Page 163 of Wallflower

A loud crack sounds through the otherwise silent night, followed by Kyle’s “Hey, not so fucking hard, man.”

Momentarily, I’m glad Bucky has a lighthearted distraction, because shit’s about to get real fucking dark.

Kneeling, I lift Shantel over my shoulder. Attempting to balance her weight evenly while I secure the end of Kyle’s ancient studded belt to my expensive black leather one.

“Move quickly, I don’t know how long this will hold!” I call up.

“Ready?” Kyle hollers.

“Yeah!” I reply, aiding their raising of the body with my arms until I can no longer reach.

Back in the control room, Bucky cues up the security footage for Kyle and I before leaving to sit with his sister’s body and await the police.

For his parent’s sake, Bucky decided to call them. Claiming he owes it to them for not protecting her, and Shantel deserves justice, whatever that may be.

Kyle presses ‘play’ and the footage rolls across multiple boxes on the screen. Shantel is caught from different angles leaving from the main door, and walking counter clockwise around the complex outside the perimeter fence.

“Why was she outside the property line?”

“Bucky thinks she was looking for signs of that Karson guy. Apparently, they talked about him and Rose’s sister yesterday.”

Not that I’m suspicious of my team, but there’s absolutely nothing Shantel needs to know about Rose or Chelsea.

“Why?”

“Bucky’s exhausted. He’s just too much of a pussy to tell you. His ego won’t let him give up either. He wants to find Karson, no matter what it takes. You need to tell him it’s okay to back off for a bit, especially now.”

I nod, knowing if I don’t give him the order to essentially take a vacation, Bucky will throw himself so deep into work he’ll forget to come up for air. When he does, the tidal wave of emotions will obliterate him.

“Karson could be aware of the heat on him. If he is, he won’t be coming out of hiding until we lay off.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I huff. “I just wanted to find her. Rose blames herself. It’s eating her up inside.” That’s putting it lightly, she’s shredded herself into ribbons from the guilt, quickly becoming a hollow shell.

“No one’s to blame but Maximus,” Kyle says, flipping to another camera.

Shantel strolls casually along the outer fence line, eyes on the ground searching for any tracks or traces of disturbance. Her tracking skills were near supernatural, it was one of the many qualities that made her irreplaceable in this security position.

Suddenly, her shoulders start to heave, like she can’t catch her breath. Coughing, she doubles over, hands on her knees for support.

I think the worst is over when she stands upright again, pausing her sweep, looking out to the ocean. Her right arm raises, crossing her body to land over her heart. It’s hard to discern her actual movements with her facing away from thecamera, but the way her arm moves suggests she’s pounding on her chest.

Her movements falter, arm dropping to her side, as she gracefully collapses into the grass. Her body lands precariously close to the edge, left arm falling over the ridge. The momentum and shifting weight slowly pulls her off the side, slipping out of sight.

“Call me crazy, but that didn’t look like a targeted attack.”

Kyle fast forwards through the storm. “I didn’t think so either the first time I saw it.”

“And now?”

Kyle rises from his seat, moving to the door. “I don’t know what to think.” He leaves me alone to watch through the rest of the footage. Nothing alarming happens. There’s no unknown person lurking around the grounds, inside or out.

I watch as Kyle comes out through the front door, crossing over the cobblestone to his dirt bike. Upon noticing Shantel’s Porsche, he does a double take. Pulling out his phone, he taps across the screen then raises it to his ear. I assume he gets no answer as he brings it down and swipes across the screen again. He walks with deliberate steps, looking from his screen to the ground under his feet then back again, tracking her location.

I find it slightly odd that Kyle is so worried about Shantel’s whereabouts. She could have easily changed her mind and stayed without telling him. Maybe he finally stuck it in her after all this time, and that’s why he was perturbed at the sight of her car.

Coming upon Shantel’s body, I watch as Kyle freezes in his steps. Clearly shocked and rendered immobile.

His body finally lurches into action, dropping to his knees and calling out to her. When he gets no response he jumps to his feet and darts away.