drift off for a short time and experience terrible dreams. When I come to, I vow not to fall asleep again, but to stay awake and alert.
I glance over at Willow, despite not being able to see her. But I can sense her presence in the room. When Raisin removed my blindfold, I noticed that her face was bruised and bloodied. I have so many questions to ask her.
Raisin! I pray that Gil doesn’t get his hands on my little brother. I have no doubt that he’ll try to hurt Raisin if he catches him snooping around in this house. Why hasn’t he already killed us? He probably intends to. Maybe he’s trying to figure out a way to get rid of us, so that none of this will point to him. Otherwise, there’s no good reason why I’m still alive.
I was beginning to lose hope, until Raisin arrived. I don’t want him here, but there’s nothing I could have done to convince him to leave. Without Scout to watch over him, I worry more about his diabetes killing him than him getting found out by Gil. Hopefully, he’ll be able to find a phone and call for help.
ISLA
INSTINCT TOOK OVER, AND SHE RAN UPSTAIRS AND DOWN THE HALL until she came to what she believed was Willow’s room. Posters hung on the walls. Clothes lay strewn over the dresser and over the unmade bed. She searched around, not quite sure what to look for. Possibly a clue as to Raisin’s and Katie’s whereabouts.
She dumped the trash can over the desk, placed the can back on the floor, then hovered over the messy desk and rummaged through the trash, hoping to find something that might point her in the right direction.
“What are you doing?” Karl stood at the door.
“You have a search warrant, don’t you?”
“That doesn’t give us the right to trash the place.”
“I’m sure they have enough money to hire a maid.” She shuffled things around over the desk.
“Wouldn’t our time be better served searching for Katie and Raisin?”
“You were the one with the gut feeling.”
“Yes, but this?”
“It’s pitch black outside, and we have no clue as to where they are. Do you really think driving around town will get us any closer to finding them?” She pulled open the desk drawer.
“Better than staying here.”
She froze momentarily. “Oh my God!”
“What?”
“This.” She held up a pregnancy test. “Two lines.”
“What is it?”
“Willow is pregnant.” She opened the laptop on the girl’s desk, turned it on, and then opened a file. Hundreds of photos were saved in the file. She began to scan through them.
“Looks like she has had lots of suitors,” Karl said, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Julian and Dakota and some other boys I don’t recognize.”
“I really can’t look at these.” Karl walked away in disgust.
“She must be pretty insecure to have sent nude selfies of herself.”
“Maybe one of these boys is the baby’s father. Dakota? Julian?”
“It’s possible, but after the video we just watched, the truth may be more awful than we think.”
“That’s too sick to even consider.”
“Here’s a photo of her and some boy standing on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
“Can I see that?” Karl approached the desk again and gazed over her shoulder. “That’s him.”
“Who?”
“Jalen Stark. The LA boy who was found dead in his own home of a heroin overdose.”
“Maybe Willow is the one who killed him.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Isla ran out of the room and into another bedroom. It was tidy, with the bed made to perfection, hospital corners and not a wrinkle to be seen. The bedroom was the size of the main floor of her home. She searched around, looking for any clues that might help them.
Karl stepped into the room. “What are you looking for now?”
“Felicia’s laptop. These Briggses appear to be a photogenic bunch.” She opened a desk drawer. “Aha!” She pulled out a MacBook. “Maybe we can find out more.”
“What can it tell us?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” She turned on the computer and began searching.
“I can’t believe these people don’t use passwords,” he said, standing next to her.
“No one ever uses a password on their home computer. Do you?”
“I don’t even have a computer.”
“You don’t own a computer?” She found a bunch of photos.
“No need for one. I use the department’s whenever I have the need.”
“Felicia sure has a lot of pictures stored on here.” She clicked on photo after photo.
“Every single one of them is from when she was younger. Same guy appears