After a few moments of silence, I start to get up to get us some sodas from the fridge, but Maddy's hand snaps out and secures itself around my wrist, stopping me before I can go anywhere.
“I have something to tell you,” she whispers, and the point-blank fear in her voice is something I’ve never heard come from this sweet girl. Alarmed, I settle back onto the couch and turn completely to face her.
“What is it, Maddy?”
She swallows, and the terror in her expression is so real that I’m almost afraid to hear whatever she’s about to say next.
“I have something to tell you,” Maddy whispers. “But I’m not supposed to tell anyone else but you. That’s what Mommy said.” She’s so quiet I have to strain to put the words together, and all I want to do is lean forward, wrap her in my arms, and never let go. Protect her like she’s never been protected before.
“What did your mommy tell you?” I ask, and Maddy looks at her teddy bear, tears brimming in her eyes. As I watch, she turns her bear upside down, revealing a zipper on the toy’s bottom. She unzips the stuffed animal, reaches her little hand in, and pulls out a small, black flash drive that inserts into a computer. She looks down at it with wariness and then hands it to me. Her fingers are shaking.
“What is this?” I take the flash drive from her and turn it over in my hand, realizing I’ll need a computer to see its contents. That is if there’s even anything on it. “Maddy, did your mommy give you this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Right after you came to see us on Friday when we moved into the apartment,” Maddy says.
“Did she say anything about it? Do you know what’s on it?”
Maddy shakes her head, eyes still on the flash drive in my hand. “She said that if something happened, I should give this to you or Mr. Ely and that Mr. Bear was the best hiding place she could think of. But that I shouldn’t tell Daddy, or anyone else but you or Mr. Ely.”
“Does your daddy know you have this?”
“No.” Maddy shakes her head and brings the stuffed bear up to touch it to her face. A comfort thing, I imagine. “He asked me when mommy got hurt if she said anything bad about him, but I said no because mommy told me not to.”
I’m hyper-aware of the tiny flash drive clutched in the palm of my hand, and I don’t realize my heart is about to pound right out of my chest until I stop to take a deep breath, anxiety ripping me to shreds from the inside out.
“I’m glad you gave this to me,” I say, forcing a smile for the benefit of the innocent girl. I’m afraid to put it away, even into my pocket, because this tiny little thing could be the evidence we need to bring the perpetrator down. “This will help Mr. Ely and me find out who hurt your mommy, okay?”
Maddy nods, though I’m not sure how much of this whole thing she really understands, before either of us can say anything further, the staff-room door opens and Kasper comes in, stopping when he sees me sitting on the couch with Maddy. My fingers curl around the flash drive until it’s completely hidden in my palm, and I force a smile at Kasper despite wanting nothing more than to rip his throat out.
“It’s time to leave,” Kasper says to Maddy, but his eyes burn into mine as he says this, and it takes everything I have in me not to flinch and cower down to him like some weak mutt of the pack.
“I’ll see you again soon, Maddy,” I say to the little girl, feigning confidence as I reach over and pull her into a hug. Kasper makes a noise down deep in his throat, something that could be almost threatening like I shouldn’t count on seeing Madison ever again. But as her head comes near mine, I whisper in her ear, “Stay quiet, I’m going to help you, I promise.”
Madison doesn’t say anything to this, but I know she’s heard me, and she nods once, just barely, as she pulls away, takes her bear with her, and walks towards Kasper. For a moment I think Kasper might send Madison out to the car so he can shoot me without a witness, but he seems to think better of it when he glances over and sees Jake watching us through the window.
“I hope you’re doing well, Jami,” he says, and the dangerous undertone comes through clearly in his voice. He smirks at me, then winks, and a shiver claws its way up my spine.
“Better than ever,” I tell him, and Kasper’s smirk curls into a snarl as he turns and follows his daughter out of the building and to their car.
“Is Maddy doing okay?” Jake asks as I come out of the staff room, dropping the tiny flash drive into my pocket before I lose the only thing that might actually make a difference.
“As well as she possibly can be, I imagine.” I reach out and squeeze Jake’s arm, grateful, as always, to have such wonderful people in my corner. In the other room, Ely is sitting at his desk opening the bag of food, and his smile lights up when Jake and I join him.
“Is everything okay, sweetheart?” he asks, offering me a burger. “You look rattled, or something.”
“Everything is great.” Instead of sitting down to eat, I lean down and kiss Ely, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry, but I have to run. I’m behind on work, but I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I feel Ely’s eyes on my back as I gather up my keys and walk to the car, and I know he’s suspicious that something is up. I want to tell him, but I can’t. Not yet. Not until I find out what exactly is on this flash drive, and whether or not it will help us bring Kasper Hill down.
31
ELY
