known.
Chapter Twelve
THE NEXT AFTERNOON I USE the school’s computer to log on to “my” site. I reregister, scroll the posts, find j_d_l, and see that he is online. My heart kicks in a beat as I instant message him the same thing I had before:
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PLAY?
WHO IS THIS? he messages back.
I THINK YOU KNOW WHO . . .
I TRIED TO IM YOU LAST NIGHT BUT IT SAID YOUR ACCT WAS TAKEN DOWN . . . ??? I THINK YOU’RE MISUNDERSTOOD. I THINK U NEED A FRIEND.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I’m not getting chatty with this guy. PLAY OR NOT?
He doesn’t immediately respond, then: PLAY .
I smile. GOOD. I’LL LEAVE AN ENVELOPE FOR YOU IN THE TRASH IN FRONT OF CVS, CORNER OF HAYCOCK AND RTE 7, FALLS CHURCH. PICK IT UP AT 8 PM. I sign off.
Bucky works at the same CVS. Tonight I’ll find out if he and j_d_l are connected. And if the task force just monitored that message, they’ll probably be there too. I’ll have to be extra cautious, extra alert.
At seven forty-five I’m in my Jeep in the CVS parking lot. There are many stores in this strip mall, many cars, so mine blends in just fine. I don’t see any cop cars. Then again if the task force is here, they’re probably undercover.
I eye the garbage can right in front of CVS. The garbage I’ve put nothing in. I just want to see who approaches it.
7:50. I get my iPhone ready to snap a few pictures.
7:55. Someone comes out of CVS and someone else goes in.
8:00. An elderly lady throws away a bag of McDonald’s.
8:05. A man dressed in a business suit puts his cigarette out in the top tray.
8:10. I glance around the parking lot. What is j_d_l’s game? If he was indeed following me the night I did Aisha, I was in Victor’s car. If he was following me the night I almost did Jacks, I was in my Jeep. That night I went out to “CVS” a dark car was following me. Then there’s the dark BMW thatwas outside my grief group with a woman behind the wheel. The first dark car could have very well been a BMW. Or maybe the whole thing is just a coincidence.
The thing is—I don’t believe in coincidences.
The one thing I do know for certain is that Aisha is now out of the equation because she is in jail.
8:15. A young boy hesitantly approaches the garbage can. He looks around, lifts the lid, and peers inside. He moves things, looks over his shoulder, and then puts the lid back on.
I follow the direction of his look but don’t see anything notable. Just cars and people trickling in and out of stores.
The boy walks away in the opposite direction from which he approached, and I fight every urge in me to follow. That boy’s a decoy and j_d_l is somewhere watching. I know it.
Sneaky bastard.
He’s good at playing my game.
Or maybe that was the task force using a lure.
Either way, I sit right where I’m at, watching cars come and go from the many entrances in and out of the strip mall. Most of them are dark cars. None of them are BMWs.
Bucky emerges from CVS. He doesn’t even glance at the garbage can, but he stands for a second and just looks around. His eyes go right over my Jeep before turning away. He walks the length of the shopping center, and I wait until he’s all the way down past the grocery store before pulling out.
Several other cars pull out too, all going in different directions.
Slowly I crawl along, keeping track of him as he hangs a right and starts walking along the shadowed sidewalk. The trail my brother mentioned is just a few blocks ahead, and I’d bet anything that’s where he’s headed.
That trails leads all the way back to the neighborhood where he resides. Which means I’m going to have to park and follow on foot.
In my Jeep I pass him with a glance in the rearview mirror. I don’t see one single headlight. No one is following me. I drive beyond the trail’s head and park along the street next to a condo building.
As I double-check my supplies, I keep an eye on the sidewalk, waiting for Bucky’s appearance.
I
Chapter Twelve
THE NEXT AFTERNOON I USE the school’s computer to log on to “my” site. I reregister, scroll the posts, find j_d_l, and see that he is online. My heart kicks in a beat as I instant message him the same thing I had before:
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PLAY?
WHO IS THIS? he messages back.
I THINK YOU KNOW WHO . . .
I TRIED TO IM YOU LAST NIGHT BUT IT SAID YOUR ACCT WAS TAKEN DOWN . . . ??? I THINK YOU’RE MISUNDERSTOOD. I THINK U NEED A FRIEND.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I’m not getting chatty with this guy. PLAY OR NOT?
He doesn’t immediately respond, then: PLAY .
I smile. GOOD. I’LL LEAVE AN ENVELOPE FOR YOU IN THE TRASH IN FRONT OF CVS, CORNER OF HAYCOCK AND RTE 7, FALLS CHURCH. PICK IT UP AT 8 PM. I sign off.
Bucky works at the same CVS. Tonight I’ll find out if he and j_d_l are connected. And if the task force just monitored that message, they’ll probably be there too. I’ll have to be extra cautious, extra alert.
At seven forty-five I’m in my Jeep in the CVS parking lot. There are many stores in this strip mall, many cars, so mine blends in just fine. I don’t see any cop cars. Then again if the task force is here, they’re probably undercover.
I eye the garbage can right in front of CVS. The garbage I’ve put nothing in. I just want to see who approaches it.
7:50. I get my iPhone ready to snap a few pictures.
7:55. Someone comes out of CVS and someone else goes in.
8:00. An elderly lady throws away a bag of McDonald’s.
8:05. A man dressed in a business suit puts his cigarette out in the top tray.
8:10. I glance around the parking lot. What is j_d_l’s game? If he was indeed following me the night I did Aisha, I was in Victor’s car. If he was following me the night I almost did Jacks, I was in my Jeep. That night I went out to “CVS” a dark car was following me. Then there’s the dark BMW thatwas outside my grief group with a woman behind the wheel. The first dark car could have very well been a BMW. Or maybe the whole thing is just a coincidence.
The thing is—I don’t believe in coincidences.
The one thing I do know for certain is that Aisha is now out of the equation because she is in jail.
8:15. A young boy hesitantly approaches the garbage can. He looks around, lifts the lid, and peers inside. He moves things, looks over his shoulder, and then puts the lid back on.
I follow the direction of his look but don’t see anything notable. Just cars and people trickling in and out of stores.
The boy walks away in the opposite direction from which he approached, and I fight every urge in me to follow. That boy’s a decoy and j_d_l is somewhere watching. I know it.
Sneaky bastard.
He’s good at playing my game.
Or maybe that was the task force using a lure.
Either way, I sit right where I’m at, watching cars come and go from the many entrances in and out of the strip mall. Most of them are dark cars. None of them are BMWs.
Bucky emerges from CVS. He doesn’t even glance at the garbage can, but he stands for a second and just looks around. His eyes go right over my Jeep before turning away. He walks the length of the shopping center, and I wait until he’s all the way down past the grocery store before pulling out.
Several other cars pull out too, all going in different directions.
Slowly I crawl along, keeping track of him as he hangs a right and starts walking along the shadowed sidewalk. The trail my brother mentioned is just a few blocks ahead, and I’d bet anything that’s where he’s headed.
That trails leads all the way back to the neighborhood where he resides. Which means I’m going to have to park and follow on foot.
In my Jeep I pass him with a glance in the rearview mirror. I don’t see one single headlight. No one is following me. I drive beyond the trail’s head and park along the street next to a condo building.
As I double-check my supplies, I keep an eye on the sidewalk, waiting for Bucky’s appearance.
I
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