Page 52 of The Executioners Three
“Oryou could go with Laina,” Freddie nudged. “Didn’t she already call you?”
“Yeah.” Divya blushed furiously and eased out her own Nokia. “She did. So thanks anyway, Kyle.”
“No problem.” He pushed to his feet. “I’ll see you at the Quick-Bis. And”—his green gaze shot to Freddie—“maybe you’ll join us later?”
“Oh, absolutely.” Freddie nodded her most emphatic, King-worthy nod. “I will most definitely join you.” In seconds, Kyle had vanished back around the dumpster.
Divya crawled in close to Freddie—and now, she was the one whispering. Actually, it was less a whisper and more of a vicious snarl. “You’d better not be going to meet Theo Porter right now.”
Freddie recoiled. “Of course I’m not. I’m going to get Xena back. Then I want to check on Mrs. Ferris. Oh, and I want to go to the library too.”
Divya didn’t look like she believed Freddie one bit. Not even when Freddie promised, “I’ll call you in a few hours, okay? And I’ll be able to do it fromanywherein Berm. You know why?” She shook Sabrina at Divya. “Because I have a cell phone now.”
“And a Snake addiction like mine, I’ve noticed.”
“I do.” Freddie nodded gravely. “I now fully understand the allure of chasing dots and avoiding one’s tail. It’s a rich commentary on the futility of life.”
“That’s right, Fred.” Divya patted her shoulder. “But we’ll get through it together. Maybe Dr. Born can help.”
Freddie choked. Then cackled. And with that imagery to warm her blood, she slunk off toward the bike racks, ready to once more brave the autumn cold in her righteous pursuit of answers.
The police station at the edge of Berm’s tiny downtown was nothing more than a brick cubicle with a coffeepot at one end and a long desk at the other. A single door in the back led to a few holding cells for the occasional rowdy drunkard and to a locked cellar where “sensitive” items were kept. (Freddie had gotten to explore it when she’d interned for Bowman; it hadn’t been nearly as exciting as she’d hoped. Just a bunch of shelves with a few items in Ziplocs.)
Other than Sheriff Bowman and the two deputies who usually cruised the streets in their patrol cars, Berm didn’t have much need for a proper police force. If there was anything too big to handle, they called in backup from the county seat fifteen miles away.
When Freddie arrived at the station, she found Deputy Ibrahim Abadimanning the front desk. She flushed as soon as she saw him. Healwayshad that effect on her. Partly because he was just so gosh darn nice (and always let her call him by his first name). And partly because he was twenty-five years old, making him only eight years Freddie’s senior.
Mostly Freddie flushed because Ibrahim was Very Beautiful Indeed, with his glowing brown skin and thick, dark lashes. He smiled at Freddie (swoon) when she shuffled in. “Hey, Fred. Come for Xena?”
“Yep.” She flushed even harder now. He’d remembered her camera’s name. What a dreamboat.
“I’ll be right back,” he called before disappearing through the single door. Freddie occupied herself with Snake while she waited. Futility of life and all that. Humans were just snakes trying to outrun their own tails.
A few minutes later, Ibrahim returned with Xena in a Ziploc. “Just sign for it here.” He slid a clipboard across the desk.
As Freddie scribbled down her signature, she asked in her most casual voice, “So, uh, did Sheriff Bowman end up finding that water bottle?”
Ibrahim shifted his weight, expression apologetic. “Unfortunately, no.”
“No?” It took Freddie a full three seconds to process what that word meant.
Once shedidprocess it, she dropped the signing pen. It clattered to the floor. “What do you mean ‘no’?” she squawked. “I told her exactly where it was.”
“And there was no bottle there.” Ibrahim reclaimed the clipboard and glanced meaningfully at the fallen pen.
Freddie yanked it from the industrial carpet.
“Me and Knowles searched with Sheriff Bowman,” Ibrahim elaborated. “But we didn’t turn up anything, Fred.”
“Impossible.”Freddie slammed down the pen and snatched Xena off the desk. “It wasright there, Ibrahim! I saw it with my own eyes.” She tore open the Ziploc and tugged Xena free. “ItoldBowman not to wait to look for it. Someone must’ve moved it!”
“Or it rolled away.”
“Rolled away so far you couldn’t find it?”
“We’re still searching, Freddie. Plus, Sheriff says you took pictures, right?” He waved to Xena. “We’ll get those developed soon, and then we’ll have a better idea of what we’re looking for.”
“It’s not hard to get a good idea. Red water bottle. About yea high.” Freddie slotted her hands a foot apart. “SaysFontanaon the side.”
