Daddy Dearest

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ben

I had no choice but to send her home with the Chambers kid because no matter how much I disliked the little prick, I couldn't deny that he genuinely cared for Melody. Oddly enough, if there was one person I could leave Melody to and feel she would be in good hands, it would be Chambers because he reminded me so much of me when I was a lad. Passionate, devoted, loyal, honorable.

I really hate that smug little shit.

Tracy bagged up the creepy little doll made up to look like Melody that had a dagger through its heart and placed a sister by the locker to monitor any suspicious activity. Afterward, she and I went to Waverly's office with grim faces and heavy hearts.

Tracy tossed the doll on Waverly's desk. "Melody says the doll is wearing a dress similar to the one she purchased at the mall three days ago."

My wife put on her glasses before poking the doll with her biro. "That's eerily similar. My God, it looks like a voodoo doll." She stared up at me. "Whoever is doing this saw us at the mall."

I frowned, disturbed by the idea of anyone following Melody around. "Did she post a selfie on a social media account or anything?"

"I don't think Melody is as active on social media as Lottie is. She doesn't really like to have her picture taken," my wife said with an ironic twist to her mouth. "The only people who saw her in that dress are Lottie, Chambers, and me."

I raised my eyebrows. "Chambers? What was he doing there?"

"He was shopping with his mum. He saw Lottie and me and came by to say hello while Melody was in the dressing room. He saw Melody's dress and paid for it before leaving with his mum."

"Paid for it?" Tracy Huerta repeated. "And you saw his mother?"

The tops of my wife's ears turned red. "The dress was rather costly, and Melody really wanted it. Nancy would have gotten upset if she'd bought it. So Alex bought it for her."

"That's nice of him," Tracy said. "How much was it?"

Waverly looked at me, then back at Tracy before sighing. "A lot."

I folded my arms across my chest and stared at my wife. "How much was the dress?"

Waverly bit her lower lip as she met my gaze. "Seventy-five hundred dollars."

"What?" Tracy exclaimed. "I bought my homecoming dress at the Goodwill for ten dollars, had that shit dry-cleaned for fifteen, and I was all set."

Waverly gave her a wry look. "Melody Plum is worth sixty million dollars. Alex's paternal grandfather is a billionaire. Seventy-five hundred is chump change."

"That wanker drives a Maserati GranTurismo," I grumbled, taking the seat in front of Waverly's desk.

Tracy snorted. "Don't get me started. I drove my dad's El Camino for ten years, which itself was a hand-me-down from my older brother."

I smirked. "These fucking kids, man."

"All right, you old farts. Let's concentrate on the matter at hand, shall we?" Waverly banged the table. "Tracy, did we catch anything on camera this time?"

"Yes, we did," Tracy said with a frown. "But the fucker was wearing a hoodie and a Michael Myers mask. Creepy as hell."

Waverly's eyebrows knotted together in a frown. "Who is Michael Myers?"

Even though she has a horror movie geek for a son, my wife isn't a fan. "Michael Myers is the killer of the Halloween movies originated by John Carpenter."