Dirty Secrets

Part 52

Instead of going home following Matthew's Wednesday afternoon session, Lyla rode the bus to Jack's neighborhood. With his arm and shoulder in a sling, she reasoned that he wouldn't be attending football practice after school, nor would he likely go to the gym. Best case scenario, she'd find him at home.

The Bentleys lived in a mid-century modern brick split-level home with an immaculate lawn. She'd driven past Jack's house on numerous occasions prior to the Keenan incident to steal a glimpse of him. Darcy still teased her about an afternoon last summer when they saw him shirtless, washing his car in the driveway. Lyla gawked so hard, she nearly hit a car parked across the street from his house. Jack didn't even notice.

She tromped from the bus stop to the intersection of his street, threading her arms through the straps of her backpack. As she approached his house, walking the sidewalk on the opposite side, Lyla's stomach churned. She didn't dare risk ringing his doorbell. What if he was in there with Carissa? It would be potentially worse if Jack's mother or father answered the door. They were no fans of Lyla's, especially not after the police had come knocking with a search warrant in hand for their son's car. She decided to conduct surveillance from a safe distance, hoping to see him outside.

She paced the sidewalk back and forth for almost twenty minutes ready to abandon her mission when a car stopped in front of the Bentley's house with loud music and raucous teens' voices spilling out onto the street. Jack got out of the car, adjusted his sling, then waved to the guys with his free hand. To avoid drawing attention, Lyla turned her back as the car passed. 

Once the car was out of sight, she scampered across the street and, in a loud whisper called, "Jack! Hey, Jack!"

Judging by the expression on his bruised but handsome face, it was evident that he was surprised to see her. He didn't smile. He looked confused.

"Hey, can we talk?" she asked.

"Uh," he said.

Now closer, she saw the contusion on his chin, the split lip, and the stitched gash on his brow.

"I know this feels like an ambush but you said not to call or text or whatever." She lowered her voice. "The cops and all that."

"Right. Yeah."

"Just walk with me, okay? For just a minute?"

He glanced toward his house then reluctantly accompanied her.

"How's your arm?" she asked. "Or shoulder? Does it hurt a lot?"

"Shoulder. Yeah, it's sore today. I'm taking the pain meds but I keep forgetting to take my anti-inflammables."

She hid her smile behind a cough.

"Whatever they're called," he said embarrassed. "Anyway, I need to ice it when I get home."

So... yesterday. You definitely saw her on that roof, right?"

He lowered his voice. "When I was reaching for that Frisbee, I felt somebody standing over me. I look up and there's this freaky looking girl, with her face all painted. She said "come on" and just stepped off the roof."

"Clover."

"You know her?"

"She used to be in my group at the hospital. So sad." She sighed. "They sent her home and she hung herself." 

"What the hell?"

"And it gets even freakier. Trust me, I know what psychotic sounds like. You remember that lady, Clarisse? From Darcy's party? I saw her last night."

"Wait. What? Thought she was dead."

"I don't know how to explain it but this wasn't a dream. It sounds insane but she showed me some other people that I've been seeing. Clover was one of them. And this creepy janitor guy I've seen in the ward and around."

"The janitor. Is he a wrinkly dude with nasty yellow teeth?"

"That's him."

He cleared his throat. "Last night when I was at the hospital getting checked out, he was there. Dude was creepy as hell. He said something like I got lucky and this ain't over."

"I thought I was imagining them but I'm not," she said. "Keenan uses them when he can't get to us. They're like his messengers. "

He gave her a quick glance, then said, "I hit my head pretty hard when I fell so I wasn't sure if I saw him for real."

"You saw him." Feeling exposed, she surveyed the neighborhood before continuing. "So, there's this guy from my group. Packer."

"Who?"

An unexpected rush of emotion squeezed her throat. "The guy who drove me home the other day when you were at my house."

"Oh, yeah."

"Last week he started acting all paranoid. He told me that some strange dude was following him around. A guy with a shaved head and a big blue tat on his neck."

Jack's face went gray.

"He got into a really bad wreck Saturday night. He's in the hospital. Probably not gonna make it." She couldn't prevent tears welling in her eyes.

He looked away.

"When someone sees Keenan, something bad is going to happen," she said. "Fact."

He didn't respond verbally but the expression on his face said it all.

"And I think I figured something out," she said. "I think maybe he's getting weaker and that's why he needs them."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Right after he died, we both saw him at my house. And we saw him in your car. He was coming up the street after us."

He nodded, recalling the terrifying memories.

"He actually was in my room, too. He brought the ring and left it on my desk. But now, for some reason, he's staying at a distance. So he makes them do it."

"You saying maybe he could just fade away?"

She shook her head. "I wish. He sent me a message that both you and Packer were gonna pay. He got Packer..." She choked back her tears. "And you were supposed to die when you fell off that roof yesterday. He's gonna try again, Jack. Guaranteed. He's not gonna stop. Unless we do what Clarisse said." She wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"I don't even want to hear this."

"She said the only way to end this is to salt and burn his bones."

"Do what?"

"Cover his bones with salt and burn them."

"And how are we gonna do that?"

She didn't respond.

Jack said, "That means we'd need to go out there and dig him up. Again."

She nodded.

"They probably got people or guard dogs up there watching that place now," he said. "Maybe they moved him."

She shook her head. "He's there somewhere. He needs to be buried there. With his family."

"This can't be the only answer."

"Clarisse said it's the only way."

"So even if we do it, what about that girl on the roof and the creepy janitor dude?"

"They'll be free. He won't be able to control them anymore."

"And how do you know that for sure?"

She had no definitive answer but Clover had begged Lyla to free her. Reducing Keenan to a pile of ashes seemed like a far more effective solution than submitting to wearing his ring. And far more satisfying.