Burn the Evidence #ONC2023

14| oh, wait, so i was right?

AFTER TALKING IT over during the ride to my place, Luke and I decided not to jump to conclusions.

Even though Kamron was married to a gorgeous, kind woman. Even though he had an incriminating photograph hiding out in his office.

Maybe he was just another stepping stone on our way to find the kidnapper.

In any case, I needed to go home for a second, to check in with my parents and talk to them about everything that was going on. They needed to know I was safe, and I needed a nap. Luke would pick me up later to go confront Kamron.

"Bye," I whispered, closing the door to Luke's truck behind me.

"Wait," Luke said, jumping out of the driver's side. "I just wanted you to know,"—he was suddenly bashful—"I broke it off with Emma. That's why she left the other night."

"Oh," I spoke, not knowing how to respond. "Are you okay?"

Luke scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I realized I didn't care for her like that anymore."

I nodded, something like hope fluttering around in my stomach. "Well then, good for you. I'll see you later?"

Luke nodded, swallowed, and got back into the truck. I watched his back out of my driveway before turning and walking up the path to the back door.

"Hey, sweetie," my dad called from the other room. "Is everything alright? Where were you last night?"

Ah. Here we go. The questions.

"I had to go and clear my head on... a drive. I went on a drive."

"Oh, okay. As long as you followed-"

"All the speed laws, yes Dad, I did." I roll my eyes but smile at the familiar line of questioning.

"Anyways, did Kamron ever text you? He asked me for your number so he could ask about the color pallette for the shed because you weren't home when he wanted to look at paint strips."

I stop dead in my tracks, and I'm sure all of the blood left my face.

"No," I said, slowly, as if I had heard correctly. "He never texted me."

I turned around to face my dad, shock nearly paralyzing me.

"That's odd. He said he knew you did a lot of design so he wanted your opinion." My dad looks charmingly confused, like he hasn't caught up.

The world has skidded to a stop. The clouds weren't blowing through the sky, the sun stopped moving, birds stopped singing, the temperature dropped and I was suddenly cold.

My teeth chattering, a very distinct terror traveled through my body.

My hands were shaking. Had they always done that? My vision was getting a little cloudy... it must be foggy in this room.

And suddenly... Suddenly the ground is right in front of my eyes and I realize I'm face down in the carpet of the living room and my dad's hand is on my back but my brain can't stop going going going.

He has my number?

He saw the murder board. He saw how much I knew, how many people I could tell were involved. He had access to my house when I wasn't home because of his friendship with my dad. He had multiple opportunities to see how much progress I made on the investigation. He could follow my car, and I wouldn't have noticed.

He probably knew everything, and knew Luke and I hadn't given up.

Which means he had Mel. That asshole had Mel and had the audacity to pursue me after I blocked him the first time and kidnap my friend to prove a point.