Sentencing Sapphire (Sapphire Dubois: Book 3)

Chapter 13

"Corn dog?"

Sapphire shook her head and kept her eyes on Shelly as she ordered from the vendor.

Once the tears dried, Shelly seemed happy. She wasn't the same girl Sapphire had seen hiding her depressed face and disfigurement under an oversized hoodie after the rescue. She even waved bye to the vendor with her stump. Sapphire couldn't help but stare.

"What? Is it creeping you out?" Shelly made a motion with the stump, then took another bite of her corn dog.

"Oh, not at all. Sorry for staring."

"My dad got me this super fancy prosthetic, looks like the real deal, but you know what? I don't even use it." Shelly shrugged and pointed at her hand. "This is who I am, and if people don't like it, screw them."

Sapphire blinked in amazement. "I don't know if I could've handled everything as well as you have."

They squeezed through a line of excited children, then moved up to the ocean overlook.

"I wasn't handling it at all, for a long time," Shelly said. "I felt like I'd lost everything I liked about myself. I didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't talk to anyone. I just sat by my window every day wishing... I was dead."

"How did you get past it?"

Shelly looked to the ocean and the setting sun. "One morning, I woke up, and I felt okay, like I didn't want him to rob me of more life than he already had." Shelly shrugged and pulled up her stun gun. "The only thing I can't get rid of is the paranoia."

"I know the feeling."

"My family thinks I'm nuts though," Shelly laughed. "Ever since I came out of my depression, I've been running all over the place. I guess I'm trying to make up for the months I lost... Hey!" she squealed. "You wanna ride the Dead Drop with me?"

"Tempting, but I've gotta go."

"Okay." Shelly's face turned shy and she scratched her arm. "If... if you ever wanna grab a drink or something, find me online."

Sapphire smiled. "I'd like that."

She walked toward her car, then turned to see Shelly join up with her friends, smiling and laughing. She watched them for a while, beaming to herself. With everything on her horizon dark, Shelly's recovery was a nice, fat silver lining. She felt the guilt fall off of her.

A sharp ring tone cut through her joy and Sapphire raised the screen. Caller Unknown.

"Yes?"

Sapphire watched Shelly and her friends skip toward the Dead Drop with flailing arms as a woman's breathing filled her phone.

A quick bleep, then nothing. The Copycat was gone.

Sapphire exhaled and stared at her phone, back at square one. She had no idea where to start looking. All she knew was that with every minute that passed, time was running out for her best friend.

• • •

Go home and kill her.

"I promised," William tried to calm The Hunger. He sat on Sapphire's bed and stared at the framed pictures above her computer.

He had a feeling Sapphire hadn't put them up because she liked the people behind the glass, but because she wanted others to believe she did. The frames were decorated with hearts and unicorns. His daughter was not a hearts and unicorns girl.

Then prove me wrong.

William's jaw tensed as he took the Polaroid out of his pocket again. The man's face was pale and bluish and his shirt was caked in blood. The problem was his eyes; dead eyes did not sparkle.