Chapter 4
801 Words
I didn't know what to think, feel, or say. John couldn't have killed anyone... right?
"This can't be right," I told George, wishing it was all a bad dream. "I mean, I did find him in the kitchen last night, but he said that he had been sleep walking. I doubt he could have left the house without me hearing it."
George's eyes were sad. "Do you want to check your security record for your locks?"
I nodded. I couldn't believe it. It didn't make sense for John to do something like that.
I raced to the back door and checked the security log from last night. My heart dropped at what I found. There were two times where the door had been opened last night. Once at 12:28 and another at 12:57.
I stepped away for George to look at the log. With a grunt, he nodded and started for the guest bedroom. When he came back, however, his expression was dark. "Sarah, where is John?"
My eyes widened. "He's been up in the guest bedroom the whole morning."
George sighed and ran his fingers through his salt and pepper colored hair. "It seems as though our politician boy is a bit of a snake." He brought out his radio. "Suspect has disappeared. Set up a perimeter."
My jaw dropped. This couldn't be happening. How was this happening? It all felt so surreal.
With my mind on overload, I called up Luke, explained the situation to him, and asked him to come pick me up. He was at the cafe before I could slip out the door, wrapping his arms around me to bring me into a hug.
"I can't believe this," he murmured into my hair. "We should have never left him with you."
Suddenly, everything caught up to me, and fear of what could have happened came crashing down on me. I couldn't stop the choked sobs coming out of my mouth and the tears that began to stain Luke's shirt. "It could have been me he killed, Luke," I whimpered.
"Shh, shh, shh," he murmured. "It's okay. You're safe. He's not going to hurt you."
I nodded and let him lead me out to his car. He drove me to Riley's place, explained everything for me, and told her he was going to join the police in the search for John.
Riley got me to sit down on her bed and grabbed a tub of ice cream for us to share. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.
I took in a shaky breath and shrugged. "I don't know. I just haven't felt like myself since he's come. I'm usually so good at judging character..."
Riley reached out and gently began to rub my back. "He's a politician. They're good at showing people what they want."
I turned to search her eyes. "Do you think he really had amnesia? Or was he just playing us with that as well?"
She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Only he knows that."
I lay down with my head in her lap. "I just... really thought he was a good guy, you know?"
"I know. You weren't the only one."
I mulled her words over in my head as she played with my hair. Both of us were so good at reading people. So how had we been so wrong about John?
I sat up suddenly. "What if he's being set up?" I asked.
Riley frowned. "Sarah..."
I put up a hand. "Girl. Let me finish."
She snapped her mouth shut and nodded.
Getting up, I began to pace the room. "George only mentioned one witness. Say John really did have amnesia? He said he thought he had been sleepwalking when I found him in the kitchen last night. Maybe he's got some sort of concussion." I turned toward her, excited. "Do you remember when Grey fell off the roof of the standing shelter on his boat? Every thirty minutes, it was like his memory reset, and he couldn't remember what happened after he hit his head. What if John's experiencing something like that?"
Riley hummed softly in thought. "You've got a point. But who would want to set him up like this?"
I shrugged. "I don't know anything about his life. It could be anyone."
She nodded just as her phone rang. She answered it, taking in the information coming from the other end in silence. When she hung up, she bit her lip. "Well, I sure hope you're right about John."
I tilted my head to the side. "Why?"
She smiled grimly. "Grey found him."
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