The Registry (12 page)
He didn’t understand why this was so hard for him. He’d never had difficulty avoiding relationships or friendships. It was how he’d survived this long. He wanted to know more about them and to tell them about him, but it didn’t make any sense. He needed to focus. Just get them to safety and then report for duty.
Andrew was surprised by the way Mia had tried to help Whitney. He would have expected her to cower in the corner, but instead she had chased after her friend. She hadn’t even looked fazed when she needed to tell Andrew to stop the beating. He liked her strength. Whitney, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be faring as well. Andrew feared her opinion of him had altered. He tried not to care.
The sink dripped, sending echoes of the tiny splashes around the whole room. Andrew closed his eyes and thought back to the school he was raised in. The building had been dilapidated and water always made its way through the ceiling whenever it rained. Sometimes it landed on his mattress, and the other boys teased him that he had wet the bed. He always let their taunts roll off his back. He had known even as a kid not to care what others thought or said about him. He reminded himself that nothing had changed.
It is customary for a husband to lavish his wife with gifts. The better the wife is, the more her beloved will adorn her. But it is important to remember the best gift a husband gives is that of his undying devotion.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
T
he rain turned to drizzle and the girls’ lips started turning blue. To combat the cold, they each tried to twist the water out of their clothes. Both agreed it was stupid to change into a fresh set, as it would just get wet again. Mia had not been able to get the blood out of her baggy top. The effects were less gruesome but still obvious. Between her clothes and Whitney’s black eye, it looked like the two had been fighting.
Both girls were on edge when Andrew reappeared. They whipped their heads toward him when he walked out of the small building. His hair was wet and slicked back. He looked as if he had showered and had a new set of clothes on, plain dark blue jeans that were a bit too big and a black T-shirt. He walked over to them as if nothing had happened.
“Did anyone see you?”
“No,” Mia answered. “We kept watch; nobody even came close to this place.”
“Did you move him?”
Mia nodded her head.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Whitney said.
“You’re both going to get sick if you don’t change.” Andrew ignored Whitney’s comment as he walked toward the cab of the truck.
“He did what he had to do. To protect
you,
” Mia said to Whitney. “You can’t think that the trucker’s life was more valuable than yours?”
Whitney nodded, but the look of concern stayed on her face. Mia felt for her friend. Whitney had been attacked, but she had lived. She needed to move on and forget the incident. Mia lightly squeezed her friend’s shoulder and walked toward Andrew, who was now in the front seat.
“Are we taking the ride?” Mia hoped she didn’t need to drag the body out. She was kicking herself for not throwing it in the field.
“No.” Andrew was flipping through the glove box and searching the rest of the cab. He pulled out a couple pieces of clothing and a small felt blanket from the sleeper section.
“What are you doing, then?” Mia asked.
“Trying to see what we can use.” Andrew stood on the seat and looked in the overhead storage space. “Do you have room in your bags?”
Mia nodded; she had space and assumed Whitney did, too.
“At least change your shirts.” Andrew tossed two shirts toward the girls. Mia thought these tops smelled worse than the bloodied fertilizer one she had on now. But they both put them on. Mia noticed Whitney had wrapped her chest down, making her figure less noticeable. Again she marveled at the resourcefulness of her friend. Lucky enough for Mia, she was not as well-endowed and didn’t have much cause for worry in that respect.
She looked at the gross blue shirt she’d pulled on. It had a picture of an eagle on it. Whitney now wore a black one that read
SIT ON IT
in red lettering. Mia found the saying weird and wondered what it meant.
Andrew jumped out of the cab, handed Mia a blanket to stuff in her bag, and threw a pair of shoes at Whitney.
“Stuff socks in there until they fit,” Andrew said. “Where is he?”
“We took care of it,” Mia said.
“The blanket and clothes are nice, but I was hoping to find his money. It might be in his pockets, so I need to see the body.”
Mia reached into her bag and pulled out the man’s wallet. She tossed it to Andrew, who removed the cash and threw the rest on the front seat. He counted the money without acknowledging Mia’s forethought. She was annoyed he hadn’t noticed.
“What happened to you?” Whitney asked. “You’re a thief now? Great, I’m with a killer and a thief!”
It was clear Whitney was on the verge of a panic attack. Mia knew she had to bring her friend back to reality, but she was running short on patience.
“Again, he was a bad person. Or would you have rather been assaulted? We are one step closer to finding your gorgeous husband who will love you and treat you right—or would you rather be the one in the body bag?” Mia stepped closer to Whitney and grabbed her arm. Mia could feel the intensity flowing out of herself. “We do what we have to.”
“And right now, we have to leave.” Andrew picked up his sack and started walking. Mia followed as Whitney gave in, slid her feet into the new shoes, and caught up.
He walked back toward the small building, right up to a glass case. Bracing his elbow, he smashed the case open and pulled a map off the wall. He glanced at it before folding it up and sliding it into his bag. The group walked, all spaced ten feet apart, down the ramp back toward the highway. Mia was shocked how close to the road they were. The terrain looked the same as it had near her home. She wondered where they were and what they were going to do next, but she was still confident in Andrew’s ability to lead.
To a certain extent, men are expected to govern themselves. This includes dispensing punishment to those who have wronged one. A victim always has the option of sentencing the perpetrator of the crime to private punishment.
—The Boy’s Guide to Service
P
atience was Grant’s key to winning. He believed everything he had accomplished was due to his ability to wait. But even he had a breaking point. Whenever he felt his tolerance being tested, he was likely to snap. David was the newest victim.
“You keep repeating yourself. You keep saying that there was nobody who could have helped her escape. Yet I know this isn’t true. So, either you are trying to protect someone or you are stupid. Which is it?”
Grant sat with his legs crossed as he questioned his father-in-law. He wiggled his foot back and forth to lessen the tension in the room.
David sat behind his mahogany desk. It was clear he had not been expecting Grant’s visit, as piles of money were laid out in front of him. Grant wondered if it was from Mia’s fee but doubted David would keep that much cash from a check. Plus, David would still have to give the government their 25 percent cut. He figured it was the farm’s earnings.
“Why are you speaking to me with such disrespect?” David asked. He sounded angry. “I know you are frustrated with the situation, but, as you pointed out, she is no longer my problem. I have told you everything I know. In fact, I’ve told you twice now.”
“I apologize. I mean you no disrespect, sir.” Grant placed a strong emphasis on his words. “But I am not getting through to you. We must find some way to make you understand.”
“I understand,” David said.
David continued to babble on but Grant was no longer listening. He pulled out his nine-millimeter and held it on his knee. This shut David up.
“Did you know people are less likely to fight back when someone pulls a knife on them instead of a gun? I always found this strange, because a gun can do so much more damage so much more quickly.”
David gulped as Grant rose and walked to the other side of the desk. He placed the gun against the back of David’s head.
“Now, let’s start again,” he said as he cocked the weapon.
“Nobody helped her. I swear. I don’t know anything,” David said. His voice was shaking.
Grant was getting frustrated with the situation. He moved his lips from a frown to a smile as he thought of what to do next.
“I could end your life right now, but I’m not going to. You know why? Because it would not benefit me. I would gain nothing by your death. However, I need to find something that will motivate you to talk to me.”
Grant lowered the gun so it was right next to David’s ear and fired down, straight into a small pile of money. Bits of green paper flew everywhere. David covered his ear and howled in pain. Grant wasn’t sure if he had nicked David’s leg or not, but he didn’t care. He fired two more quick shots into the piles.
“All you seem to care about is money. You sold your daughter, your own flesh and blood, without even utilizing the mandatory waiting period to check me out. You knew me less than a week before agreeing. I bet right now you still don’t even care about her.” Grant grinned as he walked back to the front of the desk. “Now, I’m going to give you about ten seconds to tell me who could have helped her before I fire again. Think hard.”
Fear coursed through David. As Grant counted down from ten, he raised his voice and pointed his gun toward the desk. If David hadn’t been shot yet, he was sure to take a bullet this time.
“
One!
” Grant cocked the gun.
“
A boy!
One of my workers, he left earlier in the night, around five o’clock!” David screamed. “I don’t think he had anything to do with it. He was dependable and he had no contact with her. It couldn’t be him.”
A cold smile crept across Grant’s face as he lowered his gun. He didn’t put it away yet. He wanted to make sure David didn’t feel safe. Grant didn’t want his well of information to dry up yet.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, tell me everything about this boy.” Grant sat back down and crossed his legs again.
The joy a bride feels is indescribable. She will earn the admiration of her family and the undying love of her husband. Her life has come full circle and she is capable of enjoying all the pleasures the world has to offer.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
M
ia wished she had a better understanding of travel and distance. It felt like they had been walking for miles, but she had no clue how far along they were. The trio was still spaced apart as they trudged through the corn rows. Andrew didn’t walk on the road, and both girls followed his lead. Mia wasn’t sure what the point of this move was, because she thought the shaking stalks drew more attention than just some random boys on the road would.
The rain stopped, but the sun never reappeared. Mia’s sweatpants started to dry a little but hung on her like extra weight. The moisture from the crops didn’t help the situation as she tried to fight off the shivers. When Andrew turned off the main highway, Mia felt hopeful that they might rest soon.
A sign directed them toward the town of Schuyler, two miles away. Mia thought of a task that might bring Whitney out of her slump.
“Math whiz?” Mia asked. “If we’re two miles away from a town, could you figure out how long it takes us to walk a mile?”
Mia wanted to distract her friend, but she was also curious about their speed. Whitney showed a slight smile and nodded her head. Mia was worried about her friend; her eyes still held a bit of terror. Mia just wished she would stop misdirecting it toward Andrew.
The rows of corn ended and Andrew began walking back toward a patch of trees. Mia sighed, as this meant it was time to rest, making her project for Whitney pointless. She made an apologetic face toward her, and Whitney nodded in understanding. Thunder sounded and the wind picked up, sending chills down Mia’s spine and reminding her of the need for rest. She hoped they would make it to the trees before the rain picked up again.
Just as they reached the sprawling branches of a group of maples, the rain came. While some drops made it through the leaves, they were safe from major rainfall. Mia dropped her sack and leaned against the tree. Whitney was running toward them, tripping in the rain. Mia didn’t realize she had fallen behind. She expected her to be angry, but instead Whitney looked tired and defeated as she peeled off her wet clothes, pulled out a blanket, and wrapped it around herself.
It was surprising to see Whitney so uninhibited. Mia couldn’t believe she would just undress in front of Andrew. Then Mia glanced around and noticed Andrew was nowhere in sight. She stood and started to circle the tree; he could not have gone far.
There were only about four or five trees grouped together. Endless cornfields loomed ahead. Andrew was walking between the maples, staring at the ground. He looked almost as if he was pacing. Mia thought he must still have been upset about the day’s activities. She wanted to comfort him and thank him but wasn’t sure he would appreciate the gesture. Then she noticed he was not just pacing. He was looking for sticks.
She turned back toward their packs and saw that Whitney was fast asleep, using her bag as a pillow. Mia picked up the strewn-about clothes and hung them up on low branches, hoping they would dry out. She lifted her pack and Andrew’s as well, trying to make sure they stayed out of the water. She wondered if Andrew had a blanket in his pack or if they would be forced to share the one Andrew had stolen for her. She felt herself blush at this idea; she didn’t know what was coming over her.