CHAPTER 9
1511 Words
CHAPTER 9
“You don’t need to keep telling me you’re sorry.” Reuben leaned against the doorway of Kennedy’s dorm room. “Did you know you apologized five times in the taxi?”
Kennedy still wished Reuben had let her pay the fare. She was thrilled to be as far away from the subway system as possible, but it wasn’t as if Reuben had a whole lot of discretionary income. She didn’t, either, but she would have felt less guilty about plunking fifteen bucks on a taxi ride back to campus if it had been her money, not his.
“So, you’re really all right?” Reuben stalled at the door. On any other night, Kennedy might have thought it was sweet. Right now, she only wanted to get to bed. All the energy she had exhausted getting ready for finals had finally caught up to her. She was drained, sucked dry like a pile of old Craisins left out on her desk. She needed sleep.
“Maybe we can hang out again when I get back from Maryland,” she suggested. “Rain check?”
“Rain what?” Reuben was even worse at American idioms than she was.
“Rain check. Since tonight didn’t work for pizza, we can do it when I get back from Maryland. Deal?”
Reuben flashed her a thumbs up. “It’s a deal.”
“I promise I won’t chicken out on you next time.”
“Chicken?”
“Never mind.”
Sleep. She wanted to sleep. Her bed beckoned to her with its own irresistible gravity.
He stepped into her room and gave her an awkward half-hug. “Merry Christmas.”
“You, too.” Heaviness sank in her gut, disappointment over their failed night out mingling with her own embarrassment. She plopped onto the bed. Why did she always do this to herself? She had let her own anxiety and nerves ruin her evening out with Reuben, and now she didn’t even have the strength to pack her bags for tomorrow. The morning would come all too soon.
She set her alarm for seven. That would give her time to start her laundry and see if Adell wanted her to come in for her final. And then she had to be at the detective’s by ten. Why hadn’t she asked him if they could get together after Christmas vacation? With Vinny in custody, what was the rush?
Her head hit the pillow, and she wondered how many cavities she’d end up with if she went a night without brushing her teeth. She’d have to get up soon, but she’d take a minute or two to rest her eyes first. She deserved at least that small indulgence, didn’t she?
The whole dorm was as still and lifeless as a dish full of fruit flies etherized into temporary comas. Everyone had already rushed home to their moms and dads, to their decorated houses and colorful Christmas trees. The silence was like pin pricks in Kennedy’s ears, and she missed the ticking of the grandfather clock in her parents’ house back in Yanji.
Just a few minutes’ rest. Then she’d get up and do something productive. She couldn’t sleep the whole night away ...
All she could focus on was the exhaustion in her limbs and the gnawing emptiness in her gut. They hadn’t fed her in almost a day. Water. Just a little sip of water.
Tinkering. Stockpiles of weapons. Men fiddling by the workbench. Arguing in hushed tones.
Blood. A whole river of it. How could someone so little lose that much?
Lights. Flashing. Strobing. Ringing sirens. Never stopping.
Breathe. She couldn’t breathe.
Kennedy opened her mouth and inhaled noisily. Oxygen flooded her brain, jolting her into consciousness. She sat up in bed, gasping. Her body was cold and clammy with sweat. She hadn’t even taken her black boots off.
The ringing continued. Her phone. She glanced at the clock. Past eleven. Who would be calling now?
She flipped on her desk lamp, which cast dim shadows on Willow’s side of the room. She checked the caller ID.
“Dad?” Her voice was croaky from sleepiness. She hoped he couldn’t tell how confused she felt.
“Honey, where are you?” His voice was even more tense than normal.
“I’m in my dorm.”
“Did you lock yourself in?”
Kennedy rubbed her eyes. Did her dad really think a safety drill at this time of the night would help anything?
“Did you lock yourself in?” he demanded again.
Kennedy let her eyes drift slowly to her door. She couldn’t even remember what time it was when she lay down. “Mmm-hmmm,” she lied, staring at the unbolted lock.
Her dad let out his breath in a sigh that did nothing to relieve the strain from his voice. “I was just on Channel 2’s webpage. Have you heard about Vinny?”
Kennedy contemplated whether it was worth getting off her soft mattress to lock herself in. She probably should, she decided without moving. “Yeah. They caught him just yesterday.” Or was it two days ago? She couldn’t figure it out. Was it tomorrow yet, or still today?
“Not that. They say he’s been working with a partner. A man who’s wanted for questioning. Sounds like he was part of the plot last fall.”
This was news to Kennedy, but she still didn’t understand why it couldn’t have waited for morning. “I’ll ask Detective Drisklay about it tomorrow.” Was that the only reason her dad had called?
“Is your computer up?” he asked.
“No, I’ve been asleep for the past couple hours.” Had it really been that long? She had only meant to take a little catnap.
“Well, I’m emailing you the news page. It’s got a picture of the man. I want you to take a good look at it. If he was involved with everything that happened, he’s not going to want you talking to the police, or anyone else for that matter.”
“Yeah, I’ll take a look.” She stood up. Her back was as tight as a spring scale.
“I’m sending it now. Check your email as soon as we hang up.”
“I will.” She shoved some dirty clothes into her laundry bag. Her back and leg muscles ached. Had she really been running that far in the subway tunnel?
“All right, sweetheart. How were your exams?” he added, almost like an afterthought.
“They went fine.” Kennedy was ready to forget about them.
Her dad paused for just a moment and then added, “Well, have a safe trip to your aunt’s tomorrow. Remember, call ...”
“I’ll call you as soon as the plane lands,” Kennedy interrupted. “Talk to you later.”
“I love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, too.”
Kennedy put the phone on her desk. Stupid laundry. Stupid dreams. Stupid evening. For a minute, she wondered if Reuben was awake. Well, she wouldn’t bother him now. She needed time to let her bruised pride heal over. She’d get back to campus in a few weeks in time to start a new semester. She and Reuben would take general chemistry, chem lab, and calculus together again, and things would go just like this term. Joking in the cafeteria. Late nights in the library. Frantic texts the day before a lab was due. It almost would have made things easier if he had laughed at her in the taxi. Now, she was mortified not only by her own behavior but by his undeserved compassion.
Kennedy fumbled through her desk looking for spare change for the laundromat. Her phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Emailed you the link. Did you get it?
She had already forgotten about the news from Channel 2. When would her life stop being ruled by current events her dad read from halfway around the world?
Reading it right now, she typed back, but her phone powered off before she could send it.
Stupid battery.
She thought about going back to bed. Her dad had only said there was another potential suspect. If the police thought she was in danger, they would have called to let her know. Just like her dad to ruin a perfect nap with his paranoia.
Still, if she didn’t give him some sort of response, she’d never hear the end of it tomorrow. She clicked on her computer and waited for her inbox to open. There was a note from Adell telling her she could take the test when she got back to campus in January, and there was another note from her Russian lit professor. She had gotten an A on her paper on Raskonikov and the Christological symbols in the epilogue of Crime and Punishment. “If you were a grad student, I’d encourage you to get your ideas published.” It was a somewhat indirect compliment, but Kennedy would take it anyway.
After shooting back quick replies to both professors, she clicked on the email from her dad. No notes attached, no Merry Christmas, sweetheart, just the web address for a Channel 2 webpage. She opened it up, hoping it wouldn’t take too long to load. She needed to get her clothes washed.
Additional Partner Identified in Boston Kidnapping Case. At least when she got to Maryland, nobody there would remember the incident. Even if they did, they would consider it old news.
She skimmed the text, her eyes darting down the screen so she could tell her dad she read the whole thing. Four paragraphs down, she froze. The computer was still loading the bottom half of his face, but she recognized his eyes immediately.
Cold. Icy green like frosted grass before it’s covered by snow and trampled by sleds.
The picture kept loading. High cheeks. Angular nose.
Tight jaw. Lips drawn in a narrow line.
The man from the subway.
A noise in the hall. Kennedy whipped her head up from her computer screen in time to see her doorknob turn.
- Writer
