Kyla’s Secret

When the cops came to question the staff and students about the missing girl, the woman wasn’t the least bit surprised. On the way home, she wondered how the reporter had reacted when she was questioned. Had she been able to lie and keep a straight face? Or had she broken down in tears of fear and guilt? Well, she just might find that out when she got home, after she went for a run, showered, and ate. She was sipping the last of the decaffeinated coffee she’d made when she finally went online. It was all she could do to restrain herself from seeing if she could spot the reporter in her room before all her other obligations were taken care of, including spending some time with Spotty and calling her mother overseas before she went to bed. The woman attempted to look in on the reporter, but her computer must have been asleep because she wasn’t able to access anything. She was able to track her activity throughout the day, however, which didn’t seem any different than usual. She exchanged some emails, did some research, and played some games. She wasn’t very active on social sites or anything else of the kind. She then turned to look in on other unknowing performers but found herself unable to feel any interest in what she saw. Once she’d discovered the sexy Hawaiian girl, she had no interest in anyone else. She wasn’t big on social sites either, so she decided to stream a movie to pass the time. Her mind reflected on things while she made her selection. A part of her missed having a live-in girlfriend. She just didn’t want the hassles of having to share her life and explain herself to another human being day after day. A close friend insisted she simply hadn’t found the right person yet and that she would be willing to compromise with the right person for the right reasons. What she missed most about being with someone was having some of the chores done for her that she hated doing herself. She knew that was selfish, but hey, part of what made a relationship worth it to her so far was great sex and an extra set of hands to do the dirty dishes and laundry. Her exes often complained that she dumped people for the wrong reasons, and it was true she was very picky. She easily found fault in just about everyone and didn’t focus on the good in them as often as she should—a fact she was well aware of, though maybe not willing to change. She couldn’t help the way she was. If she got sick of a woman sneezing during a movie or hiccupping too much at dinner, out they went. If another had a meddling mother who threw the Bible at them every time she visited, out they both went. Being the night owl she was, the woman was still wide awake once her action movie ended, and she made another check on the reporter. She found her. She figured she would. The girl was usually in her room during the evenings, but where had she been going late at night lately? She noticed she tended to leave the room before midnight and not return until around one in the morning. She couldn’t see the lovely lady earlier when she got up because it seemed she didn’t rise until after she’d already left for work. The reporter looked tired and even a bit depressed when she next saw her, but just as lovely as ever. If she’d been questioned about the missing girl, she’d held it together well. Or at least well enough. The woman realized she would probably put up with a lot more to have someone who looked this good around the house. She observed her reading something on her screen while eating what appeared to be a blueberry muffin. After a while, she washed it down with bottled water and then touched up her makeup before leaving the room. Who was it she wanted to look pretty for at eleven o’clock at night? ________________________________________ Kyla made her way down to the desk. Her heart beat in anticipation of meeting with the Italian hottie. It was a fun crush, otherwise pointless—just something to pass the time. Kyla knew that and wasn’t about to kid herself. She knew Zoey liked her as well, even if she hadn’t exactly spelled it out, but she also knew that a relationship of any kind wouldn’t be feasible once the article was written and she was tucked away on her tiny little island in the middle of the Pacific. When Kyla rounded the corner and saw the desk, Zoey wasn’t behind it. She figured she was in the bathroom or the lounge fixing some tea. She sat in the new chair by the desk and waited. While she waited, she thought about the events that had transpired earlier in the day and how it was all she could do to make sure her face reflected the exact opposite of what she had been feeling when the cops came to question people. She tried to portray calmness with a touch of concern and confusion, while inside her heart hammered against her rib cage and her breathing came in ragged bursts. She really, really hoped that being a reporter who had flown in from out of town would immediately shift suspicion elsewhere. A moment later, she heard footsteps approaching. “Good evening, Miss Rembler,” Zoey said in a cheery voice. Kyla smiled brightly, and the two chatted happily, as would become their routine over the next few weeks. She tried to focus on her interviews and writing, not on thoughts and concerns over Meagan’s death, for which a full-blown investigation was now underway. When thoughts of the investigation made her nervous, she thought of Zoey and how she had her to look forward to at night. On weekends, though, she would sit in her room feeling lonely and homesick as hell. There were students who would probably be willing to include her in whatever activities they had planned, but someone approaching middle age didn’t exactly find late teens to early twenties the ideal group to hang with. What really got scary was when the police brought a dog in to search Meagan’s room. She guessed it was to get familiar with her scent and see if it could sniff out anything suspicious. Kyla was just entering the building when she saw the commotion and asked an onlooker what was happening. She quickly retreated to her room, not wanting anyone to see how nervous she was. No matter how calm she appeared on the outside, she was always afraid someone would see through that calm exterior into the churning chaos beneath. Calm down, girl, she silently willed herself. You can’t go through life being this paranoid. But I won’t, she reasoned with herself. Not once I’m back home and away from this place… this room… Oh my God! What if the dog runs down the hall and right to this door! she thought next, on the verge of panic. But it was perfectly reasonable to assume Meagan had been in this room at one time or another, as well as in other rooms inside the dorm. Tears threatened to spill forth as she tried to calm down and assure herself in every way she could. Unless the body was ever found and there was some trace evidence she didn’t know about, there was no reason to assume anyone would ever know what had happened to Meagan. Right? As for the guilt part, yes, she was breaking the law when she chose not to call the police. But she had done so to protect herself. Nothing could be done to bring Meagan back. So why throw her own future away over an accident that might not be seen as an accident? How could she, after all, prove she hadn’t shoved the girl in a fit of rage? She couldn’t. Nor was it her fault Meagan had come to her door drunk as a skunk and then refused to leave when asked. Kyla suddenly heard loud barking. But it was more than just one dog—yet only one had been brought to sniff out Meagan’s room. Then she realized the barking wasn’t coming from inside the dorm but from outside. She rose from her chair, walked up to the window, and looked down. Police officers with dogs were trickling into the woods. Deeper and deeper they threaded through the trees. She was glad she hadn’t dumped the body there, though she had certainly considered it. She chose not to because it was closer to her SUV than it was to the woods. To reach the woods, one had to walk all the way around the building. There was a fire escape in the back, but maneuvering a heavy container on a dolly down it would’ve been virtually impossible. The officers and their dogs didn’t re-emerge from the woods until nightfall. Had she been standing and staring out the window that long? Kyla, knowing they had returned not a step closer to finding the missing Meagan, wondered if their frustration at coming up empty-handed would push them to look harder. Or could it be that Meagan’s file was destined to end up a cold case? She hoped it would—as opposed to anyone being wrongly accused of her disappearance. But as cruel as it may be to admit, she would rather someone else take the fall. Amazing how deep the will to fight for self-preservation ran within a person when they had everything to lose and nothing to gain.