The Trench

Chapter 43 - Skeptic Minds

I got to school early this morning, eager to get to classes and ask Mae what's going on with her and Kane. I'm sitting in the same spot I did last semester in between Mae and Aimee's seats, however neither are here yet.

I've checked the clock on the wall five times within the past ten minutes, there's still a few minutes left until class starts when Aimee finally shows up. I sigh in relief and wave to her.

"HEY!" She squeals as she smothers me in a hug before sitting down. I chuckle and hug her back.

"Aimee, you haven't even been gone two weeks but you've missed so much." I tell her, my voice a combination of excitement, sadness, and worry. Her parents are old school and live out in the mountains, without cell signal. Aimee loves visiting for a while to get away, no cell phones, no social media, and no computers. I don't blame her, it's always a nice reset in your life to get away. However, this means since our girls night before Christmas she has no idea what has happened.

I dive in telling her about the barn fire, about Hallow, about Austins Christmas gift to me and my gift to him, and then I tell her everything about Kane. From all the instances I've seen him leave, about the night in the lobby, and about last nights adventures.

She sits there, soaking everything in for a moment.

"Holy shit girl, that's a lot to process. I'm sorry about the fire, and I'm so glad you and Austin are okay! Let me know next time you're going to see Hallow and I'll come and bring some flowers." She gives my arm a sympathetic squeeze and I smile in return.

"Now, you say that you've been watching Kane. You also say he ended up meeting Mae last night, and Mae isn't here today."

I nod my head and slide my phone over towards her. "I texted her a few minutes ago asking if she was coming today, she said she's sick. She didn't look sick last night."

Aimee looks at the text and raises her eyebrows before speaking. "You know, if you're wondering what Kane is up to I would talk to Mae. It seems she would know what's going on."

The door shuts and Austin walks in, he catches my eye and gives a small smile and I smile back sheepishly. Aimee looks between us with a sly grin on her face.

"You two are too damn cute." She whispers with a twinkle in her eye and I shush her, glancing around me to see if anyone was close enough to hear.

"I think we need to question Mae, and I want in." She taps her pen on the desk and I nod my head again, anxiously waiting for the end of the school day.

-

"Oh. My. God. Riley just stop, give me the damn phone." Aimee hollers dramatically and I laugh from the drivers seat of my truck. I toss my phone with the maps pulled up into her lap, I'm hopeless with navigation.

"Oh wait, we passed it. Turn around." I roll my eyes as I turn around in a driveway and double back on the residential street. I creep down the road until Aimee hollers at me to stop, we pull in front of a large two story brick home and I recognize Mae's car in the driveway.

I had never been to Mae's house, I didn't even know where it was. After class this morning I had asked Austin the address, telling him she had one of my textbooks. Apparently she still lives at home with their parents, which makes this a little more awkward.

I wipe my hands on my jeans as I turn the truck off, Aimee offered to stay in the truck hidden since her and Mae don't see eye to eye. I hope out and she gives me a thumbs up before I walk up the concrete sidewalk to the porch, I ring the doorbell and wait in anticipation staring at the red door until it opens.

Mae stands there shocked, her eyes wide as she reluctantly opens the glass door in between us.

"Riley, this is a surprise..." Mae's voice trails off as she waves me inside, I step past her into the bright foyer. The walls are painted a light tan that contrasts nicely against the white tile floors, lilies occupy a yellow vase sitting on a small table and a Monet painting hangs above it.

"I see you're feeling much better." I say with a thin smile, she looks at her feet guiltily before waving me into the living room.

"Honestly I'm not sick, sick of school maybe but it's not physical." She says humorously over her shoulder and she plops down on a brown leather couch. I nervously glance around before sitting beside her.

"I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me." I keep my gaze steady on hers and I see her face fall a little before she nods her head. My heart is beating out of my chest but I need to keep my cool here.

"Okay, I need to know if Kane is in some kind of trouble." I say slowly, I see her brows come together in confusion and elaborate. I explain everything I did with Aimee this morning, how he keeps leaving late at night, how jumpy he was in the lobby, and I admitted that I followed him to the docks. Once I mentioned the docks I felt her body go stiff, she didn't look confused anymore but she did look a bit irked.

"Mae, I saw you there last night so I know you know what's going on." I pause for a second watching her, her left foot is bouncing on the carpet and she's chewing the inside of her lip. She seems a bit nervous and it feels as if she's trying to choose her words carefully.

"So let me get this straight, you've been stalking my brother because he's been acting 'weird'? Riley, I know you don't know him well but let me tell you he's always been 'weird'." She says with a slight laugh and a snort before continuing.

"Although, I'm guilty of following him too. That's why I was there last night, I got there before him because I found texts saying that's where he was going to be. He's...been in trouble with some people in the past over some computer software. I'm just trying to keep an eye on him."

I nod and smile at her and I see her relax a bit, she takes a deep breath and offers me something to drink to which I deny. I apologize for stopping by unannounced, and I mention I have something to do at home. She leads me to the front door again and leans in to give me a hug.

"Thank you for checking in, Riley. I appreciate it. I'm sorry for lying this morning, I was tired after following him around all night and I didn't really want to mention it to anyone. Please don't tell Austin, either."

"I won't, I promise. Hey, text me back on occasion would you?" She swats me on the arm as I leave the porch headed back to the truck. I open the door and get in the drivers seat and look over, Aimee was in the backseat crouched down peaking over the ledge out the window.

"Well?" She asks curiously, I start the truck and pull away from the  curb and I glance back towards Mae's house. I see her peaking out of the blinds in the living room watching the truck disappear down the street.

"She claims she met Kane there because she thinks he's in trouble over some computer software and wants to keep an eye on him." I say as Aimee crawls over the middle console back into her passenger seat, she flips her phone out and is scrolling her social media account when she lets out a whistle.

"Riley, didn't you tell me the marina was called Martins Marina?" Aimee asks as she looks up from her scrolling, I nod and she frowns, her eyes going back to her screen.

"There's an article on my newsfeed. Someone was murdered there last night..."