A tiny buzz almost startles me enough to drop the damn thing. The relief at seeing Parker’s haha reaction is so overwhelming, a single tear plops onto the screen.
Sliding the phone back into the pocket of my yoga pants, I grit my teeth and straighten. If AJ’s done with his call, I’ll try to convince him to join me for a bath. And this time, maybe he won’t just help me wash my hair.
My steps are slower than I’d like, but mostly steady. Picturing AJ naked helps.
The door is cracked, so I don’t bother knocking and push it open.
AJ’s back is to me, his shoulders tense, his hands on his hips, staring at a large bulletin board propped up on the credenza by the window.
Every inch of it is covered. Note cards, newspaper clippings, torn pieces of paper. Messy, but methodical at the same time. My gaze sharpens on one of the headlines.
APD Suspends Grace Stone Kidnapping Investigation
I take a step closer. The notes…they’re all in AJ’s handwriting. A map of Austin covers the bottom right corner, circles and arrows pointing to Lady Bird Lake. Above it, there’s a photo of a water bottle next to a cell phone with a cracked screen.
My chest tightens. Dozens of notes are pinned one over another. He did this—all of this—trying to find me.
“AJ?” I whisper.
He doesn’t hear me. He’s too focused on the board. I take another step closer, my hand braced on the wall for balance.
Shit.
In the top left corner, he’s pinned a photo of the lantern I drew the other day. And the picture under it…
I swallow a sob. The dress I was found in. Crimson covers it, so much I don’t understand how I’m standing here. I knew about it. Dr. Reyes described it to me. But when Parker gave it to Chief Harris, it was all sealed up in an evidence bag.
In the next breath, snowflakes sting my cheeks. It’s dark. I’m so cold. My stomach cramps. There’s a bitter taste in my mouth. My arms. Why can’t I move my arms?
I blink hard, shoving the memory away. But my gaze lands on a notecard slanted over the pictures. Three words stand out in AJ’s messy scrawl. Oleander? Full Moon?
I can’t breathe.
Does he think my kidnapping had something to do with my tattoo? No. He would have told me.
My legs wobble, and I know if I don’t sit down, I’ll fall.
I stumble over to his desk, but stop before I reach the chair. He’s pushed the leather blotter aside, and a sea of Post-It notes fans out around his laptop.
Cult?
The dress? Made just for her?
Oleander flowers woven into the ropes.
Why the lanterns? Symbolic?
Full moon the day she disappeared. And the day she was dumped.
The world tilts and blurs, swaying enough I lose my balance. I can’t catch myself in time. The dark wood chair skids across the floor. I’m falling. Flailing. My knees hit the tile.
“Fuck! Grace!” AJ shouts, catching me an instant before my head slams into his desk.
“AJ.” My voice is too thin. Filled with so much pain, I can’t look him in the eyes. “What…what is all this? A cult? You think…I was taken by a cult?”
He keeps one arm around me, bracing the other on his desk. “I should have?—”
“Don’t.” The word cuts deep, and I’m not sure who it hurts more. “All of this… Oleander? Full moons? You’re talking about my tattoo.”
