Page 103 of The Last Session

“If Catherine’s too scared to leave during the day, what does that say about this place?” She stared down at her combat boots. “And Karen playing pretend… I don’t know. It all feels shady.”

“I know. But I don’t think it’s, like, dangerous.”

“Why not?”

I considered. “Catherine’s afraid to leave, but those car keys have just been sitting in the desk. She could’ve taken off at any time. She’s not locked in her room—there’s a lock on the inside. This place is cult-y, for sure. But I haven’t seen evidence of anything illegal.”

Mikki sat back and crossed her legs. “Remind me why Catherine was in your psych ward again?”

“She was catatonic. I think she had a psychotic break beforehand.”

“How did that happen?”

“Catherine said it’s because of the work they do—how intense it is. And I can see that. I just had one session and it was overwhelming.”

Mikki blew a white plume towards the window.

“Did you…” I started. “I mean, in your session, was that true?”

She stared at me. “No.”

“Oh.” I tried to chuckle. “You’re a good actor, then.”

“I do what I need to do to get the story.” Mikki jiggled the vape pen. “I was laid off from a media company six months ago. I’ve been eating through my savings. It’s not easy to be a journalist these days.”

“I can imagine,” I said.

“These companies are hiring fewer and fewer people full-time. So we all have to compete against each other for freelance stories. Most of them with shitty pay.” Her lips pursed. “I’m behind on my rent. New York is just so fucking expensive. My sister wants me to come to Atlanta. My mom and dad want me to move into their guest bedroom in St. Louis. But you know what that would feel like? It’d feel like a failure.”

“I get that,” I said, thinking of the sticker shock as I’d looked for apartments. And I had a full-time role with benefits.

“But you know what this is?” Mikki gestured around. “This is a capital-S story. A top-tier news source paid for me to come here. This reveal about Moon will be huge; people love a con artist. And I’ll make actual money. Get other assignments. This is everything, Thea.”

“I understand.”

“So if I have to pretend to be a sex and love addict, then that’s what I’ll do.” She smiled. “It’s not that far off, anyway.”

“Did you ask Moon about her fake accent?” I asked.

“No. Not yet.” Mikki sat up straight. “We just did more ‘work.’ They both pushed me to come back next month.”

“Oh, wow.”

“And I will, if I can get my editor to pay again.” She shrugged. “I’m starting to see that this story might be even bigger than we expected. Oh, I wanted to ask—do you think Catherine would speak to me? Once she’s out?”

“Maybe. I can give her your information.”

We traded phone numbers. Still no Wi-Fi, which meant I couldn’t even try to move my flight. I’d have to email Diane from the road as soon as I had service, letting her know I was calling out Monday. Hopefully, Catherine and I could find an early morning flight.

“Are you sure you want to stay?” Her gaze was like a laser beam. “This Wi-Fi situation is concerning.”

“I’ll be okay.” I held up my phone. “I can still reach emergency services.”

“All right. Well, I’m going to stop in Silver City for a few days.” Mikki stood, hands on hips. “See if I can talk to someone about the cave, maybe from the university. I also want to dig on Steven a little more.”

“Steven said he’s known Moon a long time.” I remembered from our brief conversation after he’d caught me in the junk room. “They were even living together in India for a while. If you find more info on him, maybe you’ll find out more about Moon.”

“Good idea.”

---