Damien's moist, choppy breath spread against her neck.
Big, strong, powerful Damien Atherton was crying. He didn't cry. The Atherton's were a happy rich family and they didn't cry.
"No," Bailey whispered against his chest. "Don't cry, Damien."
"She's gone," he choked out.
Bailey dropped her arms to her sides, letting him pull her in tighter to his warmth. "No. She's not gone. You checked her bed right? She's just sick. It's cold, you should have a coat on," she whispered, raising her arms and rubbing her hands up and down his bare arms. Goose bumps ran down his tan arms.
"She's just sick, right Damien? Gwen's too strong for something like that to happen. I'll bet she's just taking a warm bath," Bailey said, letting out a laugh. She jerked away, her eyes wide with hope. "That's it! You just didn't check." Bailey shook her head at him with disapproval. "Damien, she's just in her bathroom!"
Bailey chuckled and ran to the side of the house, by-passing the yellow tape.
"No, Bailey..." she heard Damien's voice, but ignored it.
It was like a flower blossoming in her chest. They were all so stupid because the reality of the situation was that Gwen was sick and taking a bath... to clear her sinuses. Warm baths were always the cure for any type of sickness.
Bailey galloped up the spiral stairs towards Gwen's room. She entered without knocking and shifted through the mess, wondering if the Atherton's should have the cleaning lady come to help their daughter out. She shook her head.
"That's ridiculous, I can just do it. Gwen, only because you're sick will I be willing to clean your room for you," she called, lifting a wrinkled red top from the floor and tossing it into the laundry basket. "You know everyone's so worried about you. Even the cops are here! You've got to stop wearing headphones in there!"
"Bailey."
It was a soft whisper, a female whisper.
"Gwen?" Bailey stopped and turned towards the voice that sounded so much like Gwen.
Mrs. Atherton could've been Gwen's twin sister minus the shocking red hair. Mrs. Atherton would never dye her luxurious black locks. Bailey cleared her throat, hope clenching her heart like a fist. She bowed her head, scrubbing her damp cheeks before she bent to pick up some more clothes. "You guys are really stupid you know. She's just in the bathroom. She takes baths with her headphones on and-"
Bailey stopped again as she watched Damien walk in, her eyes wide as she followed his movements. When he walked past her, her eyes drifted shut and she inhaled his ocean cologne, letting it calm her. Bailey heard the sound of the bathroom door creak open.
she thought, but turned anyway. It was dirty, but empty.
"We've looked everywhere, Bails," Damien whispered. "We've been looking since midnight last night. The cops have been here since then. Our house has been blocked off for hours. She's --"
Bailey shook her head, dropping the hoodie she'd picked up, and walking over to Gwen's rumbled bed. "I'm tired," she whispered. "Just tell Gwen I don't want to go to school today okay? Okay, Mom?"
Gale gasped, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry about this! Bailey, come on honey, the Atherton's don't need this right now."
Bailey watched as Mrs. Atherton placed a hand on Gale's shoulder and shook her head. When Mrs. Atherton walked towards the bed Bailey thought she was about to get kicked out. She'd called them stupid... and on such a day.
gone
The cry that escaped Bailey's mouth even startled her and finally the tears flowed freely. She hardly ever cried. It was like a waterfall. A years' worth of tears. Loud. Gut wrenching. Painful. Sobs had never hurt so much.
Mrs. Atherton fell to her knees and clutched Bailey's hand, her hand dropping to the bed.
Damien settled behind Bailey, folding his arm around her middle. His fingers tickled down Bailey's forearm as he gripped both Bailey and Mrs. Atherton's clutched hands. Huddled together in Gwen's bed, the three cried.
Later, Sheriff Lambert called everyone down to the Atherton's living room. Bailey briefly remembered him running fingers through her hair and rubbing her lower back as she hiccupped continuously, before pushing her to sit down. The tears were now flowing as she sat next to Damien, clutching his hand hard, no doubt cutting his circulation, as Sheriff Lambert tried to explain the situation to everyone.
"There's not much to go on..."
Bailey zoned in and out, catching snippets of his explanation, fighting with herself to pay attention. It was almost no use.
"The drops of blood... the Ginger Ale can... torn curtains... indication... small struggle."
It was the last two words that caught her attention. That tiny jolt back to reality was jarring.
A struggleBailey whispered softly, shaking her head in denial. "No. I mean – no, if you knew her then you'd know. Gwen didn't know the meaning of the word 'small'."
"Bailey," Sherriff Lambert started.
She shook her head and stood to her feet, pointing her finger. "No. You listen to me! She must have known him or was seriously wrong. There would've been more mess, more blood, more struggle..."
Sheriff Lambert stiffened and turned to look at her. "Kids and their detective shows..." he mumbled before responding again. "Why do you say that? Maybe he just caught her by surprise."
It was Damien that answered."Bailey's right. Gwen doesn't do . If she was in danger she would have fought. She would've fought hard."
"Not with a weapon to her neck," Sheriff Lambert spoke gently, his eyes darting to the Atherton's. He winced when Mrs. Atherton gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "I apologize, Ma'am, This conversation is going somewhere I don't want it to go."
Bailey shook her head. "Maybe he was threatening her with something important."
"Her life, Bailey," Sheriff Lambert said looking a little angry that she wouldn't let it go.
"No! She would've rather than go with him."
"You can't know how someone would react in a situation like that, Bailey. Now," he paused, letting everyone know the topic was going to change, "we think she was taken around seven or eight o'clock. Bailey, I know it's hard, but you were the last one to see Gwen. I need you tell me what happened."
So she told them. Everything she could remember, up to the point when Gwen refused to answer the door.
Sheriff Lambert scowled, apparently not getting anything he could work with. "Are you sure? Bailey, anything, no matter how small..."
Bailey shook her head. "That's it. I mean that's all..." and then she remembered the noise. It was like a light bulb exploding in her head. She felt lost that tiny muffled noise from before echoed in her mind. "I-I heard a crash."
Sheriff Lambert stared at Bailey, looking alert as he picked up on the significance of that information. "A crash?" he prompted, wanting her to continue.
Bailey's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "I-I was there," she whispered, slapping a hand over her hammering heart. She turned to look at Damien and his equally horrified expression let her know he understood too. "Oh God, I heard a crash at the window. Not really a crash, but a grunt, like-like-" Bailey gasped and her hand slipped up to clutch her throat. "Like she was shoved up against it." She swallowed repeatedly before glancing up at Sheriff Lambert.
Sheriff Lambert's intense blue eyes focused on Bailey and the knowing look in them made her sick. "Don't jump to conclusions," he warned.
Bailey sniffed and collapsed back onto the couch. "It's my fault. I could've stopped it. let her get taken."
Sheriff Lambert's expression softened and he kneeled down in front of her, his gloved hand reaching up to cup the side of her face. His thumb swiped at the wet mess on her cheeks. "It was not your fault..." he cocked his head to the side and cleared his throat before continuing. "It wasn't anyone's fault, it was a choice."
"What?" Bailey whispered. "A choice? Who would choose something like that?"
Damien jerked at Bailey's shoulders, accidentally pulling her from Sheriff Lambert. She cringed as her chin dislodged from his grip. Damien forced Bailey to stare at him, shaking her shoulders to get her attention. "It is definitely not your fault," Damien ground out, before pulling her into his arms for a quick, tight hug. He pulled away too soon for Bailey and looked up to the Sheriff. "Why didn't she scream? She must've heard Bailey calling to her."
Bailey turned to look up at him, slightly surprised that he was glaring at Damien.
When Sheriff Lambert spoke it was through clenched teeth. "Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals... speak on every subject... then tie him up, and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day, you will finally meet the man." He stopped, his gaze traveling down to the floor. His shoulders lifted in a shrug and he turned away from them. "In this case, you will finally meet the woman."
"What?" Damien asked startled.
Sheriff Lambert turned back towards Damien, his upper lip lifting in a sneer. "Xiang Yu," he cleared his throat, but quickly continued. "The killer used Gwen's love for Bailey against her." He turned to Bailey, his eyes focusing intently on her face. "She didn't cave."
Bailey nodded. Gwen couldn't. She wouldn't.
Sheriff Lambert dropped his hands to his hips and rocked back on his heels. "I know it doesn't help the situation and it definitely won't make anything better," he said, this time addressing the Atherton's, "but you should be very proud of Gwen. Your daughter is very brave. If I'm right, and I usually am, she saved Bailey's life."
Gale, who'd been beside Mr. and Mrs. Atherton, side-stepped the couple and rounded on the Sheriff. Her face red with misdirected anger. "What do you mean by that?"
Sheriff Lambert took a few steps back from Gale and heaved a sigh before he continued. "If Gwen had screamed he would've tried to take them both and if he couldn't do that, he would've killed them both."
Gale gasped and manicured hand slapping over her mouth, but it was Damien that shouted, "Holy shit!"
Damien uttered the two words with so much force that Bailey blinked with surprise, but quickly shook it clear.
Bailey flinched and dropped her head into her hands. The sickening sweet smell of pine and woods almost made her gag, but it was all wrong. Damien smelled like the ocean, not pine.
"Bailey? Are you okay, baby?" Gale's cold hand against her forehead barely registered.
"I never said that," Bailey mumbled.
"He knew us. H-he knew how to get in. He knew everything." Bailey whispered, the image of the ski-masked man coming in poolside burned into her retinas.
"Why do you come back to that?" the Sheriff wondered out loud.
"He knew about our friendship." Bailey sniffled, the realization making her sick. "He knew us, more importantly he about search party. He knew exactly when and where to come... right at curfew. He came in from the back pool door."
The Sheriff's eyes widened and he nodded. "That's possible."
Bailey knew it. The killer not only knew them, maybe personally, but he probably lived in Haven. It wasn't the pang in her gut she got when she thought about it; it was the feeling of Gwen nearby. Bailey could feel her with every fiber of her being and she knew Gwen was still in town, . She only prayed the police found her in time.
She lifted her gaze and focused on the torn dark blue curtain. "Sheriff Lambert, do you believe in soul mates?"
Sheriff Lambert lifted a charcoal eyebrow. "Are you saying you and Gwen were lovers?"
Bailey gave a slightly delirious chuckle, glancing briefly over at Damien. "No, no sir. We are both fully invested into boys' town, but it's like we were to know each other, meant to be friends. From the very beginning." Bailey knew she was rambling now, but she couldn't help it. "I remember the first day I met her. It was like I was being to her, like a magnet." Bailey paused, feeling the wetness on her face drying to a dull burn, and glanced at her mother. "Momma, she's still here. She's still in town."
Gale's face drained of color. Her watering gaze shifted away from Bailey's and her arms wrapped around her stomach, biting her lip.
Sheriff Lambert shook his head. "No, I'm sure she's long gone from Haven..."
Bailey shifted her wide eyes towards Sheriff Lambert and shook her head. "She is in this town. You need to search everyone's home. Don't let leave. She's definitely here."