Page 35 of Under Fyre

Until you realize the light they drape themselves with isn’t sunshine, but the glare of an autopsy table lamp.

A whiff of formaldehyde teases my nose, but I ignore it and take a sip of beer.

I open my laptop.

Log into Milly’s account.

My stomach is tight with anticipation. Brent92 is no longer leaving me messages. I think he might have caught a scare, ghosted Milly, and gone on to different prey.

Yeah. No new messages.

Brent92 isn’t online.

I grimace, take another big swallow of beer. I go back to the friends list I’d accumulated and search for a profile as fake as mine.

A minute later, Brent92 comes online.

I open our chat, but I don’t write anything. Instead, I stare at my last message to him.

IS THAT OLD FASHOINED 2

I hadn’t seen the typo. Now I’m wondering if that’s what caught Brent92 off guard. I’m guessing most kids Milly’s age would be on their mobiles, all using autocorrect when they type. Is that what tipped—

SORRY HAD FAMILY SHIT 2 DEAL WITH

His message is a cold fist to my stomach. I take another sip of my beer before responding.

PARENTS SUCK

His message comes through almost immediately.

COFFEES GOOD

WHEN WHERE

I drum my fingers beside the laptop’s touchpad. Now it gets interesting. A big mall would be least suspicious, but that would make picking him out of the crowd near impossible. Something too remote, and I might scare him off. But before I can respond, he sends another message.

WE SHOULD TEXT FIRST

Shit.

I’d been trying to avoid moving this conversation to a mobile. It’s too easy for him to decide he wants to have a phone call or a video chat. And impossible for me to keep up the ruse.

PARENTS DONT LET ME TEXT

He responds with a lightning quick,

HOW WILL THEY KNOW

I close the laptop lid and drop my head into my hands, raking my fingers through my hair.

I need to handle this with care. It’s going to take me a few days to work out the specifics. I turn my head, looking into the hallway.

Do I dare wait, even though I have no idea when Charlotte will be ready? Or should I try something else, something more…drastic?

I’d had another plan before this one. I wasn’t just going toreadall of Peter’s notes to her.

Those things in the black Excite shopping bag…I bought them for a reason. Just in case my other methods failed.

---