I Know Lucy (The Fugitive Series) (5 page)

I chuckled, dropping into the water and pushing off before she could even say go. I sensed her beside me, carving through the water with a speed that could easily match mine. I kept a steady pace until I only had two more lengths to go and then I took it up a notch, pushing us both. At the turn she was only just behind me. I decided not to slow and let her win. It was good for me to push myself and I figured she could handle it.

She popped up just after me, out of breath, but looking alive and vibrant.

“Nice swimming.” She puffed.

I shrugged, trying not to glow too much over her compliment. “I do it three times a week. It’s a good form of exercise.”

“Very true.” She nodded. “I like running better though.” She pulled herself out of the pool and I couldn’t help admire her form. She might be skinny, but her muscles were lean and tight. No doubt from all the running. Water cascaded off her curved legs as she reached for her towel. I noticed a thick scar on her left calf muscle and wanted to know the story behind it. It was probably some childhood accident that made for a great tale.

I pulled myself out of the water, hoping I looked half as hot as she did.

“So if you like running so much, why do you bother swimming?” I grabbed my towel and rubbed my face dry.

“Because I’m afraid of the water.” Her voice sounded a little distant and as I pulled my towel away I noticed the end of her expression. She was tucking it away behind a closed mouth smile, but I didn’t miss the flicker in her blue eyes. She hadn’t meant to tell me that.

I smiled, it was my soft mushy one. I could tell. Man, I was so glad Elliot wasn’t here right now.

She waved her hand, going for nonchalant. “It’s no big deal, I just don’t like to let things beat me.”

“That’s really cool.” I nodded, adding another piece to the Dani puzzle.

I knew I was right about her strength, but that look I caught…the tail end of her slip up. I was right about her fragility as well. I just wished I knew why it was there.

She was a strong, confident girl. What did she have to be afraid of?

Chapter 6

February 2009

It was near midnight. The only reason Lucy knew that was because the quiet diner she walked into had a round white clock on the wall behind the cash register.

She placed the crumpled five dollar note she’d found in the parking lot on the counter.

“What do you want?” asked the gum chewing waitress with tight curls and a sour frown.

“Um, a Coke and is that enough for a bowl of fries?”

The woman looked at the note then back up at Lucy, the corner of her mouth twitched as she reached for the bill. “It might even be enough for a burger too,” she muttered.

Lucy could have cried on the spot.

“Thank you,” she managed to mouth before heading to a booth in the corner. She sat with her back against the wall and crossed her grimy arms. Every inch of her felt disgusting. She picked at the dirt beneath her fingernails and ran a hand through her greasy tendrils. She was sure she looked and smelled like a homeless tramp.

It tore her gut to think the homeless part was right. Fear swirled though her system every time her mind wandered towards the future and what it held for her. Taking in a few quick breaths through her nose, she kept the tears at bay and jumped from the booth.

She made a beeline for the bathroom and spent a few minutes washing her hands and face. Her movements were frantic and jerky, but that’s all she seemed to manage at the moment. If she stayed still for too long her mind would conjure up crystal clear images that were soul destroying.

Her mother’s screaming would forever ring in her ears.

The way her father’s limp body flopped as he was kicked by his killer had been permanently embedded in her memory.

The sick fear on his face as he told her to hide.

Had he known he was about to die?

Lucy stopped the questions before they could go any further. She didn’t want to think about what he had on the tall murderer. She didn’t want to think about the fact that her father had inadvertently gotten himself and his wife killed. He said he feared the risks and he had every right to.

Lucy shut off the faucet with a sharp snap and gazed at herself in the mirror.

Thirteen.

She was a kid.

A wild-eyed, pale, pasty kid.

Her fingers shook as she rearranged her long tendrils of hair, knowing she needed to get back into the diner before she missed her first proper meal in what felt like forever. She didn’t know how long she’d been running for. She guessed about a week.

The first night was a blur of tears and fear. When her bare feet were near bleeding, she stumbled into a crop of trees on the edge of a park. Huddling against a tree trunk, she disappeared into the shadows, wrapping her trembling arms around herself and praying it was just a dream.

But the sun rose and her haunted sleep was brought to a terrifying end. The light exposed her, making her feel vulnerable. She’d crept through the park, ducking out of sight whenever she heard the slightest noise. Much to her disdain, she’d jumped a fence and pilfered someone’s clothesline. Three houses later, she’d stolen a pair of sneakers. They fit okay considering she was wearing socks that were too big for her.

Adjusting the black T-shirt and straightening the rain jacket, she eased back into the diner, sliding into her booth as the meal was placed before her.

Her mouth filled with saliva.

“Your first since running away, huh?” Sourface’s expression had softened considerably.

“I guess.” Lucy kept her eyes on the burger.

“You look pretty young, you sure you don’t want to head back home?”

“I’m sure,” she croaked.

“I can call your parents or someone else if you need me to.”

“No, that’s okay.” Lucy finally looked up. “I’ll be fine.” She pushed a smile over her lips, but she knew it didn’t even look like one. She was too worn and ragged to pull off anything.

Her last meal had been the scraps from a garbage can. She didn’t think she’d ever smile again.

Why she wanted to even live, she wasn’t sure.

That man had taken everything from her in less than ten minutes.

She was surprised she didn’t feel unguarded rage at him, but it hadn’t surfaced yet. She figured she was probably still in shock or something. Maybe the anger would come, but for now, she was living on instinct and it was telling her to somehow survive this.

The waitress walked away and Lucy gently picked up her burger, her stomach cramping at the very idea of consuming it. It took all her will power not to stuff the food into her mouth. She probably would have if she hadn’t gobbled the first mouthful down so fast and nearly choked. She felt the lump of un-chewed food ease into her stomach. It was a slow and painful process. After that, she took a breath and had a smaller mouthful, savoring the flavors, pretending for a moment that she was a normal girl grabbing a bite to eat on her way home.

Except normal girls had a home and they wouldn’t have been out at midnight in some cheap diner feeling shaky and weak from days of terror-filled running.

Swallowing back the depressing thoughts, she focussed on the burger, taking another mouthful and just chewing.

Chew Lucy. Just chew and don’t think.

She was nearly finished with her burger when she noticed him. He was a lanky boy and looked to be in his late teens. His sunken cheeks were gaunt and his big grey eyes studied her with a haunted look. They almost bulged from his face and reminded Lucy of a fish. She swallowed down her mouthful, looking away.

A couple of french fries later she glanced up and he was still staring at her. She tried to grin, do something polite to get him off her back. Maybe a scowl would be better.

She hardened her gaze, but it didn’t deter him. A second later he flicked his head towards the TV and it wasn’t until then that she finally tuned into the news anchor’s voice.

“…Found dead in their home on Tuesday night. The police are still unwilling to comment on the exact details of the victims’ deaths, but it is clear that Jack and Edith Tate were murdered. The FBI are determined to discover the person responsible for this tragedy. Special Agent William Tenner has said that they will be doing everything in their power to bring the culprit to justice. Many questions remain, the most prevalent being, where is their daughter Lucy? Was she taken by the person responsible for this crime? Or is she in fact the prime suspect?”

What did she just say?

Lucy’s appetite fled. Her mouth went dry as she took in the news, absorbed by her seventh grade yearbook photo that flashed on the screen. She’d forgotten how chubby she was last year. That was before she got into the cross country team and started training. She gazed at her rounded cheeks and felt sick. The shot quickly reverted back to her house surrounded by yellow police tape and her heart couldn’t take it.

Pushing her plate away from her, she glanced across at grey eyes, but he was gone. For some reason, she found it disconcerting. Stumbling out of her booth, her frantic need to escape made her hit the half empty Coke glass. It flew to the floor before she could stop it, hitting the tiles and smashing into a hundred pieces. Brown liquid splattered her jeans and shoes.

“Sorry,” she whispered as the waitress approached her with a mop in hand. She leapt passed the frowning lady, making a quick escape for the door before anyone saw her and put two and two together.

Pushing the glass door open, she staggered outside and around the edge of the building. She needed darkness right now. Anything that could hide her.

Scurrying feet seemed to follow her movements and at first she thought it was the guy from the diner, but it was so much worse. The man following her was big, his checkered shirt only just buttoning over his round belly. His broad shoulders and towering persona made her want to shrink.

“Hey, hey you.” His voice was gruff and demanding. “Did I just see you on TV?”

Lucy shook her head, mumbling a no over her shoulder while picking up her pace.

“Don’t you walk away from me, kid.”

Lucy lurched into a run, fear making her feet fly across the asphalt. Unfortunately the move only enraged the man behind her and he let out a grunt and started chasing her.

She knew she was fast enough to out run him, but that’s when she was healthy and hadn’t been living on two hours sleep a night and garbage scraps for breakfast. The food in her stomach threatened to re-enter the world as her lagging legs lost steam. She tripped as she neared the edge of a grass verge, losing her footing on the loose gravel chips.

The man grabbed at her jacket, yanking her to a stop. She fell to her knees, her heart thrumming, her ears ringing. Her mind felt numb and cold. With trembling lips she looked up at the man, willing herself to say the right words, to somehow convince him that she was innocent.

“You’re coming with me.” He hauled her to her feet.

Then came a thud and the grip on her jacket went slack. She shuffled away from her captor as he fell to the ground with a groan. Behind him stood the grey-eyed boy with a broken beer bottle in his hand.

Etiquette had taught Lucy that she should say thank you, but with fear induced adrenaline running through her veins, she did nothing of the sort. Instead she turned and ran.

“Hey wait!”

She listened to the remains of the glass bottle shatter on the concrete and heard quick feet behind her.

Lucy’s insides simmered.

Once again she was running, but this time someone was chasing her.

Chapter 7

March 2014

“Hey, Dani! Wait up!”

For a second I wasn’t sure if she would slow down for me. She was walking so fast out of school it was practically a jog. Her little black bag was firmly secured to her back, but this time there was a big binder in her hand, so surely she wasn’t planning on running home.

I wondered where her home was.

“Dani!”

Her pace slowed to a halt and I jogged the final distance.

“Hey.” I grinned.

She smiled back, but it didn’t make her eyes sparkle. I tried to not let it throw me off my game.

“Sorry to bother you.” I scratched my shoulder. “I just wanted to chat to you about our Sociology assignment. We’ve only got until next Friday and I don’t want to run out of time.”

Dani bit her bottom lip and nodded, not making eye contact as she thought for a second. “Yeah, you’re right. We should get on with that. I read through it again last night and it’s pretty huge.”

“Yeah, exactly. So, when are you free?”

“Um.” She looked away from me, her lips twisting then relaxing into a smile. “How about now?” She shrugged. “I’m still pretty new so I don’t have any plans or social life. Good timing on your part.”

I grinned at her. “Okay then, well do you want to go to the library? Or we could go work at my place. I live about a ten minute drive from here.”