Broken Silence Read online

  I pulled the key out of my pocket and slipped out of the car. I unlocked the double wide unit and raised the large door. I took a deep breath and looked around. A tear made it’s way down my cheek as I took in the familiar furniture and pictures. I refused to go through it, so everything that wasn’t covered in blood got moved in here. I planned on fully going through it all once I moved out on my own.

  I waded through the stacks of furniture and boxes. I searched through it all and pulled out anything that said office on it. I brought it to the front of the unit to look at in better lighting when I was done.

  After we pulled out at least six boxes of papers and books we reached the end of the office boxes. I started going through them one by one. It was tedious work, but I was determined. After a while I finally felt like I found something. I hurried over to Sophia.

  I tapped her shoulder to get her attention. I pointed to a print out of an email that was tucked into one of dad’s planners. It was from him to another coworker stating the founder of his research company was channeling funds from their donations into another account. He didn’t think it was innocent. It was definitely something that could have gotten dad into trouble if they found out. I handed it to Sophia as I continued to search. There is no way they would kill my family over transfers, though.

  “Oh my.” She whispered. She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. “I need to speak to Detective Flynn please.” She paused, waiting. “Hi, this is Sophia. Charlotte found some information that we think may be needed for the case. Can you send someone over to the storage yard to pick it up?” She gave him the address and ended the call.

  I figured I may as well keep looking until they arrived. In the next box I found another paper, tucked away in a favorite book of his. This one wasn’t an email, but an account print off of the transfers he talked about. It mentioned the transfer being linked to s.h.r.p. I don’t remember dad ever mentioning anything like that when he talked about his work. The most recent conversations about his work was some recent advances with the research teams.

  His company worked on medical research for conditions that could be improved with cell regeneration. They hoped to find a way to improve the bodies natural regeneration to essentially help cure itself. Something like that would take years to achieve, but my dad was hopeful and proud that he could contribute in some small way.

  I wasn’t surprised with the fact he was looking into this. Their company was run on donations and he took it very seriously. Growing up we had to attend banquets and fund raising events every year. Even if he stumbled upon something like this, he would have made sure that nothing would jeopardize their work.

  I set it on the top of the boxes with the other paper I found, and continued to go through any other books to look for any clues. The only other one I found was a handwritten note that had Shrp at the top and listed a few names with question marks. I guess dad suspected a few people were involved.

  I knew this was a huge step in finding the murderers. They had dismissed it as a burglary gone wrong. The only thing they ever found missing was his work laptop. Now it made sense why they had taken it in the first place. The email must have been flagged by whoever was responsible for the funds. Though it’s never as easy as one person. Now they might actually look into their bosses and work network. I made sure to take off the extra storage unit key to give to Detective Flynn.

  I heard the crunch of tires on gravel approaching. I picked up the few papers I had found and kept the key in my hand as I waited for Detective Flynn. My heart rate picked up as he walked closer. I could feel flashbacks pushing to the surface. I closed my eyes and took deep a few deep breaths to get the images to go back into the recesses of my mind they came from. I opened my eyes and he gave me a sympathetic smile.

  “Probably not happy to see me.” He said in a light voice. I gave a shrug and a small smile. I handed him the papers and pulled out my phone. ‘I found these in between books, we have all of the office boxes we found set aside. I have an extra key to the storage units for you, just please be careful, this stuff is all I have left of them.’ I handed it to Flynn to read over. He gave me an impressed look. “Thanks, kid. I will personally see to any searches of the unit. These papers are a huge step, I’ve never even heard of this S.h.r.p. and I promise I will put everything I am into closing this case for you.” He met my gaze with a determined one of his own. I gave him a thankful smile.

  I took one last glance around at the furniture and personal items. I could just imagine dad sitting in his favorite chair, my brother doing homework on the old comfy couch in the den, or mom putting makeup on in front of her vanity mirror. I wiped away a tear and turned away. It’s hard to comprehend how a lifetime of love and happiness can be reduced to stacks of furniture, personal effects and one broken girl.

  Sophia gave me a reassuring hug and led me to the car. We pulled away from the unit and I tried to fight the numbness threatening to overtake me again. Just when I think I’m moving past the numb, the world reminds me why I closed myself off and didn’t dare speak.

  “Let’s go home, Charlie. It’s in their hands now.” Sophia said with a reassuring smile. I lost myself in my memories as she drove us home to Arcadia Hills.

  Chapter 8

  “You are going to be amazing, Charlie girl.” Cole gave me his last bit of encouragement as we walked out of the instrument room to perform our song in front of the class. Mr. Hill had moved the piano and violin into the main classroom. It was the first time I had done any sort of performance and I was practically bouncing on my feet with anxiety.

  Cole situated himself at the piano and I sat in my stool with the violin. We started playing Don’t stop believin’ by Journey. I saw the smiles on some of the students faces as the recognized the song. I went into my music trance and tuned out the rest of the world except the sound of the piano and my violin. It sounded really different and awesome being played this way. We finished the last few notes and the classroom burst into applause.

  “Fantastic work!” Mr. Hill praised as he ushered us back to our seats. We listened to the other group who did a classical piece. It was really well practiced. They also got applause, though not as enthusiastically as we did. It was the perfect end of the semester before break.

  “What should we do during break?” Cole asked as he held my hand. I mimed sleep and he laughed. “That does sound nice, but not very exciting.” He joked.

  “Really Cole? You are with the mute?” Jessica’s awful high pitched voice practically screeched. I rolled my eyes and kept walking but Cole stopped. He did a slow turn and glared at her.

  “She is beautiful and twice as genuine as you could even dream of being. And yes Jessica, she’s my girlfriend now. Don’t be jealous that I wouldn’t give you a chance and Adam didn’t want you anymore.” His voice was icy and low. I was thankful I wasn’t in her shoes. I gave a smug smile as he turned back around to me. “Ready, beautiful?” He asked as he led me away. I took my hand out of his and leaned my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me outside.

  I pulled out my phone so I could type for him. ‘Want to ride with me and Sophia? We can head over to the coffee shop or something?’ I turned my screen around for him to read.

  “Sounds good.” He said with his signature half grin. When Sophia pulled up I gestured to Cole and she smiled and waved him in. We were about halfway home when Cole spoke up to save me from typing out a message.

  “She wants to go grab a coffee and I want to hit up the music store, is that cool?” He asked Sophia. Her smile grew bigger and she winked at me.

  “That’s fine. I have a lot of work to do tonight anyway, You can watch a movie and order in dinner if you want.” She suggested. Though I had my suspicions she was suggesting it so she could keep an eye on us.

  Cole and I stopped at the record store first. I added a few CDs to my collection. Cole pointed out one of his favorite bands so I grabbed it as well. I loved listening to new bands, so I wo
uld take any suggestions he had. We quickly checked out and went to get our coffee.

  Cole already knew my coffee order, so when he went inside I snagged us a table on the patio. The line inside was pretty busy, but the streets were pretty quiet still. It was too early for the dinner crowd, so we would get to enjoy that peaceful time of the day in between.

  I was still waiting for Cole when I noticed a familiar, surly man walking down the sidewalk at me. The moment it clicked in my head who he was, my blood ran cold. I didn’t think I would make it to the door in time, but I tried. The man grabbed my arm in a crushing grip. I whimpered in pain.

  “I’ve got a gun, you know I will use it without hesitation.” He whispered in a threatening voice. He started to drag me down the alley and I looked around in desperation. The man wasn’t stupid and took his chance when there weren’t any people nearby. As soon as we rounded the corner he stepped past the dumpster and slammed me against the wall. He had me pinned in a strong grip and moved his face just inches from mine.

  “So I just heard that your family’s murder case is open. I thought I could let you live, but clearly that was a mistake. Now you are going to come with me, without a fight.” His voice was low and menacing, sending shivers down my spine.

  I knew that it was now or never, and I was at a point in my life that I no longer wished I could join my family. I took a deep and shaky breath. I had one shot at this, since he didn’t think I could talk. The thought that he had to have been stalking and waiting for me scared me. I took another lungful of air before screaming. “COLE!” My voice was awful and raspy, but in my desperation I managed a loud enough volume to be heard.

  I heard the pounding of footsteps coming towards the alley as the man snarled and jerked me away from the wall. He started to try and run with me, but I managed to throw an elbow and struggle. He fumbled for his gun, but the fight never left me. My main thought was that I couldn’t let Cole get hurt. Cole reached us and slammed his fist into the man’s face.

  “Go before you get yourself killed too, kid.” He growled at Cole. Cole let go and grabbed a chunk of loose asphalt. He smashed the man in the head hard enough for him to drop his grip. Seeing a good opportunity I went limp with all of my bodyweight, causing him to drop my arm. Cole grabbed my hand and we both took off running. I could hear the man cursing behind us. Thankfully we weren’t far from the entrance. I could hear a gunshot as soon as we reached the corner.

  “If you get away this time, I will find you. You will never be safe you stupid girl. You should have been shot the night they put bullets in your family. You were stupid enough to go snooping. The boss didn’t like being questioned and he knew it had to be from you. The cops knew too much for it to be random.” He yelled after us and a few seconds later I heard the squeal of tires as he reached his car and sped off. I tried to turn to see the vehicle but I didn’t get a good look. It just looked like a red blur.

  Cole pulled us into the music store and checked me for injuries. I had bruises already forming on my upper arms from the man’s grip.

  “Call the cops, she almost got kidnapped in the alley.” Cole yelled at the worker. He looked shocked and quickly made the call.

  Me: Sophia. Music shop now. They almost got me, Cole stopped them. The same people who killed my family.

  She didn’t respond, but I knew she wouldn’t. She would just grab her keys and drive. Cole couldn’t stop looking at me, so I gathered up what courage I had left and looked into his eyes.

  “I’m fine.” I managed to croak out. The sound of my voice made me wince. My once smooth voice was reduced to a raspy mess. His mouth fell open in shock. I never wanted Cole to hear it.

  “Did he damage your vocal chords worse then they were?” He looked concerned once he got over his initial shock. I shook my head no. I wanted to get this over with before as soon as possible. The door to the record store opened and two detectives walked in. Sophia was on their heels within seconds.

  “You were almost abducted?” The male officer turned to me. I nodded. Cole thankfully jumped in to explain that the man dragged me into the alley. “Check the alley, and there should be a bullet somewhere.” The officer said into his radio.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” He asked and I turned to Sophia. She stepped up to the officer.

  “She can’t speak, she will need to do a written statement.” She was talking to him, but facing me and inspecting me. She noticed the bruising. “It looks like he grabbed her arms pretty tight. Do you need to see a doctor Charlie?” I shook my head no and she led me outside. I noticed that they already had officer’s checking out the alley.

  Cole called his mom on the way to the station. As soon as we got there they separated Cole to wait for his mom. The detectives had me write down the details of what happened. I mentioned the blur of a red vehicle and wrote down every detail I could think of. Cole had to do a separate statement as well. We each had to work with a sketch artist as well.

  “Don’t walk alone anywhere or linger outside. I doubt that will be the last of them.” He lectured me. He turned his attention to Sophia. “I’m not sure they know where she lives, but they could be tailing her. I will make sure we have the officers add you to their routes. Do you have a security system?” She told him we did and I had never been so thankful for the extra locks and security system Sophia insisted on.

  They finally let us go home, but by the time we did it was late. Cole gave me a reassuring hug before leaving with his mom. We loaded up into Sophia’s mustang and made our way back. I couldn’t stop looking around, expecting to see the man’s angry face.

  As soon as I got home I went upstairs and straight to bed, though I knew I was going to have the nightmares again. They had gotten a little less frequent, but no doubt that evil man would bring them back full force. It didn’t help that we were days away from the anniversary of their death. I fell asleep staring at my family picture and reassuring myself that he couldn’t get into the house.

  Chapter 9

  I was hiding behind the dresses in my closet, praying that the men didn’t hurt my family. I heard footsteps on the stairs and I held my breath. Big hands reached out and clamped down onto my arm, dragging me down the stairs. I looked up at the evil man, begging him to not hurt them. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at me.

  I woke up screaming again, and noticed Sophia already on the bed next to me. She sat up and pulled me into her arms. It must have not been my first nightmare of the night and I was so groggy I couldn’t remember. She didn’t even hesitate before she rocked me until I fell asleep again.

  The next time I woke up, I was alone. I decided to be lazy for a bit longer, since I was still feeling drained. The nightmares made it hard to get decent sleep. I leaned over and grabbed my phone off of the charger. My eyes grew wide at the notification for sixteen missed text messages. I read them over quickly, so I could let them know I was ok.

  Abby: OMG you almost got kidnapped?

  Alice: Did you know who they were?

  Trent: How are you holding up?

  Cole: She’s probably still asleep, we didn’t get back until late.

  Adam: Cole’s a hero!!!

  Cole: Shut it, Adam!

  Adam: I’m serious dude! You saved her.

  Alice: That is instant hero status.

  Abby: Text us when you wake up Charlie!

  Trent: We should probably plan something to keep her mind off of things.

  Adam: Paintball?

  Alice: arcade?

  Cole: Indoor pool?

  Trent: Sleepover and scary movies?

  Abby: Pool and sleepover????

  Adam: Charlie, you are the deciding vote. ;)

  Charlie: I’m ok, let me think on the plans.

  Trent: She’s awake!

  I decided to go talk to Sophia and see if she was ok with me making plans. She might want me to stay home with all that was going on.

  I made my way through the house, but couldn’t find Sophia. Finally, I foun
d her on the patio drinking coffee. I grabbed a bottle of water and decided to join her.

  “Hey Sweetie, how are you holding up?” The look of concern was intense. She must be really worried still. I’m sure my nightmares were making it worse. I gave a shrug and an apologetic look. “Don’t be sorry. We will get through this. Your nightmares will get better, in fact they were. I hope with the new leads they can catch these men and you won’t have to be so scared all of the time. Just let me know what you need. I’m glad it’s fall break so you and your friends can relax and get you back where you need to be. I’ll try and come up with something to keep us all occupied. I actually decided to take a step away from my case load for the week. I have people who work under me for a reason.” She gave a wink. I gave her back a huge smile. Here I was, afraid again that she would give up, and she was making plans and taking time off to make it better.