Darkest Dawn (11 page)

I gave her my best “Bri” smile and I hoped it was enough.

“Yeah,” Tucker said. “Anyway, we’re writing a paper on the number of car accidents due to texting and we were wondering if we could take a look at some files of car accidents from Willows Lake.”

The lie rolled off his tongue so smoothly that for a second even I believed him.

Amy sat back in her chair and pulled it close to the desk. “I’m not supposed to let anyone have access to our files.”

Tucker leaned over the counter and took Amy’s hand. “We’re really in a jam. I procrastinated and now Bri is going to get a failing grade unless we can get some information for our paper.”

Amy’s lips twitched and she glanced behind her. When she turned back to us she dropped her voice low. “Good thing the guys are at the county morgue today following up on that motel death. They should be back in thirty minutes.”

We followed Amy down the hallway to the first room where she quickly unlocked the door and shuffled us inside. She rounded the desk and started typing on the computer. “Okay, this database can search any reports through two thousand eight. We’re slowly working on cases before that.” She glanced out the window then back at us. “You two owe me.” And with that she left the room.

I sat at the desk. Amy had opened a database for us. My heart thrummed in my chest.

I typed in “Cara Baker”.

Mom’s license photo appeared on the screen, sending thousands of pinpricks all over my body.

There wasn’t any information I didn’t already know.

A
click
moved my attention to the other side of the room. Tucker stood in front of an open file cabinet.

“What’re you doing?”

“You heard her—the accident won’t be on there. It was before two thousand eight.”

I hesitated for a moment. He was right. I got up from the chair and went to him. “How do you know what you’re looking for?”

He snorted. “I don’t. These all seem to be labeled by case number.”

I bit my lip and looked out the window. Who knew how much time we had left. What if those guys came back sooner? Amy would definitely kick us out. And this would all be for nothing. Or at least another dead end.

I glanced at the computer, spurring an idea. I clicked away from Mom’s license photo and the search list came up with only one other link with her name. It led to a short report of the car accident. It was a scanned copy of a newspaper article but at the top of the page was a case number. I stumbled over the numbers, reading them for Tucker. He moved through the files quickly.

“It’s not here.” He closed that drawer and opened the one below. He scanned the files, tracing his finger along the top of each one.

With each
flip flap
sound my breathing sputtered.

“Got it!” He pulled out a thin file and shook it.

I raced to his side and snatched it from his hand, spreading it over the top of the other files.

Tucker slapped his hand over the top of the file.

My teeth ground together as I looked up at him.

He tilted his head. “What if there are pictures?”

“So?” I snapped.

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. “You won’t be able to un-see anything.”

I moved the file from under his hand. “I don’t care.” I sucked in a breath, not willing to admit that his warning unnerved me. I opened the file. Thankfully the first page was a report. No nightmarish pictures.

Tucker moved to my side. “Is that the autopsy report?”

“Yeah.”

“Why would they do an autopsy if she was in a car accident?”

“Sometimes they do them if there are no witnesses to the crime.”

“How did you know that?”

“Remember? I like crime books.” Little did he know I’d done extensive research on many aspects of death after the accident.

I read through the injuries Mom had sustained in the accident. Pictures couldn’t touch the visions I had in my mind just looking at the list. Dozens of lacerations all over her body. Broken bones. I’d seen autopsy reports briefly as they flashed over my television screen during a number of crime shows, yet this one was different. Personal. Not only because it was my mom’s but also because every single injury was described in excruciating detail. My breakfast threatened to return with a vengeance. I pushed through and read each word as if the truth was held between each letter.

“Holy—” Tucker trailed off.

“What is it?”

He pointed to the last line on the second page. How had he read through that quickly?

I read the line aloud, as if somehow it wouldn’t be true or add a million more questions to my already filled mind.

I read it aloud again. It still didn’t make sense. “Remains Identified by Abigail Taylor. So?”

“That’s Bri’s mom.”

My mouth went dry. “She knew my mother?”

Tucker’s eyebrows rose. “Apparently.”

Had Bri known this? Is that why she wanted to separate from me? Was she somehow connecting with her mom to cover all of this up? Had Abigail or Bri been the one to summon me here? My chest tightened. Tucker didn’t appear to know anything. I spread the rest of the papers out in front of me and took pictures of them with my phone. I’d review them later. First things first. I had to talk to Bri.

***

I pinched the screen of my phone, zooming in on the report pages I’d taken pictures of before we left the station. We hadn’t had much time to review them so I’d wanted photographic proof in case I’d missed something.

Tucker pulled away from the station. “Bri doesn’t have any idea about this.”

I wasn’t too sure about that, especially if her mom had been the one to identify my mom’s remains. Pissing Tucker off wouldn’t be a way to get answers either. “I know.” The lie was easy. I’d lied about many things over the past few days in my search for the truth, and with each one I felt less and less guilty.

I typed a quick text to Amber, detailing where I was staying and who I was staying with, just in case. I failed to mention that Bri looked exactly like me.

“Aye, aye,” she sent with a sailor emoticon.

I grinned. I could almost hear her giggling at the stupid joke. Somehow it grounded me in this crazy situation I’d found myself in.

“Who’re you texting?” Tucker asked.

“A friend of mine,” I answered. “Amber. She’s covering for me while I’m here. It’s not like my dad would have allowed this.”

“I doubt any parent would,” Tucker mused.

Speaking of parents, I needed to know what I was up against. “What do you know about Abigail?”

“First—” Tucker pointed his finger from the steering wheel “—everyone calls her Abbey. And second, she’s a really amazing mom. She can be scatterbrained at times. She’s more of a friend to Bri than anything. That’s why we need to approach this delicately. You already hit the hot-button with asking about her absent dad.” Tucker stared at the road in front of us, his gaze calculating as if trying to figure out what kind of relationship Abbey and my mom had before I did.

I didn’t mind sharing this part of my journey. I didn’t need to prove anything at this point—well I did to Bri. Having Tucker on my side would make the situation easier. Now we had to get Bri on board. The idea of Bri on my side made my shoulders relax and a warmth spread through my body. I’d do anything to get that to happen.

***

Tucker’s truck was already parked in front of the condo when we arrived. I practically fell out of the car when we got close enough to Bri’s home. I raced up the stairs, only briefly hearing Tucker’s car door slam behind me. I pushed through the front door and found Bri in the living room, sitting on the couch. She whipped her head around when she saw me and her wide-eyed expression matched mine.

“What did you find?” I asked breathlessly.

She stood, holding out a piece of paper. “Not much.”

I took it and scanned the article. It was the same one I had rotting in my desk drawer at home, crinkled and worn from all the times I had read it. Dad thought I’d thrown it away as part of my “letting go”.

Tucker burst through the door and shot me a look. His eyes moved between us and I mentally sent him a message.
I didn’t tell her yet. Down, doggie.

“What did you find?”

Tucker took the lead. “We found the autopsy report on Cara.”

Bri’s eyes widened and she looked at our hands. “Where is it?”

“I took photos.” I handed her my phone.

Tucker held his hands in front of him. “There’s something you should—”

I held my hand up to silence him. I needed Bri to see this evidence for herself. I would know right away from her expression if she had any idea about Abbey’s involvement with my mom.

The air thickened as the seconds dragged on. Bri’s eyes darted across the screen.

A few moments went by before her body stiffened. I sucked in a breath as if I’d been the one to be surprised.

Her head shook slowly and she pinched the screen.

Tucker moved to her side. “What is it?”

“This—” She looked at me. “This must be some mistake. How would … she … how could she … My mom identified your mom?”

I didn’t need a polygraph to know Bri was genuinely shocked. Relief spread through me in the same way it had when I first met her.

“I don’t understand,” Bri said. “Why didn’t you say something to me?”

Tucker’s eyes pierced mine. “She wanted to test you. To make sure you didn’t lie about Abbey’s involvement.”

Bri’s body jerked as if I’d punched her. The relief I’d had formed into a solid ball and sunk into my stomach. “Thanks for that,” I said pointedly to Tucker. “I had to be sure. It’s hard to trust when I’ve been burned before.”

Bri nodded her head. “I get it.” She handed the phone back to me. “I’m going to call my mom and get some answers.”

She left the room and Tucker sat down on the couch, lifting his legs to the ottoman. “It’s a good thing Bri is so trusting. I would have thrown you on the streets for pulling a stunt like that.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned on the doorframe. “Have you ever lost a parent?”

“Actually I have.” He didn’t meet my eyes. “Not in the way you did but my dad left us when I was a baby.”

“Sorry.”

“There was a time I would have done anything to see him again.”

“So you get it.”

He nodded. “I’d never hurt anyone I loved to get the answers though.”

“I don’t love Bri.” It seemed like another lie as it came out of my mouth. I couldn’t love her. I’d just met her. Our connection was strange, yet I wanted to take back the words.

“That’s not the point. Bri opened her house to you. I’d say you should show her the same courtesy and at least trust the girl.” Tucker got up from the couch and went into the kitchen where I could hear Bri’s voice indistinctly.

I rubbed a hand over my face and pulled out the elastic from my hair with the other. This whole situation was screwy. The idea of going home now was washed from my mind. Even if the person who summoned me here wasn’t going to contact me again, I at least had Abbey as a lead. And this time I wasn’t going to let her slip through my fingers.

***

In the kitchen, Bri faced the window over the sink, her phone to her ear. Tucker was next to her. He turned my way when I entered the room.

“Please have her call me as soon as possible. It’s important.”

Bri hung up the phone and put it on the counter. “I left a message. I told Mrs. Blake to have her call me more than an hour ago. I’m starting to worry.”

I placed my hand on one of the wooden chairs tucked under the kitchen table, steadying myself. This couldn’t be another dead end. “Is there a number for the hotel?”

Bri gave me a small smile. “I’ll look it up.”

“I’m going to make some lunch; I’m starving.” Tucker opened the refrigerator and pulled out leftovers from the night before.

I held a hand out for him and he placed the plastic container in mine. I followed him around the kitchen, gathering plates and utensils. We were in the middle of plating the second dish when Bri finally spoke.

“Hi, my mom is staying at your hotel for a librarian conference. I can’t get in touch with her and it’s—” she paused for a moment “—an emergency.”

Tucker stopped, the fork heaped with spaghetti hovering over the plate.

Bri’s eyebrows furrowed. “There must be some mistake.” She pulled the phone away from her face and checked the website on the screen. “She said she was there. Her name is Abigail Taylor. Can you please look her up?” She chewed on her thumbnail. I almost smiled at the gesture. It was the same nervous habit I’d had when I was a kid, until my dad yelled at me enough times to scare me into stopping.

“Thank you,” she said after a long pause.

“What did they say?” I barely waited enough time for her to put the phone down.

“Easy,” Tucker chided and opened his hand, gesturing for Bri to talk.

She exhaled a shaky breath. “There is no librarian conference this weekend. And Mom never checked into that hotel. Ever.”

CHAPTER TEN

Bri

Bri’s mind spun, enough to make her light-headed. She remembered the same feeling at the county fair last year on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder. “Bri?”

“She always tells me where she is.
Always
.” She shouted the last word.

Sloane put down the bowl of spaghetti. “Does she have a boyfriend?”

Tucker scoffed. “She’s not a runaway teenager.”

Sloane narrowed her eyes. “Well she’s not at some made-up conference. At least I’m trying to figure it out.”

Bri swiped a tear from her face before it touched her cheek. “Mrs. Blake said she was at the conference. There has to be some explanation. Maybe she gave me the wrong hotel?” She grabbed her phone and scrolled through the numbers and pressed the number for Mrs. Blake.

The phone clicked after the first ring. “Hello?”

“This is Brianna again. Where is my mom?”

“I told you I was—” Bri didn’t hear the last words as Sloane yanked the phone from her hand.

She pressed the speaker button and brought the phone up to her lips. “I know you’re lying about the conference.”

“We don’t,” Bri mouthed.