American Bruja: The Los Angeles Cauldron

Chapter 40. Aislinn McBride

Journal entry from Wednesday, August 10, 2011

2:00 a.m. at the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Station

My nerve endings are on fire as I struggle to reconcile the Robert Franklin I knew during the summer of 1982 with the frail old man who was injured in the explosion at Stoner's Jump. My version of Robert is young, handsome, tanned, and toned. Part of me wants to deny they're the same person, but for his eyes.

Without warning, a memory surfaces. Our naked bodies intertwine in the master bedroom at Peppergate Ranch. As I cover Robert's face in kisses, I study every aspect of his unnaturally light blue eyes. I inhale his scent and pray we'll be like this forever.

"Mrs. McBride?"

A teenager's voice yanks me out of the summer of 1982. My eyes flick to the speaker, and find Jonah Abernathy perched on the arm of the couch where I'm sitting.

Inhaling deeply, I clear my mind and reorient myself to the present. I'm at the end of the couch furthest from the door of the police station lobby. By my side sits Amber. Her new friends Marisol, Noelle, Luis, and Seth fill up the rest of the couch. The Russian paces in front of us. Somehow, Maxsim Kisilev's suit is unblemished and his white shirt crisp and clean.

For a split-second I look for Robert, then remember the EMTs loading him into an ambulance. Before the medics shut the door, Dr. Morton jumped in the back. Her blonde hair shone silver under the moonlight.

Suddenly, another memory intrudes, of my first night back at Peppergate Ranch in 30 years, of an old man wheeled out on a gurney with a blonde woman glued to his side. My insides tighten with unease. What was Robert doing at Peppergate Ranch the day Christopher and Amber moved in?

A finger taps my shoulder. This time, I turn in response and come nose-to-nose with the Black teenager.

He leans to whisper in my ear, his voice breathy. "We were looking for snakes. You, your sister, and Max came along to make sure we didn't get hurt. Max was checking things out with binoculars when he saw lights at Stoner's Jump. When he zoomed in, he saw Manson's followers kidnapping Luis and Seth."

Jonah pauses, and a man's voice interrupts us. "Mrs. McBride."

I turn away from Jonah to find a middle-aged detective. He reeks of cigarette smoke, and his red blotches spot his pasty flesh. "I'm Detective Parker. We need to get your statement."

For the first time since leaving the cave at Stoner's Jump, I think about the man I stabbed. A flash of fear sends a painful tingling through my arms and legs. Panic sends my heart pounding until I remember Amber is the only one who knows.

Relief floods my body, and I tell myself, Act natural. You've nothing to hide.

Without a word to Jonah, I stand. The detective turns and walks toward a door on the opposite side of the room. As I follow, I notice I'm six inches taller than him. Part of me wants to look back at Amber to let her know, "I've got this," but I force myself to look at his thinning brown hair and a bald spot on the back of his head.

When we cross the room, the detective holds his ID towards a camera above the door. With a buzzing sound, the door swings open and we enter a short hallway with harsh fluorescent lights. A strong disinfectant smell hits my nose, and my eyes water. The door slams shut behind us as I note a closed metal door with a window at eye-level to my left, and an open metal door to my right. Through the window of the closed door, I see a metal table and two folding chairs.

When the detective reaches the open door, he turns and motions for me to enter.

I'm no stranger to interrogation rooms. The rule every addict learns if they're smart is, never talk to the police. So I stop at the entrance. "Am I being detained?"