. He was alive. Why wasn’t he moving away?
“Mack!” Nick’s voice boomed in the darkness. And suddenly he was there, removing Sterling from on top of her. “Jesus Christ. What the hell happened?”
Mackenzie gasped when she saw Sterling’s face. It was covered in lacerations. One eye was swollen to the size of a golf ball. His hands had been tied behind his back with zip ties.
“He needs medical attention. Stat,” she said frantically.
Sterling’s head lolled. He muttered something under his breath. Some of the blood plastered on his face had dried, but some of it was fresh. It was evident he had been beaten up. But at least he was alive. She tried to focus on that. Sterling was alive. They just needed to get out of here and back to the car.
Outside, they were met with ferocious rain again and darkness wasn’t their ally. But their flashlights still worked. Mackenzie and Nick held Sterling up, but the path back to the car was too narrow and winding. They kept tripping and bumping.
“It’s fine. I’ll carry him,” Nick yelled.
“Are you sure?” she shouted back.
“Yes!”
Mackenzie trailed them, occasionally offering help when Sterling seemed to slip from Nick’s grip. After what seemed like an eternity of being hammered by the rain, she could see the car a few feet ahead. As she took a step forward to help Nick in this last stretch, a hand suddenly came from behind her and wrapped around her arm. Before she could make a sound, something heavy smashed into her head. Her vision cracked. She swayed. And then she was out.
FIFTY-ONE
“You will bleed, Mackenzie,” the voice said.
A cold shiver erupted through her. Before she could muster the strength to reply, the lights turned on. Rods of white flickered overhead. She was in a basement, as she’d suspected. But she knewthis basement. The strong gray rock walls. The boiler in a corner along with the electricity distribution system. The fuse box with that dent she remembered well. To her right was a brick wall. And a staircase in front of it that had been remodeled.
When Mackenzie used to live here, one of the steps was missing.
A click.
A dark corner of the basement in front of her was lit up. Mackenzie drew a ragged breath. Strapped to a chair with a cloth stuffed into his mouth was Andrew. There was a bloody gash on his forehead. His eyes were closed. But he was still breathing.
“Why?” she whispered.
Jane Doe emerged from behind her, wearing a muskrat fur coat.
Mackenzie almost didn’t recognize the woman. Gone was the timidity. Gone was the mousy girl who stared at everyone with paranoia and winced at sudden sounds. Everything about her was different. Her walk, her posture, the glint in her eyes.
