We're All Monsters (A Casey Matthews Novel Book 1) by Arthur M

We're All Monsters (A Casey Matthews Novel Book 1) by Arthur M

Author:Arthur, M [Arthur, M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-11-04T23:00:00+00:00


9:00 AM: Missing for 1 day 16 hours 0 minutes - Casey

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

I’m sitting on the worn green fabric couch in Ken’s living room. It sags in the center, making me feel like I’m at the kid’s table at Thanksgiving, my knees higher than my hips. The gun hangs in my hand.

An hour ago, I got tired of listening to Ken beg. The tape is wrapped all the way around the back of his head, doubled up on his mouth. It will never come off. I know that. I knew it the moment I was wrapping it over his greasy hair.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

Two houses down, they are re-roofing a 1920’s bungalow. The nail gun pops at regular intervals as the wood sheets get secured to the old rafters. A bright and shiny ten penny nail every six inches along the edge, like a series of mini gunshots, echoing throughout the neighborhood.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

At our house, two and a half blocks away, Karen would be able to hear the same construction noises. I can’t imagine what she is going through. By now, the press has no doubt turned. I know how it works. I’ve been on the other side of the coverage. Daughter disappears, daddy splits the next day. Two possibilities. He had an elaborate plan to kidnap his own kid and run. That’s the optimistic view no one truly believes. Option two, he’s a pervert, things went too far. He couldn’t take a chance she would talk so he had her killed.

Karen will hear a softer version from police. If she’s watching the news, she’ll catch it in the undertone of every word. If she’s online, there’s no subtlety. People who have never met me, never heard a word I’ve said in person or on TV, will trash me as a disgusting bastard. They’ll call for my death, describing in detail the many ways they hope to see me come to an end.

She will, at least for now, believe in me. She won’t turn, not yet. There’s no avoiding it forever. No one can stay doubt free forever, not given the circumstances. It’s not the fact that I have disappeared. It’s the fact that it is her daughter. Our daughter.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

Karen loves me, there is no doubt. Soul mates? I’m not sure either of us, pragmatic as we are, believe in the concept. It is a true love nonetheless. We are united. From the day we said ‘I do’ til the day we die, both of us committed for life. That commitment is unshakable, save for one thing. Our daughter.

It’s a hard concept for someone without kids to understand. If Karen was standing on the centerline of a busy highway, me on one side, Abbie on the other, traffic bearing down on each of us, and she had a chance to save one of us. Not both, only one.



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