“Sneak in,” Paige corrects her.
“Sneak in and get it,” Cora finishes. I look at them a moment and see that they’re serious.
“That’s—No. That’s crazy. That’s... Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” I say in disbelief.
“I mean, if you have the alarm code, I could get in. Sort of disguise myself from the cameras. I do it all the time,” Paige says, and I look to Cora, who nervously smiles.
“Like a ski mask? Are we in a movie? This is outrageous. You’ll get killed,” I say.
“It’s more of a hoodie and glasses sort of getup, and I think you’re underestimating how often I’ve done this sort of thing. I’m quick with the pepper spray, too,” she says, miming pulling it out of a holster on her hip like a gun. “I pepper-spray practically everyone,” she says, and I’m sure my mouth is open but empty for words. I look to Cora again, but she just shrugs a timid agreement and nods.
“Like handsy men at the bar,” she explains. “The mailman when I thought he was peeping. The drunk guy that got too close in line at the CVS.”
“Don’t you get arrested?” I ask, stunned at this strange new addition to my nightmare.
“Oh, yeah. The point is I can protect myself. I can weasel through small spaces, and I know where to look in his giant briefcase with all the pockets since I put it there,” she says, and Avery suddenly begins to get fussy and cry in little intermittent bursts.
Paige tends to her, seemingly on autopilot, without a thought, still totally engaged in our conversation, but shifting Avery onto her lap and cooing at her. I just watch, because I was sure a full-blown sob was coming and she just stopped when Paige picked her up. Their interaction is strangely magical.
“We’ll stay on a call with her the whole time she’s in there,” Cora adds. “She’s the best person to do this.” I look back and forth between them. I don’t know if I have found true friends or if they are both absolutely nuts.
“But why would you? You don’t even know me.”
“After hearing what you’ve been through, I think anyone would do the same,” she says, and I involuntarily scoff at this. We clearly don’t know the same people, and if these two think this is just what a friend does, I wish I could stay here forever and be their friend. They’re very lucky.
“What if he wakes up? What if he catches you? I can’t let you do that. No. No way.”
“I already told you,” she says, and she makes the ridiculous pepper-spray gun-holster gesture again, and in any other circumstance this would be hilarious. But it’s life-and-death, so it’s not at all funny.
“Plus, the cops are used to reports of me in people’s garages and cars and so they’ll think I’m trying to help find you. Like a vigilante. I’m the only one who can get away with it, I’m telling you.”
“Should I ask why you are always breaking into people’s property?” I say.
“A story for another time,” Cora says, but Paige keeps talking.
“I’m sure you heard about my son, Caleb,” she says, and Cora shifts and gives her a look.
“Maybe now is not the time,” Cora starts to say.
“It’s just a question,” Paige says, as she looks back to me.
“Yeah, of course,” I say. “I saw him around.”
“So then, maybe you remember that the hit-and-run happened at around ten thirty on the night of January 17, and the police talked to you and Lucas. He said he was home at ten. You were his alibi.”
“Paige.” Cora tries to stop her for some reason. But Paige isn’t even slightly deterred.
“Butnow that I know what I know about you, he probably made you say anything he wanted. Do you remember? Do you remember when he came home?” Her body language has changed, and I feel like I have somehow gone from victim to perpetrator in a matter of seconds.
“It was a long time ago. So much has happened that I don’t...” I’m not sure how my sentence will end because I do remember. I remember Lucas was home late because I got home late and was worried he’d be upset, but thankfully, he wasn’t there yet. This was when I was pregnant. It was one of the last times I ever left the house. This was still the short time frame when I wasn’t captive. I went out, I shopped, I started to meet new friends and get coffee. I took a yoga class. It was when he was still grooming me, and I had no idea. But I can’t say this because I don’t know what she wants from me. I need help. I can’t have her change her mind or give up on me. Why is she asking this?
“I don’t remember,” I say, and then Paige’s phone pings, and she gently places Avery on the blanket and pulls it out of her pocket.
“It’s Grant. He’s saying,Turn on the news. Did you know the neighbor lady, Georgia, has gone missing?” She looks up at us.
Cora goes to the TV and flips channels until she finds a local news station. The three of us stand in front of it and watch a grieving Lucas put on an act in front of the camera. A photo of me is displayed on one half of the screen. It’s a photo from my time in France. I am tanned and smiling and unrecognizable. I see a woman with eyes full of life and naive hope. I see the person I was before my whole life was stolen from me. Cora and Paige look to me and back to the TV and then back to me.
“How can this be on the news if you’ve only been gone seven hours?” Cora wonders.
