Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan

Author:Tom Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2019-06-11T16:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

“IT MUST HAVE BEEN done this morning,” says Doris. “In town. You know how people are always writing things on car windows, like clean me and stuff like that. Some jerk was walking by and drew it in the dirt.”

“But I would have seen it,” I protest. A chill still echoes up and down my spine.

“Maybe, maybe not,” she says. “Look.” She steps to the side, pulling me by the arm until the light from the sun is directed into a glare against the glass. Sure enough, the eye disappears. “See?” she says. “You just didn’t notice it because you were distracted, and we were talking the whole way out here. It’s just some random thing.”

“It still freaks me out,” I say. “What if someone knows what we’re doing, and they’re trying to get us to stop?”

“You’ve been watching too many horror movies, Mac,” she says.

I can’t relax. I spin around, staring at the fields and trees around us.

“Mac!” she says, clamping onto my arm with a reassuring hand. “There’s nobody here! Look around.” I follow her fingertip as she draws an arc around the surrounding fields, but all I see is a million opportunities to hide.

Before I realize what she’s doing, she’s brushed the eyeball off the car with the back of her hand.

“What are you doing?” I ask. “I didn’t even get to take a picture yet!”

She rolls her eyes. “Just forget about it. It’s creepy, I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t mean anything. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

As we drive away, I glance at the rearview mirror repeatedly, waiting for a figure to rise from the hay and stare after us. It isn’t until we turn onto the main road and the farm is far behind us that I finally relax.

“What are we going to do about the watch?” Doris asks.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s probably worth taking to the police.”

Doris nods. “I think we should go there right away. I don’t want to end up in trouble for hanging on to evidence. That’s just what I need right before I escape to Cornell.”

This time, the receptionist recognizes me right away, and we’re soon back in Parnatsky’s office.

“Where did you find this?” asks Parnatsky. She’s leaning forward in her chair, her hands clamped to the edge of her desk, staring at Connor’s watch as if she’s afraid to touch it, as if she’s afraid it will bite her.

“It was in the mud outside the Abernathy house,” says Doris.

The chief narrows her eyes. “What were you kids doing out there?”

“Looking around,” says Doris. “It’s not a crime site anymore. We’re welcome to go there, aren’t we?”

“It’s still private property,” says Parnatsky.

Doris raises her eyes to the ceiling. “Whoever owns that land has been out of the picture for years. You know that.”

“You’re missing the point,” says Parnatsky. “Or more likely, you’re avoiding the point.” She looks directly at me. “You’re searching for something, aren’t you? You’ve been looking for something ever since you found that note.

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