Don't Hide by Molly Black

Author:Molly Black [Black, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Molly Black
Published: 2022-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

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Taylor knocked on the door of Jason Phillips’s house with Michelle at her side. She peered at the red-brick homes with their raked lawns adorned with piles of leaves. She turned to look back down the street, where the cars lined up neat and orderly, and the white lines painted on the road were pristine and bright. A few children played in their lawns, and the sun slid through patches of white clouds in the sky overhead. It was a quiet, peaceful suburb.

Moments later, a tired-looking woman answered the door. This must have been Margaret, Jason’s mother. Her eyes were puffy, with dark circles around and bags beneath them. Michelle opened her mouth to introduce themselves, but Taylor spoke first.

“I’m so sorry to bother you,” she said. “We’re with the FBI.” She looked down at her badge. “My name is Special Agent Taylor Sage, and this is my partner, Agent Michelle Chu.”

“Oh my goodness,” Margaret said, shaking their hands. “How can I help you?”

“We’d like to ask you some questions about your son,” Michelle said. Taylor could see her coiled and ready, just waiting for Taylor to tell her when to pounce and get all the information they needed. This case was important—particularly to Taylor. And if they were going to catch this killer, they were going to catch him with everything they had on their side.

“He’s dead . . .” Margaret said, letting out a short breath through her nose.

“I know, ma’am,” Taylor said. “We’re here to find out who did it. Do you mind if we come in?”

“Oh, of course,” Margaret stood aside.

Taylor entered the home and was immediately hit by a sense of bleakness. Even though it was nice inside, the air felt heavy with sadness and despair. Michelle closed the door behind her as they walked into the main hallway crammed with photographs and small trinkets. Taylor looked around at the photos—there were so many of them! It almost felt like Jason was hovering around her, watching her from all directions.

She felt a pang of guilt that she wasn’t able to save him.

“What do you want to know about my son?” Margaret asked, sniffling.

“Did Jason have any enemies?” Taylor asked.

“Maybe someone who wanted to see him harmed?” Michelle added on.

“No, not at all,” Margaret said. “Jason . . . he was, well, he was harmless. A couple of months ago, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he moved back home. He lived in the basement. He’d dropped out of college and, more recently, lost his job at the convenience store, but it wasn’t malicious. I don’t think anyone had it out for Jason.”

That matched information they had. Jason’s girlfriend had dumped him and moved away, and he’d lived with his parents ever since.

“Did he seem unhappy?” Michelle asked.

“No, he was always quiet, but he was never angry. Just a sweet child.” She paused, clenching her fists and looking down at her palms. “He never hurt anyone. So why would he have enemies?”

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she bowed her head.

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