Donovan was waiting on Carrie when she got to work the next morning.
“Sorry I didn’t call back. I fell asleep early last night…wasn’t feeling well,” said Donovan.
“Aw I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well. Come on, it’s cold out here. Let’s get some coffee,” Carrie said.
They walked into the shop, and Carrie made a pot of coffee. She poured two mugs, and sat one down for Donovan on the table and took the chair across from him. She told him about the night before, and Donovan sat and listened quietly. She told him about Waffle being missing and the coffee cup handle. She told him more about Connor and Noel mentioning that no one in Mary-Anne’s life had met him.
“I think it’s weird,” mused Carrie. “Don’t you think it’s weird? No one knows him, no pictures of them together. Do you think it’s a fake profile?”
Donovan nodded, but he was quiet. Carrie figured he just still did not feel great from the previous night. He had a second cup of coffee and then was off to work.
The Thanksgiving play was that night. With everything that had been going on, it hadn’t been at the front of her thoughts, but she only had one small part of a Pilgrim costume left to finish.
Carrie closed the shop early at 4:30 so she could get to the school to finish the costume. No one was there yet; the play wasn’t until 7 p.m. so she didn’t expect anyone to be there until around 6 p.m. Carrie preferred it that way- fewer distractions. She got out of her truck and hurried inside. It wasn’t even dark yet, but the temperatures were dropping quickly.
Carrie sat down at the sewing machine, and fixed the hemline on the Pilgrim skirt she was working on. It didn’t take her long, so when she finished it, she pulled out her laptop.
Carrie googled Donovan’s name, and a few different things popped up. Donovan had grown up in Ristretto, and some local news articles about him popped up, including a list of graduates from the year Donovan graduated high school: “Donovan Connor Landry.”
Carrie stared at the name. “His middle name is Connor?” she questioned.
Is it a coincidence? Since she spoke with Donovan earlier, all she could think about was how out of character he seemed. She was just starting to wonder if she needed to call and speak to Detective Johnson when she heard a footstep.
Carrie felt a hand touch her left shoulder, and she jumped slamming her laptop closed.
She turned around and Donovan was standing behind her.
“What did you find Carrie?” Donovan asked.
“Wha…wha…do you mean?” Carrie stuttered.
“Why did you save that handle Carrie?” asked Donovan. “Why couldn’t you have just let the Detectives do their jobs? They wouldn’t have found out, but at least you wouldn’t be in this situation now.”
Carrie turned white. “I don’t know anything though. What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb with me Carrie. You’ve been digging around asking questions, looking for answers that you don’t need. I loved Mary-Anne.”
Carrie gripped the arm of her chair, as Donovan started laughing. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to interrupt him.
“She’s the one that suggested we meet at C4. It was her idea. We’ve been talking for months, and I told her I’d “fly in” to meet her. She didn’t want her mom to know she was meeting someone off the internet so she wanted to meet at the shop instead. She got there and didn’t seem happy to see me. I tried to explain that it didn’t matter that I was older, that she wouldn’t get in trouble. She tried to leave; she was upset. I grabbed her arm to stop her, but she started screaming. I couldn’t let her leave. I hit her in the head with the mug, and I dragged her into the back room. You know the rest,” Donovan sighed.
Carrie felt like she was going to be sick. “Did you break into my house?”
“Not exactly,” laughed Donovan. “You left your door unlocked and I snuck in before you got home. When you fell asleep, I let Waffle out and when you went to look for him, I found the mug handle.”
Carrie felt the room shift out of focus.
“Now what to do with you?” asked Donovan.
Carrie tried to get up and run, but before she could, Donovan pushed her down. He grabbed a rope from a supply box under the table and tied her arms. He rushed her out the back door of the school without her coat.
Donovan led her to a shed behind the school that the kids used in the spring for their garden. He tied her to a chair and put a piece of cloth in her mouth so she couldn’t scream out.
He left her there.
Charleston Book Girl 