Dylan
IAWOKE EARLY the next morning and stared at my phone for a good fifteen minutes before making the call I’d been dreading since yesterday. It was way too early to call him, but in Lakeview, news traveled like a raging STD. Last night Molly had probably called one of my cousins, who called their parents, who called my dad, who was sleeping off a hangover before he dragged himself out ofbed and drove over to harass me for not telling him I was coming.
He answered on the fourth ring, sounding hung-over and irritated. I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about waking him up.
“’Mornin’, Dad,” I said, forcing a smile into my voice.
“Oh, hey, sweetie. I heard you were in town. Are you on your way over?”
“No.” I swallowed, wondering why my throat was so dry. I reached for the plasticcup sitting on my nightstand, but stopped just shy of downing the last sip of wine before breakfast. I would not let Dad or this town turn me into his clone. Disgusted with my momentary lapse in willpower, I plunged ahead. “We’re not going to be here long and we have a packed schedule, and—”
“Why are you at the new motel? You should have stayed at the house.”
No, we shouldn’t have, and for somany reasons. “It was late, and Addie’s with me, and we didn’t want to put you out. Since we’re here to investigate we’re gonna be coming and going pretty irregularly and—” And grade A bullshit kept spewing from my mouth.
“Your room is exactly as you left it, but I’ll get the bedding all washed and ready and you can stay here tonight. I’ll call the family and we’ll put together a barbecue. Dakotawill be so excited to hear you’re back. He keeps asking about you and I’ve been telling him you’re—”
“Whoa there,” I said, knowing I had to put the kibosh on his rambling before he came for my suitcases. “Addie and I are staying in the motel. We are here to work, Dad. No barbecue. And for the love of all that is holy, please do not tell Dakota I’m here to see him.”
“He’s never gotten over you,Dylan.”
I resisted the urge to bash my head against the wall, but only barely. “I have to get to work, Dad. I’ll talk to you later,” I said before disconnecting. I hadn’t seen my father in a couple of years, but I still wasn’t ready to play nice. I knew I’d have to see him before I left town, but planned to keep that visit as short and sweet as possible.
While Addison slept, I took advantageof the motel’s free breakfast and grabbed a cup of awful black coffee. True to his word, Jake had sent a link that led to a bunch of mug shots. I went through the pictures three times, recognizing one of the Spiders who’d attacked Candy. I didn’t see the other one, though. I sent Jake a message and let him know I’d have Addison scroll through the photos as soon as she woke up. Then I made some phonecalls and jotted down notes about who all we needed to see at the nursing home. By the time Addison joined the land of the living, I had a full-fledged plan for finding our jewelry thief and getting the hell out of Dodge. We got Addison fed and caffeinated as she did her own mug shot perusal, landing on the same familiar face I had. She stopped on another photo and we both studied it but couldn’tbe certain that was the second Spider we’d seen in the parking lot. I texted Jake to let him know, and then we were on our way.
At Addison’s insistence, I drove her through the town, showing her the Chinese restaurant I’d taken my first job in, the community swimming pool where I’d spent the majority of my summers, and the old ballet studio my mom used to take me to for lessons.
“I still can’tbelieve you were in ballet,” Addison said with a laugh.
“Yeah, Mom was bound and determined to make me into her little dancing princess. You should have seen the pink, ruffled dresses she used to put me in.” It had been fifteen years since my mom’s death, and I expected thinking about her to hurt—like it always had—but it didn’t. Instead, I felt numb inside.
“The Polar Bear?” Addison asked,pointing at a little ice cream shop.
More memories flooded me. “My little league team used to go there for treats after games. Whenever we won, the coach would even buy dip sticks and cookie dough cones for everyone.” I stared at the spot I used to stand in, usually alone, while the rest of my team crowded around the tables. It had felt like miles between us, but the entire area couldn’t havebeen more than ten feet.
“Is it how you remember it?” Addison asked, watching me. “The town, I mean.”
