Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Clack.
Click.
Freddy switched to another angle of the diner, went back to September 5th, and stopped the time at 6:04 PM, just like the previous still. He paused it, but even from this angle I couldn’t see the person’s face. They had their head down, hood pulled low, only the bill of a hat poking out, completely aware of the cameras.
Eve sat with this person for no longer than six minutes. Throughout the entire six minutes, she appeared visibly upset, slapping her hands on the table, throwing them in the air with exasperation, before finally hopping out of the booth, flipping the person off, and leaving the restaurant.
I tried following her to see which direction she might’ve gone outside of the building but had no luck.
“Are there cameras outside the diner?” I asked.
“Only in the back,” Freddy said. The rest are CCTV, and I don’t control those.”
“Right.” I gave the screen one more look. The person sat at the booth in their hood, watching Eve go. They sat for three minutes before finally standing up, pulling the hat lower with leather-gloved hands, and exiting the diner too.
“That’s creepy as shit.” Freddy chortled.
Yeah. It was creepy, not only because I had no idea who this person was, but because whoever it was, they’d clearly done something to Eve. Judging by the build, this was a man. Unless there was some buff, broad-shouldered woman wandering around that I wasn’t aware of.
“Thank you for your help, Freddy. Have fun playing with your Switch.”
“It is fun, actually,” Freddy retorted.
I left the back room with more questions than I’d gone in with. On my way out the diner, I checked my phone, and my signal was ten times better here than at the cottage. I searched for Nico’s name again but bumped into someone along the way.
A large pair of hands caught me before I could stumble. Gasping, I looked up at the familiar older man with ivory skin, a graying mustache, and large cowboy hat atop his head. He wore the same sheriff’s badge I saw yesterday but he didn’t have the aviator sunglasses.
“I’m so sorry.” I collected myself as Sheriff Reed released me. “Wasn’t paying attention.”
“Nose stuck in your phone,” he said, but he didn’t smile. It was weird. His eyes were beady and dark, blending in with his irises. I was glad I hadn’t seen them when he pulled me over or I would’ve been even more unnerved. I didn’t like the way he looked at me either, like I was a pest he wanted to squish with his foot.
“Yeah,” I said before walking away and hurrying to my car. Once inside, I locked the doors and watched the sheriff make his way inside the diner, stopping at the counter in front of Luisa. She poured him a coffee as he said (or asked) something, then she spoke.
Sheriff Reed looked back at me with narrowed eyes as Luisa mouthed away, waving her hands in pure nonchalance. When he held up a finger at her and marched toward the exit, I started my engine, put the car in gear, and drove out of the parking lot.
Eve Castillo journal entry
I was supposed to meet Rose for a movie last night. I wanted to vent to her about how this new guy had upset me. I bought my favorite ice cream, and she asked me to grab butter pecan for her. When I got to her place, Cole said she’d left really quick because Ben had called her. His arthritis was getting worse so I understood why she left but I wish she’d told me in advance.
It was just me and Cole. I didn’t like it. We’d kissed before. Now we were alone again. It wasn’t safe. He could sense that I was about to leave so he made up some stupid question and asked me for advice on a logo he’d hired someone to design. He had two options, and both were ugly, but I told him to go with the blue one. He could tell I was upset about something so he asked me about it but I shrugged it off.
I sent Rose a text and told her I would catch her another time. She replied quickly and begged me not to leave—said it shouldn’t take her too long to get back. She wanted to vent to me too, most likely about Cole. She’d been hinting at how they were having issues and were arguing a lot more. But then Cole came up to me. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and reeled me backwards. I asked him what the hell he was doing, and he started kissing my neck.
I don’t know how he managed it, but somehow, he’d guided me to the couch. He took off all my clothes and I just . . . let him. He kept saying we needed to finish what we’d started and that’s when I knew I had to end this.