Chương 8
Kayla’s voice disappeared for several seconds.
David waited.
“I went to a party.”
He heard bedsheets rustle on her end.
“I drank.”
“That doesn’t answer anything about what happened after.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to defend that to me.”
“I’m not.”
But she was.
He could hear it.
“I had two drinks,” she said.
“Maybe three.”
“I remember Brantley playing beer pong with some guy from the swim team.”
“I remember Nora texting me because we were supposed to get breakfast.”
“I remember Chad saying I looked tired.”
Her breathing caught.
“Then I woke up in his room.”
David closed his eyes.
“Were your clothes disturbed?”
A long silence.
“Yes.”
“Did you go to a hospital?”
“No.”
“Did you preserve anything?”
“No.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“It means evidence may be harder to establish.”
“That’s exactly what everyone says.”
The bitterness in her voice made him stop.
“Who is everyone?”
“Nora.”
“A counselor.”
“One of the conduct people.”
“Police?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t want police.”
“Did the university pressure you not to?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer mattered more than a yes.
“What do you mean?”
“The woman kept saying there were different options.”
“Which woman?”
“Assistant dean something.”
“Name?”
“Pierce.”
David filed it away.
“She said a formal complaint could become adversarial.”
Kayla laughed once, bitterly.
“I remember that word because it sounded like something people say when they want you to stop being difficult.”
“What did Nora do?”
“She got angry.”
“Of course.”
“She told them I wasn’t the problem.”
“What happened after that?”
“I told Nora to leave it alone.”
“Did she?”
“You already know she didn’t.”
David rubbed the back of his neck.
“What made her confront Chad tonight?”
Kayla went quiet again.
“I sent her something.”
“What?”
“I found out there was another girl.”
David felt the story widen.
“Who?”
“I don’t know her name.”
“Then what did you find?”
“A screenshot.”
“Of what?”
“A group chat.”
David straightened.
“Whose group chat?”
“Some fraternity guys.”
“What did it say?”
Kayla’s voice dropped.
“Someone posted a picture of Chad.”
“Doing what?”
“Sleeping.”
David waited.
“And somebody wrote, ‘Hide the pharmacy before he hosts again.’”
David did not speak.
Kayla continued quickly.
“I know that doesn’t prove anything.”
“No.”
“But it scared you.”
“Yes.”
“Where did the screenshot come from?”
“A girl sent it to me from a fake account.”
“Do you still have it?”
“Yes.”
“Do not forward it to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m Nora’s father, not law enforcement.”
That answer seemed to frustrate her.
“But you can help.”
“I’m trying to.”
“Then tell me what to do.”
David looked through the glass at Nora.
A month ago he would have told Kayla to save the message, call a lawyer, contact police, preserve records, stay with family.
Tonight those instructions felt too small and too large at the same time.
“First, wake your aunt.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She’ll freak out.”
“Probably.”
“She’ll call my mom.”
“Maybe.”
“My mom will make me come home.”
“That sounds inconvenient.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Kayla breathed hard through her nose.
David continued.
“You are not staying alone in a room pretending nobody knows where you are after someone sent you a threat.”
“They don’t know where I am.”
“You don’t know that.”
She said nothing.
“Wake your aunt.”
“I hate you a little.”
“You’ve known me for four minutes.”
“Nora was right about you.”
“That could mean anything.”
Kayla almost laughed again.
Then her voice turned small.
“Is she okay?”
David looked at his daughter.
“No.”
Kayla began sobbing.
He let her.
“She’s alive,” he said.
“She’s being treated.”
“She wrote your name.”
“My name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Kayla tried to steady herself.
“I should have listened to her.”
“That is not useful tonight.”
“It’s true.”
“Maybe.”
“I made her promise she wouldn’t confront him.”
David lowered his head.
“She broke it.”
“Yes.”
“She does that.”
“I know.”
Kayla whispered, “I think this is my fault.”
David felt anger rise, but not at her.
“Three men were waiting for Nora in a garage.”
Kayla went silent.
“They made choices.”
“That belongs to them.”
He heard a door open on her end.
A woman’s sleepy voice asked something.
Kayla whispered, “My aunt.”
“Good.”
“No, not good.”
“Hand her the phone.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Then tell her you received a threatening message.”
“She’ll panic.”
“Let her.”
“You’re kind of awful.”
“I’ve heard that.”
The aunt’s voice became sharper.
Kayla muffled the phone.
David heard fragments.
Hospital.
Nora.
Message.
Then the aunt took the phone.
“Who is this?”
“David Miller.”
“Nora’s father?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my God.”
Her voice broke.
“She’s alive.”
“Is she—”
“She’s alive.”
That was all he could responsibly give her.
The woman exhaled.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Keep Kayla with you.”
“That’s already happening.”
“Lock the doors.”
“Done.”
“Don’t post where she is.”
“I’m fifty-two, not twelve.”
David accepted the correction.
“Fair.”
“And we are calling the police.”
“Yes.”
“Which police?”
“Local first.”
“Why not campus?”
“Because she’s not on campus.”
The woman understood the part he did not say.
“Okay.”
“Save the threatening message if it can be recovered.”
“She deleted it.”
“Screenshots may still exist in notifications or cloud backups depending on the phone.”
“I’ll let police handle that.”
“Good.”
“And Mr. Miller?”
“Yes?”
“Whatever Nora did for Kayla, I’m sorry.”
David looked at Nora again.
“So am I.”
After the call ended, Bishop rang almost immediately.
David answered.
“You heard from Kayla?”
Bishop asked.
David’s face hardened.
“How do you know that?”
“Because someone just sent us another anonymous email.”
“What does it say?”
Bishop read it slowly.
“Kayla is alive.”
David’s skin prickled.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“Go.”
“The sender says the drive under Garage C is not evidence against Chad.”
David waited.
Bishop continued.
“It says it’s evidence against whoever buried the complaint.”
David walked farther down the hall.
“Can they know Cole found it?”
“If they’re watching the garage.”
“Or Cole.”
May you like
“Or us.”
David stopped.
