Cogent

TWO

6:47 p.m.

Noah watched from the side of Lenny's house as Carter crossed the street to a black Subaru. The tall, middle-aged man pulled a set of keys from his coat pocket and unlocked the driver side door before lowering himself heavily into the front seat. Noah knew Carter only by the pictures scattered around Lenny's house. They had never actually met before and now...they probably never would.

Grunting quietly, Noah pushed his back against the tall wooden fence surrounding Lenny's house. He shifted his weight, his sneakers sinking deeper into the wet garden moss. Two fat bushes concealed his hiding place. The dense foliage of the shrub's branches partially obscured his view of the Subaru, but he was still able to watch Carter pull away from the sidewalk and drive down the street.

There was a grim expression set on Carter's face as he smoothly turned the steering wheel. Noah watched him pass, his eyes narrowed against the rain. Neither the gray beanie nor the hooded sweatshirt he wore over it did anything to stop the thick droplets of rain from running down his face. Sniffing, he rubbed his nose on his sleeve and glanced in the direction of the front door before he stood up. He didn't need to hide now that Carter was gone. Everyone else was still in the house, policing the scene.

            Stepping out from behind the bushes, Noah ducked his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, hopping over the large rocks that lined the bed of moss which paralleled either side of the front walk. He felt his heart start pounding as he moved out into the open, crossing the wet, grassy yard toward the sidewalk.

There were three police cars parked in front of the house, along with Lenny's car and a gray van. Thankfully, everyone had moved inside because of the rain, giving Noah the chance to get away from the house without being seen.

            When he reached the sidewalk, Noah broke into a run, heading toward the train tracks about half a mile down the road. It was getting dark out, but that's not why he ran. He didn't mind the dark. He just wanted to get away.

            His run slowed to a walk when he turned the corner, finally out of view of Lenny's house. Breath came in sharp bursts, mostly because of the cold. After his stepfather's semi-truck crunched his bike, Noah had learned to get along on foot. He was used to running long distances. He had strong lungs, but he had never liked the cold much. It made his chest hurt and stung his eyes until they started to leak.

            Reaching up, Noah pulled his hood further down his face. A car drove up behind him, shining it's blue, LED headlights in his direction. He watched it pass with his peripheral vision, his whole body tense. He'd never seen it before, and the windows were too dark to see the driver. As it continued down the road, Noah released a pent-up breath. There was no reason for them to stop. He wasn't doing anything suspicious—just walking. He shouldn't have been worried, but he couldn't help feeling nervous. This wasn't his neighborhood. He didn't belong here. He knew it, and it felt as though everyone else did too.

            When he reached the tracks, Noah stopped and checked the bottom of his left sneaker, using his finger to dislodge a rock from the treads. He held the stone in his hand for a minute before he realized it wasn't a rock. It had been drilled right through the center and fitted with a wire, like some sort of pendant. The blue stone was small, barely the size of the tip of his finger. It was bright blue with mottled swirls of green. Turquoise, he realized.

            Noah felt something bitter crawl up his throat as he recognized what he held in his hand. It was from Lenny's necklace—the one that she always wore. He'd seen it the last time they spoke. The chain must have broken when...

            Noah doubled over as his stomach heaved. Clenching his jaw, he squeezed his eyes shut. The stone was clenched in his hand as he wrapped his arms around himself, stomach twisting painfully. He started to get dizzy.