Page 15 of The Guy Next Door
“Why?”
Not for the first time since he came here, he hesitates. I don’t get this guy. It’s been like pulling teeth to get out what he was doing last night. He keeps holding back, but given everything he’s shared with me so far, I don’t get why he has to be so goddamn cryptic.
“Listen, dude, if you want to protect me, then I need to know what’s up.”
“Oh, I’m sure Detective Roth will let you know. She’ll be the one you need to ask for when you go to the station.”
“So you want me to go to the cops and tell the truth? I thought you said you were in a jam.”
“Yeah, that’s where it’s tricky. You’re free to do whatever you want, but if you want to be believed, tell them you got that note and that a friend told you about seeing the post on a subreddit related to the previous disappearances. I reached out to you about it, and we became chummy. We’re friends, and that’s why I was over.”
“Why would I say that?”
“Because that’s your best chance to be taken seriously.”
“What if I find out I’m protecting the wrong person?” I’d have to be a moron not to ask.
“That’s where you’re gonna have to trust me. Trust that I already know you’re in danger, and that I’m gonna protect youbetter than any cop. You can go in there with this stuff, and I know what Detective Roth is gonna say:It’s all circumstantial. None of this means anything. This kid Zane’s gotten in your head. You’re reading into things.So when you get done talking to them, you’re still only going to have one guy who’s interested in protecting you.”
What if what he’s saying is true? What if there really is somebody trying to kidnap me? Or…what if it’s not true? What if the cops are right to think the issue is in Zane’s head? Hell, what if he never even talked to the cops?
“And I’m supposed to take your word for all this?”
Those steel-blue eyes shift back to his plate, only a few crumbs left now. “There’s a lot I’m not explaining. Some of it you’re not gonna get answers to; other parts, I’m sure Detective Roth will illuminate, and then, well, the moment I walk out the door, you’re free to google the fuck out of everything I just said.”
“You think I didn’t google the fuck out of Zane Grayson already?”
Of course I looked up the guy who pulled a gun on me. Tried to find social media accounts. Any info I could. The most I came up with was that he was in the AV club in high school.
He smirks. “Looks like you’re gonna have to get more creative with your web searches. You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure it out. Now about my gun…”
“I should’ve already given that to the cops.”
“Shoulda, woulda, coulda.”
I don’t know that it’s a smart idea to give it back to him, but I also don’t want that gun sitting around my house any longer. Makes me think of all the articles I’ve read about people getting hurt by the guns in their homes, especially since I don’t have a safe to lock it in.
“Maybe I don’t want to give it back,” I confess. “Guns are dangerous. You could hurt yourself or someone innocent.”
“I’m very good with a gun, Leif.”
He sounds confident, but that doesn’t make me feel much better. “If I give it back to you, are you still going to be watching me? Like you have been? With the cameras and being a creeper next door?”
He closes his eyes, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’ve thought a lot about that after blowing my cover like that, but if you tell me right now to stop, I’ll pack my bags and be out of your hair.” He purses his lips, his hand balling into a fist. “But, Leif, I really don’t think that would be a good idea. And I don’t want the next time I see your face to be on some cheap Wyachet online news story.”
It’s hard not to believe a guy when he says something like that with such intensity.
I take a moment to consider all the shit he’s told me.
About last night.
The subreddit.
The letter.
The video.
The cops.