Page 45 of Dangerous Deviance
“Let me check for you,” she said, then disappeared into the hallway. I tapped my fingers on the counter, silently pleading that Shines would listen this time. When I had first asked for his help, he had been sympathetic, but now, I was just another case in the middle of the pile. His clean-shaven face came into view. I straightened, holding out my hand.
“Officer,” I said.
He took my hand, his grip loose. “What can I do for you, kiddo?” he asked.
I ignored the nickname and held up a flyer.The Skyline Shiftwas written in bold letters at the top.A perspective scope transformation camp for young women, followed by an address and acceptance requirements. A logo with four hills squished together, leaning to the side.Fly toward the horizon today!
“Have you ever heard about this?” I asked.
He took the flyer and glanced it over. “Is it a bible camp? Summer school? Daycare?”
I shook my head. “I guess the company pays people to stay there while they do modification experiments? Well,” I paused, trying to think of the right words, “I guess it’s more behavioral therapy stuff. I can’t tell, honestly.” Shines handed me back the flyer and my shoulders sank. He was already dismissing it. “Keep it,” I said, pushing it back toward him. “I’ve got another in my car.”
He folded it, tucking it into his back pocket. “What about this place?”
“What if my sister went there?” I asked. “Her car was found in the same city, and she had their website bookmarked on her laptop.” His hands were on his hips, his eyes looking down at a spot on the floor. Waiting for me to finish. I was losing him.
“Why were you looking at her laptop?” he asked. What he meant was that we had talked about this. I couldn’t keep obsessing over her.
“I just,” I started, but I didn’t want to say it. “It’s been six months. Six months today, actually, Officer.”
“I understand,” he said. He tilted his head. “But you’ve got to understand that some people, you just can’t find. Not unless they return on their own. In all likelihood, she probably ran off with a boyfriend. Doesn’twantto be found, you know?” He shrugged. “There’s been no evidence of wrongdoing.”
As if finding her car in the middle of a neighboring city wasn’t a hint that something had gone horribly wrong. I had told him hundreds of times that Julie had boyfriends, but none that she took seriously enough to elope with. She was mischievous, but she wasn’tthatrebellious.
“I’m the only family she has,” I said.
“And as soon as we find out anything about her, we’ll give you a call.”
There were pen marks on the countertop in a scattered pattern, as if a mother had held her baby while the infant went to town claiming their territory. No one had bothered to clean it up. They had more important things to do, including helping out missing persons cases that werefresh. That weren’t dead ends yet. I closed my fist, but then opened my fingers and nodded at Officer Shines. This was what I had expected.
But why did it hurt so much if I knew what was coming?
“You’re right,” I said bitterly. “Thanks.”
He put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, kiddo.”
My heart shrank. The walk back to my car seemed longer than usual, each step forward sinking me deeper into a pit of despair. I slid into the driver’s seat, then stared at the wheel. In my peripherals, there was another copy of the flyer, lying on the passenger seat.
The Skyline Shift, it said. The address showed that it was only an hour or so away. The police couldn’t help me anymore, and Julie’s friends knew nothing. They had moved on too, claiming they missed her, but apathetic when it came to the search.
Which left me.
Why not go to the camp myself? What was stopping me?
Screw it.
I turned the key in the ignition and set the GPS on my phone for the coordinates. A renewed sense of passion washed over me. I turned on the radio, finding a song I enjoyed, then turned the volume all the way up. If no one would help me figure this out, then I would do it for myself. And maybe I would go to my deathbed still trying to find Julie, but I needed to do this. Ihadto find her. For my own sake.
The drive seemed quick. I kept the music up the whole time until I saw a high shrubbed barrier, only exposing the tops of rounded white buildings. I pulled up to the entry kiosk and could see the rest of those domed structures from my car: each was two to three stories high, identical, laid out in rows. Some had shiny glass sides on the flat ends, while others were closed off. But I was too far away to see what was going on.
A security guard wearing all white leaned down from his post.
“Name?” he asked.
“Elena Jordan.”
“State your purpose?”
