Page 81 of Bad Mother

“It appears so,” he muttered, using his hands to feel around the door. With a look of frustration, he dropped his arms. He stood there for a minute and then brought his foot up, kicking the door. It shook but didn’t give. He kicked at it several more times, yelling in frustration as the lock held soundly. He was breathing hard, his jaw clenching.“Fuck.”

“I found a box,” Mirabelle said from where she was standing at one of the counters against the wall.

She was holding a plain metal box with a key lock holding it closed. Mirabelle shook it gently, and whatever contents were inside slid from side to side.

Gavin took it from her and examined it, turning it upside down. “We don’t have time for stupid games. I’m going to smash this lock on the ground.”

Sienna put her hand on his forearm. “Wait, what if whatever’s inside is breakable or... gets ruined in some way?”

Gavin looked around. “Fine. Is there something we can use to pry this open?”

Sienna walked to one of the long counters and leaned over so she could see behind it. It was bolted to the wall.Great.

“I think it’s worth spending a few minutes looking for the key,” Mirabelle said. “If Danny locked us in this room, then the key’s here somewhere.”

Gavin stared at her for a moment, placing the box down on the counter.

“Tell me all of it, Mom, from the beginning, but fast. I need to understand what we’re dealing with.”

Mirabelle leaned back against the counter as though she needed it to hold her up. Maybe in some ways it was also a relief, to off-load the weight that had been resting on her shoulders for so long.

“Wait,” Sienna said. “Help me push that”—she pointed to a metal cabinet—“in front of the door we entered through. At least that way we know he can’t surprise us.” They could go back that way and stay in the large, open area, but that was where they were sitting ducks. He had the advantage of darkness and higher ground.

“Good idea.” She and Gavin first examined every side of the cabinet, opening the doors and running their hands over the inside, but there was nothing to find. They pushed the heavy object in front of the door and returned to Mirabelle. She took in what seemed to be a fortifying breath of air. “I met your father,” she began, “Roger Hastings, when he was sent by his family to open a new casino here in Reno. Long story short, he wooed me. I’d lost my parents young, was hungry for love, validation... stability, a family. Anyway, we married quickly. I was already pregnant with Danny. And things fell apart very soon after Roger fouled up the opening of the casino in every way possible. He hitme for the first time when Danny was four. That’s also when he began isolating me from my friends.”

“Reva Keeling, Bernadette Murray, and Harry Lockheed,” Sienna said quietly.

Mirabelle nodded, her eyes downcast. “Yes.”

“The... victims? The ones who were strangled?” Gavin gripped his hair, turning away and then back again. “Oh, Jesus.”

“Yes,” Mirabelle said.

Sienna thought of the letter she’d found in Mirabelle’s kitchen. He’d believed his mother had chosen them over him. “Do you think Roger spoke about them? Is that why Danny went after them too? I mean, we’re talking twenty-something years ago, Mirabelle.”

“I guess so. Roger was... very violent. Danny heard and saw everything. Roger accused me of choosing my friends over him and my children.” Her last words ended with a shuddery intake of breath as though she was trying desperately not to cry. Sienna could only imagine how hard this was for Mirabelle to reconcile. That a child she’d loved deeply—mourned—could become a killer.

Gavin’s expression was stony. But Sienna saw the pain in his eyes and the confusion. He didn’t know how to feel, and she didn’t blame him one bit. She didn’t either.

“The rest,” Gavin said, and though the words were demanding, his voice was laced with the same pain Sienna saw in his eyes. “What else do we need to know to get out of here?” Gavin picked up the box and began bending the lock back and forth. It wasn’t likely to work, but Sienna had a feeling he needed to occupy his hands in order to control his emotions.

Mirabelle sniffed back another sob. “That day, Roger played a sick game of hide-and-seek. He hit me. He threatened me. He made us run. I was standing between the two of you, and he made me choose.” Anguish altered her features before she again got hold of herself. “I chose you because you were too little to hide on your own.” She hungher head, and they gave her a minute to compose herself. That was why. That was why Danny had started shouting numbers as they hid. That was what Mirabelle had meant when she’d said he was re-creating that day. That day he’d never really moved past.

“I reported the abduction, of course, and the police issued an arrest warrant. The Amber Alert wasn’t even a thing back then.” She gave her head a small shake. “And I think because it was a parent abduction, the investigative motivation wasn’t quite the same as it would have been had a stranger taken Danny. Anyway, they searched for Roger for a while. But with all his connections, who knew where he might have gone and who could have helped him.”

Mirabelle took a staggered breath. “Anyway, everything was repossessed. The house, my car, all the furnishings. I was left penniless and still in fear for my life. I’d received several threatening notes from Roger, telling me he’d come and take Gavin too. I gave them to the police, but as far as I know, they simply filed them away. It was then I hired the PI with the very last of what I had, and only because I’d been able to sell a few pieces of jewelry Roger had given me in the beginning, but that ended up being fruitless too. No more notes arrived, and that was both a blessing and a curse because while I wasn’t being threatened, I had no proof that Roger hadn’t driven himself and Danny into a lake somewhere.” She offered a completely mirthless laugh, which ended in a terribly pained grimace. “The things I imagined... the scenarios that went through my head... it was hell on earth.”

And oh God, Mirabelle had no idea how horrific it had really been for Danny. Sienna’s heart broke to know that she’d find out if—no,when—they survived this; it would be inevitable.

“The police provided some protection for a short while, but that went away quickly too. And anyway, what they’d offered was so weak. And so I put myself into my own protection program. I changed my name. I never contacted anyone I had known in my previous life again. I didn’t change your first name, but you were so little. You weren’t evenin school yet.” Her eyes met Gavin’s. “I’d already lost one son; I could not lose two.”

Mirabelle looked down, exhausted. “I was always wary Roger was going to come after me and Gavin,” she said.

She’d protected Gavin by staying unattached with no driver’s license. Untraceable. Mirabelle hadn’t known that Roger had been dead for years. No longer posing a threat. It was all so heartbreaking.

“I searched for such a long time. Anywhere I knew Roger might go to earn money under the radar.”

“That’s why we moved around when I was young,” Gavin said, setting the unopened box back down on the counter. The lock would not be broken by mere twisting and turning and pulling. “To Las Vegas and then to Atlantic City and then back to Reno. All places where gambling was plentiful.”

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