Page 18 of Dark Roads
For the last few days, I’d been staying out of the house with Cash, walking to the water park or the playground. I’d taken a screenshot of Vaughn’s shift schedule, but he could stop by anytime to check on me. I’d find signs that he’d come home for lunch. Bread crumbs, a pot in the sink, dirty Tupperware containers. Lana knew Vaughn had locked up my bike because I’d gone to the lake—and lied to her. I apologized the next morning. “I’m sorry. We weregoingto go shopping, but it was so hot, and I didn’t think it would be such a big deal if we went to the lake.”
“Two girls, alone at the lake? It’s not safe.” Her eyes shifted away, like she couldn’t meet my gaze. I wondered what else they’d talked about. Had he told her about the kiss?
“Ineedmy bike.”
She shook her head, her lips a tense line. “I know this is a difficult time, but that’s no excuse for lying. Cash is at animpressionable age. He looks up to you.” She stood, began to tidy the kitchen, and didn’t offer me breakfast. The real punishment was clear. She’d offered mothering, and now she was taking it away. Fine by me. It would make the next part easier.
Meeting Jonny at the park like this was a risk. My body was so tense it felt like I’d been riding for hours on a mountain trail, my stomach muscles washboard-tight. I had no doubt that Vaughn would make good on his threats if he caught me. I only phoned Jonny from the closet late at night, and I deleted my call history. We didn’t text—we sent messages through Facebook, but I deleted those too, and made sure to sign out. Thankfully he’d gotten the carburetor off my bike.
So far Cash hadn’t noticed Jonny standing on the other side of the tree with a baseball cap pulled low, but I kept close watch of him while Jonny and I talked.
“Vaughn’s skipped a few lodge meetings, or he arrives late,” Jonny said. “It’s been going on for a while. No one complains because it’s Vaughn.”
“God, he’s such a dick. Hehasto be cheating on her. I’m going to break into his office and find proof.” Leverage. That’s what he called it. I swished the word around in my mouth.
“How the hell are you going to do that?”
“I still have my dad’s lock-pick set.” Dad was always losing his keys. I’d taught myself to use the picks too. “I’ll do it today. Vaughn’s at a safety presentation.”
“Yousurehe doesn’t have an alarm?”
“I didn’t see any wiring.” There were no motion cameras on the corner of the shed or the house. The house didn’t even have an alarm. Vaughn didn’t think anyone would mess with him, and he definitely didn’t have to worry about Lana disobeying his orders. He was her sun, moon, every damn thing. I swear she would stop breathing if he told her to. She was always dressing up for him and getting her hair done—spritzing perfumeon before he got home. When she served him dinner, she barely touched hers until he took a bite first. The only time she seemed relaxed was when he made her his “special” martinis on certain nights, acting like it was romantic when he was really just getting her sloshed so she’d go to bed early. Then he’d go out to his office.
One night I walked into the living room, looking for my iPad, and he was standing there, scrolling through it. He handed it to me without saying anything, but I knew he’d read the messages between me and Amber. We’d been texting every night, and we added each other as Facebook friends. Amber Chevalier. Even her name was beautiful. I looked through all her photos, found some of her sister, Beth, who was pretty too, but in a more serious way. Blond hair, usually in a high ponytail, wisps around her face, light makeup, a thoughtful expression. Only a few photos with her smiling. She had a crooked incisor like Amber. Beth wanted to be a lawyer, and Amber said she was super-smart. Maybe I would meet her one day. The three of us would go for lunch at the diner, laughing, happy. Amber would hold my hand at the table.
She asked if we could hang out again, and I told her that Vaughn had grounded me—I’d felt stupid admitting that. Dadnevergrounded me. I told her I’d come up with a plan. I was too scared to sneak around. My only chance was if I could beat Vaughn at his own game.
“He’ll notice anything out of place,” Jonny said.
“I’m not planning on screwing up. I’ll phone you later.”
After he was gone, I called Cash back to me and stopped to pick up a tub of ice cream on the way home, cherry vanilla to hide the taste of Benadryl.
Once Cash had finished a full bowl and was asleep on the floor in front of the TV, I sneaked out to the backyard. It took me a couple of minutes to pick the lock, forcing my hands to besteady and listening hard, before the shed lock released. With a quick glance over my shoulder to confirm that Cash wasn’t coming, I opened the door and stepped into the office.
It was small, with a portable air conditioner humming in the corner, and laminate floors. Shelves lined both walls and a reading chair was tucked into a corner with a lamp. I’d never seen Vaughn pick up a book in the house. Nothing personal on his desk. No photos of him and Lana or Cash. No papers or notepads. Two file cabinets were on one side, but they had combination locks. If I tried to mess with those, I might scratch the metal.
I sat in his chair and flipped open his laptop, rubbed my sweaty palms on my legs. The Mac screen appeared, desert dunes, and a white rectangle. Password-protected. Of course.
Lana’s name didn’t work. Neither did their phone number. I didn’t know their anniversary or birth dates. I stared at the white space, then closed the laptop. Before I left, I put the chair back the same way and checked that none of my hair had fallen onto the desk. Last thing I needed was bright copper strands advertising,Hailey was here!
When I sneaked back into the house, Cash was still asleep in the living room. Lana would be home soon, but I had a little time. Jonny picked up on the first ring.
“His laptop is password-protected,” I hissed into the phone as I loitered in the hallway, close enough to see Cash but hopefully not wake him. “I can’t get into his file cabinets either.”
“Shit.” Jonny was quiet, thinking it through. “Okay, you have to shoulder-surf. Like how people steal passwords at gas stations or bank machines, you know?”
“Dude. I can’t spy through his window—it’s tinted.”
“Set up a motion-sensor camera and aim it at his desk. Watch him type in his passwords.”
“Where can I get a camera? How much will it cost?” Vaughnbanked all the babysitting money I earned, and Lana only gave me twenty-five dollars a week for anything personal.
“I’ll get it. Hang on for a couple of days.”
“Okay.” I erased my call history and tucked my phone into my pocket.
Vaughn missed dinner. I could tell Lana was scared, though she didn’t say anything. She paced, nudged the silverware she’d set out for him, glanced out the window. Finally, she picked up his plate and covered it with foil, placed it on the counter. I was on the couch, scrolling through my phone, and pretended not to notice. But when our eyes met, she gave me a half-hearted smile.
