Page 30 of Monsters

“Carry on,” Kinross encouraged.

“It was a warning, knowing I had two detectives seeking me out and probing into a history I’d rather forget.”

“Because someone told you you should forget it?”

“Yes. But there’s more. Although I was keeping to my word, you kept turning up expecting answers. I could see how that may have looked to someone like Mason Carter.”

“And how exactly is that?”

“Like I have betrayed him and Lucas. And because of that betrayal, he’s trying to scare me into silence. Destroying an exhibit at my workplace, leaving me handwritten warnings, breaking into my apartment.”

“Breaking into your apartment?”

“Yes… well… nothing was broken or stolen, but I came home and my bouquet of roses I’d received for my birthday had the buds cleanly cut off leaving only the stems. The flowers were nowhere to be found. Before going to bed, I moved the bookshelf in front of the door. Then later, I woke to see Mason standing at the foot of my bed. He was there, I swear he was. In the dark, watching me sleep. He was holding a knife.”

“How do you know he was holding a knife?” Walsh asked.

“The blade glinted in the small amount of light coming through the window. It’s what caught my attention the most. When I reached over to turn the lamp on, he was gone. The only thing that remained was his cologne. It’s a very distinct scent. One that’s truly unique and specifically his.”

“What happened then?”

“I searched the apartment turning every light on as I went. Nothing was broken or removed, and Mason was nowhere to be seen. The bookshelf was still where I’d left it.”

“So, do you think you imagined him there? Maybe because he’s been weighing heavily on your mind.”

“It was a possibility and something I did consider at the time. That was until I went to wash my face and saw a message written on my mirror.”

Again, their eyebrows raised in question.

“It read ‘Little Wren.’”

“Little Wren?”

For the next twenty minutes, I filled them in on the first time at the cabin. They listened intently, exchanging surreptitious glances, lips pursed tightly together.

“Did you go to the same school?” Kinross asked.

“No, I went to an all-girls school while the boys went to a state school. We only saw each other afterward and on weekends. Holidays we’d always plan a new adventure. Sometimes Mason wasn’t home for weeks on end. When I’d ask Lucas, he’d tell me he was staying with his aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania. They were the best times, when Mason wasn’t around to intimidate us.”

“You more so than his brother?”

“Yes. Lucas had a backbone and would stand up for us both.”

“Hmm…” Walsh murmured, her index finger tapping her thin, dry lips in contemplation.

“At the moment, you could do with someone like Lucas on your side. Maybe if you could convince him to co-operate, we could locate Mason.”

My eyes widened with the suggestion. “Locate him? As in… you can’t track him down?”

“Ms. Sinclair, we’ve been searching for Mason’s whereabouts for weeks now. We paid Lucas a visit first, and the truth is, we think he tipped his brother off. Mason runs a trucking business in Baltimore. His fleet of vehicles run all across the country, yet no one can or will tell us where he’s been the last two weeks.”

“That was his dad’s business,” I mused to myself.

“We’ve visited his place of business a few times a week and nothing. No one is talking. Mason hasn’t used any of his bank cards, and we’re assuming he’s on a burner phone. His cell has had no incoming or outgoing calls in the last two weeks. He’s employed someone to take over the daily running of the fleet, so we don’t know if or when he’s planning on returning.”

“And let’s just say he doesn’t return and he knows we’ve spoken?”

Neither of them rushed into an answer.

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