“You’re right,” Sonya said.
The message read:
“Emily–
Burn in Hell, you self-righteous bitch. Walk the earth a freak forever.”
“He’s not even trying,” Sonya said. “The Ravisher signs off with his own name.”
“He believes he’s having an intimate relationship with his victims, his messages almost like love letters. This is bogus, and I’m sure Ben knows it.”
“The only way anyone could send Emily a message is if that person has her e-mail address,” Sonya said.
“Have you ever spoken to Emily?”
“No. She wasn’t friendly and Bobby said the other kids made fun of her at the middle school for being Pentacostal; the long hair and skirts. She prayed over her lunch in the cafeteria, wouldn’t wear a costume on Halloween, that sort of thing. I don’t care. I mean, there’s always the religious kids.”
“Do you ever speak to Maddy or Claire anymore?”
“Oh, no. Not since before Mom got sick. Maddy moved to Wyoming with her parents and Claire...I don’t know. I haven’t seen her around. Besides, I have new friends.”
“That’s good.” Cal took the e-mail message off the screen. “All Garcia will have to do is trace the address on the message. They can try to find the sender, but it’s a waste of time. Probably from a library or Starbucks. Are you hungry?”
Sonya shrugged. “A little.”
“Let’s walk over to Edie’s Cafe.”
“I tried calling you last week,” Sonya said, “and a woman answered your phone.”
“Oh. That was Barbara. She needed to borrow my phone. She’s Burt’s secretary.”
Burt Snyder was the senior editor. “I hung up on her.”
“Her phone needed to recharge, so I let her borrow mine to call her husband at home.” Cal grabbed his jacket from behind his seat. He turned around to see Sonya’s attempt at hiding the embarrassment on her face. “What did you think? That I had a girlfriend?”
Her smile was forced. “Maybe...”
“Don’t worry—”
“I couldn’t stop you.”
“It’s too soon. Carolyn’s only been gone since April.”
“You might want to date someday,” Sonya said.
“Someday will come when its ready.”
*****
Sonya, after Cal drove her home, found Aron in the kitchen, frying hamburgers. Bill sat at the table.
Helga, tail wagging, approached Sonya, who patted the Boxer’s big head. “I had dinner with Cal.”
Aron nodded. “Barb came by. She saw you leave with Kyle in his car that day. She was hinting around—”
“Nothing happened, Dad.”
“That’s what I told her. She told me Kyle was dating a sixteen year old girl last year. Did he tell you that?”
“No.”
“She dumped him.”
“Did Barb mention her name?”
“No. She seemed almost apologetic, for some reason. I told her not to worry, but that I thought Kyle should date girls his own age.”
Aron laid the cooked hamburgers on a plate covered with a paper towel, the package of buns and bottles of mustard and catsup nearby. Bill rose from his seat and put together his burger at the counter, squirting catsup on his bun.
“I always wondered why that boy sold his dad’s bike,” Bill said. “Nice Harley. Probably sold it to another Diamond.”
Sonya opened the bag of potato chips, pulling on the top seam with her fingertips. “Kyle said he doesn’t want anything to do with the Diamonds. He doesn’t want to end up in jail.”
“That’s where they all go.”
“Cal’s putting his notes together for a book.”
Bill sat at the table with his plate. “I remember when he was arrested. Cal was writing all of his articles about the Diamonds then, after the big drug bust. He refused to give up a source, but Cal later told me that his source was an informant and a Blue Diamond. Cal had no idea this guy was getting money from the Press and the MPD. The informant had a sister that disappeared, and she was an old lady to another Diamond, so the cops didn’t care, but Cal told the guy he would look into it. She was never found. If you ask me, some of those girls were taken to Florida and fed to the ‘gators.”
Aron stared at Bill, amazed at his brother’s recall of the distant past, as the older man continued to eat. “The Diamonds were running wild in those days.”
Bill took a sip of beer while throwing Helga his last bite of burger. “Marine was full of bad men then. Good riddance to ‘em.”
Chapter Fourteen
After school the next day, Aron gave Sonya a ride to Piper’s house.
Sonya was greeted by Piper, Jo-Jo in her arms. The little poodle trembled when Sonya petted her.
“She has an ear infection,” Piper said. “I had to give her an antibiotic, and she gets mopey.”
Sonya followed Piper to the living room, where Piper laid Jo-Jo on the chocolate sofa.
“Do you like piano?” she asked.
“Yes,” Sonya said.
“Let me play you something.”
Sonya sat down next to Piper at the white Steinway, sun coming through the picture window. Piper’s fingers covered the keys, not looking at the sheet music in front of her. Sonya’s ears filled with the opening strains to the melancholy Moonlight Sonata, the notes tinkling like raindrops, then soaring. Whenever Sonya heard this music, she thought of birds flying over dark, still water; a place where humans have never walked, only haunted by its own beauty, its own immortality. As she sat next to Piper, she imagined the unexplored parts of rain forests, never having been captured by a camera lens. She dreamed of going to places like these, her grief and attic room far behind.
She only came out of her trance when Piper stopped playing. “Sonya?”
“Yes?” She blinked a few times, then smiled. “Thank you, Piper.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. I don’t practice as much as I used to. I wanted to be a concert pianist once. I used to accompany Justine when she would sing. You should’ve heard her. Beautiful soprano, like an angel.”
“Was she...your girlfriend?”
“Yes, I guess she was.”
“Do the other girls at school know?”
“Maybe. But I don’t care.”
“SkolClik has tried to ‘out’ some kids on the site.”
“He’s usually wrong, believe me.”
“Who do you think SkolClik is?”
“A junior or a senior. Someone who is there everyday.”
“He’s always mentioning that he has sources, like a journalist,” Sonya said.
“Maybe he writes for the school paper, but he could also be one of those kids who stays on the outside, but is always paying attention.”
“Like a chameleon.”
“I asked Bobby to send you her e-mails.”
“I haven’t checked.”
“I can show you on my PC upstairs.”
Sonya followed Piper to her pink bedroom, sitting next to her at her computer.
“My mom is more likely to check my lap-top,” Piper said, “so I’ve been keeping the files up here, but she’ll figure it out...”
Sonya skimmed over all three e-mails on the screen, being introduced to Justine’s delusional, cryptic way of communicating. “Have you told the police about her?”
“Not yet. And she knew I would hesitate, because I don’t want everyone knowing I was at Haven Rest.”
“How can you be able to help if you can’t tell anyone?” Sonya asked.
“Justine knows that, too.”
“What do you think she means by, ‘a diamond can cut into skin or bone, glass a distant memory, along with the floaters?’”
Piper shrugged. “A diamond can cut glass, but who knows what Justine means?”
“A Blue Diamond?”
“Maybe.”
“Floaters is a police term for de
ad bodies found in water, like drowning victims.”
“There’s always some floaters that wash up in the lakes after winter or in the summer. You don’t want to get too caught up in trying to figure out Justine. I tried, but she almost took me down with her.”
“How? You seem like the type that has a mind of her own.”
“I would have followed Justine anywhere.”
“Did you think you were in love with her?” Sonya asked.
“I was. Definitely infatuated. Remember when we went to Mack’s store, and I told you about how there are people who can make you see the world in bright colors? Justine was an artist, and she used red, yellow, and black in her paintings a lot. Flowers, trees, and animals. Everything in my life felt gray and average and conventional until I met Justine. She woke me up...”
“Did you know you were gay before you met her?”
“No. Well, maybe. I think I started to wonder after my parents got divorced, although my dad moving away had nothing to do with it. My mom was really hurt because his paralegal had been his girlfriend for years and my mom never knew until he told her. The funny thing is that my dad seems like the last person to have something on the side. He’s a cold person, but a good attorney. He’s patient, and he just wears away at his opponent until they give him what he wants. He and my mom were never right for each other, but who is?”
“Were Bobby’s parents ever married?” Sonya asked.
“No, but he and Rick have the same father. I don’t even know his name, but he had blond hair, like Bobby.”
“Bobby said his Aunt Sharon thinks that Rick could be a suspect...”
“Possibly. He’s violent. Bobby said Rick lost his job at the Sears store in the mall because he and this other guy were fighting over a girl that worked there.”
“Bobby said that he went to Stark Junior High for part of sixth grade, but I don’t remember him,” Sonya said.
“He didn’t stay for long. He went to a charter school downtown for seventh grade. They moved a lot until his mom got hired at Forge Plastics. She’d still like to find a house in the school district, get out of that apartment.”
“Does Bobby ever see his dad?”
“I can’t say, Bobby doesn’t talk about him much. Bobby used to say that all of our dads are in Falls River, hanging out with each other so they can avoid their kids.”
“My dad used to live in Falls River. He was only dragged back to Marine because Uncle Bill has Alzheimer’s and my mom died.”
“Why didn’t you stay with your step-dad?”
“Cal said my dad wanted a chance.”
“You should give him a chance, Sonya. I mean, at least he’s with you, in the same house.”
“My dad was almost forty years old when I was born. He had been married twice, but I only know his first wife’s name, Sarah. I’ve never seen a picture of her, and they didn’t have kids. My mom didn’t know much about her. Dad lived in Canada then. He’s secretive, and he’s worried Uncle Bill is going to forget and say something that Dad doesn’t want me to know.”
“Remember when I said that secrets never serve you well?” Piper asked.
“Yeah?”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to tell you everything because he thinks it will make things worse. People only keep secrets out of fear.”
*****
“Someone called for you while you were gone,” Aron said.
He handed Sonya a yellow sticky note, the name Kristen written above the number. Sonya went upstairs to her room with her cell phone. She dialed the number, wondering why Kristen would voluntarily call her.
“Hello?”
“You called me, Kristen.”
“Hi, Sonya. I wanted to tell you something...”
“Yes?”
“There’s this guy I go to church with, at Devotion...”
Sonya could not think of what to say, so she repeated herself. “Yes?”
“I hadn’t been to services in a long time, but I went with my grandma last Sunday. I saw this old guy there, his name is Mike Winstead. He was with his son, Trey.” Sonya heard Kristen take a deep breath, as if what she was going to say was for the first time. “The guy who cut me up wasn’t very tall, and Trey has to be around five feet, five inches in height. His dad is short, too.”
Cal had mentioned, in his articles, that the Ravisher could be around five-five or five-eight. “There’s a lot of short guys out there, Kristen.”
“The Ravisher has big feet. He was wearing black sneakers.”
“What brand of sneakers?”
“Nikes, I think.”
“Did you tell Garcia?”
“No. And I don’t dare tell Tony, he might go after the guy. But sneakers hardly narrows it down. That’s why I’m going back to work.”
“I don’t understand. Why do you want to go back?”
“I think he might come back if he knows I’m there. I talked to Garcia, and he said he would think about it. I’m like, ’I’m going back, anyway!’ I’m not asking for his permission or…something.”
This Kristen sounded very different than the one Sonya spoke to in the cafeteria, the anger had kicked in. “You’re not going to want to be alone.”
“I was hoping Garcia would let a cop hang around.”
“But would you recognize the Ravisher if he walked into the Chester Chicken? And I honestly don’t think he’s going to come back. He might be tempted—”
“But how do you know he isn’t stalking around? The high school? Whispering Pines?”
“He’s too smart. He’s not leaving anything behind. Emily had a cloth stuffed in her mouth before he cut off her earlobe, and he was sure to take it with him before he ran away. He’s organized.”
“He knew right where to wait for me,” Kristen said. “I think he had seen me at the Chester Chicken, or knew me from somewhere else, like church or school.”
“You went to cheerleading camp with Jess and Piper. He could have noticed you cheering at a game.”
“I haven’t cheered since last year.”
“Did you quit?”
“It was always too expensive for my parents. I was lucky to go to camp; my parents couldn’t get their refund after my dad was laid off, so they let me go.”
“What about a boyfriend?”
“There’s only Darius, and we broke up.”
“I’m sorry about your miscarriage.”
“I’m not. The last thing I needed was to get stuck with a baby. I just want to get through school and find a job so I can move out.”
“What’s Darius like?”
“He’s okay. He’s never hurt me. He likes to get stoned a lot, and my friends and my brother never liked him. He‘s funny, though. He makes me laugh.”
“Is Darius tall?”
“No. But Darius wouldn’t hurt a flea.”
“Did he want to break up?”
“No. He’s been wanting to see me, but I don’t see the point.”
“Do you know my cousin Kaitlyn?”
“Kaitlyn Warden?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re friends, I guess.”
“Was she your friend before the attack?”
“Yes, she was. Her boyfriend Dane is an ass, and he’s got Kaitlyn believing that I was attacked because Darius got in trouble with drug dealers.”
“Why dealers?”
“Because Dane buys his weed from the same guy Darius does; some old dude named Jimmy. He was a Blue Diamond a long time ago. But Darius said that everyone buys from Jimmy, and Darius always paid up front, so there was no reason for Jimmy to be mad at Darius.”
“Is that why you’re eating your lunch alone?”
“Not the only reason. I have to go now, I’m going back to work tonight. I just wanted to tell you about Trey Winstead, but I could be wrong.”
“My Uncle Bill is friends with Mike Winstead. Trey works with my neighbor, Kyle. He gives Kyle a ride
to work everyday.”
“Where do they work?”
“Metal Concepts.”
“My mom worked there. So did I, for part of the summer. Mom was laid off while I was at camp. Instead of calling her back, they hired new people. I don’t remember Trey working there. I would’ve recognized him. Who’s the other one?”
“Kyle Stone. Curly brown hair, not too tall, hazel eyes.”
“Is he cute?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t remember him. Mostly older guys worked with Mom and me.”
“What did you do at Metal Concepts?”
“I inspected little metal parts for flaws. Huge boxes full, all day long. God, I couldn’t wait for camp to start.”
“Do you go on the Blue and White?” Sonya asked.
“I used to, until I ended up on it.”
“How do you think SkolClik found out about your miscarriage?”
“I don’t know, because I didn’t tell anyone at school and neither did my parents. I mean, my dad would need directions to find my school.”
“Where do you think SkolClik gets his sources?”
“SkolClik might not be a ’he’; that’s what I heard.”
“Is SkolClik someone in your class?”
“Could be. But I can’t be sure.”
“Would you give me a name?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a snoop.”
*****
Justine always knew she was being watched, and she usually welcomed the attention from the staff and fellow patients at Haven Rest, but she managed to get a few minutes alone in the computer lab on her floor.
She entered the lab after dinner. One other patient, a thirteen year old boy, was at a computer. He took one look at Justine and rose from his seat, leaving the room. She barely noticed as she went on-line, even though she was well aware of her reputation.
Justine never threatened or assaulted another patient at Haven Rest, but they all knew why she was there, and the girl had that way about her, as if intimidation was easy for her.
Justine found FriendsRing, using one of her many screen-names, JSweet100. Piper did not even know all of Justine’s screen-names, and she navigated her way to the FriendsRing friend she was looking for. Soon, she found herself instant messaging:
JSweet100: Have you contacted P.?
GorJus95: I’m waiting on her, but it shouldn’t be long.
JSweet100: I don’t care what you do, just keep her guessing.
GorJus95: What do you want me to tell her?
JSweet100: Nothing. You don’t really have to lie, tell her about your music and your friends, give off the impression that you’re interested.
GorJus95: What if she doesn’t like me?