Page 34 of Unhinged
Could Adam’s key be the key to his father’s storage unit? He filed that information away for later. “That sucks. It’s not fair, you know? My dad was a good man, dedicated his life to being an educator. I have nothing to remember him by. And the more I think about the person who killed him, the angrier I get, you know?” He threw a hand up in a frustrated gesture. “One minute, he was there, the next, gone. But it’s weird. So many of my memories of him are just…gone, too? Like he took them with him. I really don’t remember much of being a kid. That’s weird, right? I know my dad and I were close. Shouldn’t I remember more?”
Gary shifted in his seat. “Eh, everybody deals with shit different, you know? You and your dad were tight. He was a good guy. He really loved you.”
Yeah, too much,Noah thought, doing his best to control the shudder wanting to roll over him.
Gary was sweating now, tiny beads of perspiration forming over his lip and hairline. Flop sweat. He was lying through his yellowing teeth. “I sometimes remember little flashes, but I don’t even know if they’re real or, like…dreams. Did you and my dad ever take me fishing?”
Noah was really walking a fine line. If Gary put together Noah’s current line of questioning along with the broken picture of the cabin, there was a very good chance he would no longer think the broken frame was an accident.
But Gary just frowned like he couldn’t remember exactly. “Yeah, that sounds familiar. Your dad and I used to head out to my family’s old cabin in the woods. I think we brought you along once or twice.”
Once or twice. Noah’s stomach rolled at the confirmation. Deep down, he’d known he’d been in that cabin, had been molested in that cabin by his father and Gary. Maybe the details were fuzzy, but the nauseating way his stomach sloshed whenever thoughts of that cabin crossed his mind told Noah all he needed to know.
“We should go sometime,” Noah offered. “Like pour one out for my dad.”
Gary sat forward, steepling his hands on his desk. “I don’t have that cabin anymore. Sold it a long time ago to buy this place.”
He’s lying.Noah had no proof, just gut instinct, but something told him Gary was full of shit, that he definitely still owned that cabin in the woods. “That’s too bad.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I take my thirty now?” Noah asked, suddenly eager to get out of there and away from Gary’s bullshit.
“Yeah, kid. Go ahead.”
Noah made a beeline for the picnic table out back. Roxy—who was actually a forty-five year old single mom named Jeanette—sat smoking a cigarette beside Bailey, who laid out on the wooden bench. “You two shouldn’t be out here alone. Especially on a night with a featured dancer. It always brings out the real nut jobs.”
“What did Gary want?” Bailey asked.
“He’s still on his bullshit about his missing backpack. Apparently, Bianca is running her mouth again.” Noah sprawled across the top of the table, slipping his phone free and doing a double take. “What the fuck?” he muttered.
Bailey sat up at his confusion, snagging his phone, eyes immediately finding the source of Noah’s confusion before blowing wide. “Does your Instagram say you have ten thousand notifications? How often do you check this thing?”
Not that often. He’d only opened the account four months ago after Bailey whined about it for an hour. She’d wanted to tag him in a photo she’d taken. He had all of four pictures. Bailey didn’t ask permission before she opened the app. “Who’s Adam Mulvaney?”
“The model?” Jeanette asked.
Noah frowned. “You know him?”
Jeanette blew out a smoke ring, then waved it away. “I know of him. One of my gentleman friends is on some kind of foundation board with his father. People love to talk about the Mulvaney boys. All talented. All beautiful. All A names. Are you and him a thing?”
“According to Instagram, they are. You have, like, almost nine thousand new followers in a day.”
“It's no big deal,” Noah mumbled, trying to reach for his phone.
Bailey ducked him easily, holding it out of the way. “Oh, my God. This says you’re Adam Mulvaney’s boyfriend. That you were spotted having lunch together at Moe’s. Is that true?”
Noah’s eyes went wide. “Where does it say that?”
“Uh, TMZ, Business Insider, lots of places.”
Business Insider? Why? “How do people even know me? Adam literally only told them my first name.”
Bailey scoffed. “That’s all it takes. Between internet sleuths and Facebook’s auto-tagging, it's not that hard to find somebody on social media,” Bailey said before handing his phone back to him. “I can’t believe you’re dating Adam Mulvaney. Do you know how many of us work in this shithole hoping we’d all get that million dollar meal ticket?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Shut up. You love Leah. You wouldn’t leave her for a sugar daddy.”
Bailey sniffed. “Maybe not, but I might for an engagement ring and a billion dollars.
