Chapter 2 - The bags beneath the water
I looked anyway.
I wish I could say I listened to Maya.
I didn’t.
The pool had turned green beneath weeks of neglect.
Leaves floated against one side.
The water was cloudy enough that the bottom should have been invisible.
But several shapes were darker than everything around them.
Black bags.
Three.
Maybe four.
Large.
Weighted.
Mrs. Harris climbed awkwardly through the gap in the fence.
When she saw the pool, she covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Maya grabbed my shirt.
“Don’t touch them.”
“What did Julian put in there?”
She began shaking.
“I don’t know.”
“You saw him?”
“No.”
“Then why are you scared?”
She pressed her face into my chest.
“He told me if I looked, I’d go in too.”
Something inside me changed.
Not rage.
Not yet.
Rage comes later.
First comes clarity.
I put Maya behind me.
“Mrs. Harris, call 911.”
She already had her phone out.
Then the back door slammed open.
Julian stepped onto the patio.
Dark shirt.
Bare feet.
No surprise on his face.
Only anger.
“Put her back.”
I stared at him.
“What did you say?”
“You’re trespassing.”
I almost laughed.
“My daughter was locked in a cage.”
“She was being disciplined.”
Mrs. Harris gasped.
Julian glanced at her.
“You should stay out of this, Helen.”
Helen.
He knew her first name.
Something about the way he said it made her flinch.
Maya hid behind me.
“Daddy, please.”
Julian pointed toward the cage.
“Maya. Inside.”
“No.”
His face hardened.
“You know what happens when you disobey.”
I stepped forward.
“Come near her again.”
He smiled.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Julian charged.
Fast.
Not a bluff.
I shoved him away before he reached Maya.
He crashed into a patio table.
Glass shattered.
Mrs. Harris screamed.
Then something behind us splashed.
Everyone froze.
One of the black bags had shifted.
Not slightly.
It jerked upward.
The tied end broke the surface.
Water streamed down the plastic.
Maya started crying.
“That wasn’t there yesterday.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“The bag.”
Another movement.
Something inside pushed against the plastic.
Once.
Twice.
Julian’s face changed.
Not anger anymore.
Panic.
He moved toward the pool.
I blocked him.
“What’s inside?”
“Nothing.”
The bag moved again.
Mrs. Harris screamed:
“Daniel, call the police!”
Julian looked toward the house.
Toward the side gate.
Calculating.
Then Maya whispered something I barely heard.
“There’s another girl.”
I turned.
“What girl?”
May you like
Her eyes remained locked on the pool.
“The one Julian said wasn’t supposed to wake up.”
