Ghosts by Matt Rogers (ap literature book list txt) 📕

‘No you don’t,’ she said.

‘I do.’

‘What were you doing at Wan’s, then?’ Violetta said. ‘What were you doing with that scumbag? Why weren’t you back with your family?’

‘Armando’s a good guy,’ Melanie muttered. ‘You wouldn’t understand. He was a good guy. You killed him. I can’t believe you killed him…’

‘You have a lot to learn about good guys and bad guys, Melanie.’

‘He—’

‘He gave you drugs. He gave you drinks. He gave you lots of money to keep men happy.’

‘I’m not ashamed of what I do,’ Melanie said, sticking her chin out, faux-defiant.

‘When you turn eighteen you can do whatever the hell you want,’ Violetta said. ‘Until then…’

‘You’re not my mother. You’re just some bitch who’s holding me hostage. I hope you feel good about yourself.’

I wish I was your mother, Violetta said. I wish you never met the sociopath who gave birth to you.

Violetta said, ‘That reminds me.’

She kept the gun aimed at Melanie’s head as she tapped away at the girl’s phone. She didn’t type more than two letters at a time without flashing a glance at the driver’s seat, making sure Melanie didn’t get any smart ideas.

She found Kerr’s number — Mom — and dialled.

It rang for a long time.

On the very last ring before cutting to voicemail, Kerr answered.

‘Melanie,’ she said. ‘Are you at home? I’m on my way. Listen, I need you to—’

Kerr was panicked.

Violetta cut her off. ‘No. She’s not at home.’

Violetta heard Kerr freeze, suppress a sharp inhale of breath, then take her mouth away from the receiver, probably to look down at her watch. It couldn’t have been more than thirty minutes since Kerr had escaped in Arden. In that time, Violetta had somehow tracked down her daughter and abducted her. Were these people omnipotent? Omnipresent? All-seeing, all-knowing?

I don’t even know where my daughter is, Kerr would be thinking. How does this bitch?

Violetta said, ‘Do you understand what’s happening?’

Kerr said, ‘I understand.’

‘Are we done playing games?’

‘If that’s what you want.’

‘I’m surprised you care, Gloria,’ Violetta said. ‘I’m surprised your own flesh and blood is more important to you than your sick little operation.’

Kerr said, ‘Let’s cut the insults. Just tell me what I need to do to get her back, and I’ll do it. It shouldn’t be any more difficult than that.’

It stopped Violetta in her tracks. It made her realise how unfathomably complex human beings could be. There was genuine care in Kerr’s voice. She wanted her daughter to be okay. She desperately wanted her safe.

So then why on earth do you pimp her out? Violetta thought, flabbergasted.

She suppressed all her confusion and said, ‘Where are you keeping Elsa Bell?’

‘A complex off North Racetrack Road in Henderson. West of Vegas.’

That was easy, Violetta thought.

She said, ‘Go and get her.’

‘It’s not my building,’ Kerr said. ‘I don’t have access to it.’

‘That’s convenient, isn’t it?’

‘I swear on my life and the life of my daughter I’m telling you the truth.’

‘Whose building is it, Gloria?’

Silence.

The pivotal moment.

Do or die.

Give up the juicy information or never hear from your daughter again.

Kerr tried a last-ditch attempt to call Violetta’s bluff. ‘You’re good people. You wouldn’t lay a finger on my daughter. You’re better than that. You wouldn’t hurt an innocent.’

‘Ward was an innocent,’ Violetta said. ‘He didn’t harm us. He didn’t want to die. We killed him.’

Kerr scoffed. ‘He gave you away, so he sure as shit harmed you. And you didn’t even kill him. Your friend used him as a human shield to save himself after he betrayed all of you. Nice try.’

Violetta went quiet.

She took the phone away from her ear and pressed it against her thigh to muffle the receiver.

She said, ‘Scream or I’ll shoot you.’

She lifted the phone back up, six inches from Melanie’s face.

Melanie sobbed and screamed.

It was only half-forced.

Violetta put the phone back to her ear. ‘You were saying?’

‘Chief Judge Alistair Icke,’ Kerr said without hesitation, ‘of the Las Vegas Justice Court.’

Violetta’s insides churned.

How deep does this go?

‘Thank you, Gloria.’

‘He has significant manpower,’ Kerr said. ‘He bought out a private security firm in Henderson a few years ago, doubled all the salaries, and brought them on as his private cadre. He managed to—’ She cut herself off, mulling over something. ‘Tell me, do you already know about Icke? Like you knew about me and Gates?’

‘No,’ Violetta admitted.

Kerr said, ‘Okay. The first thing you need to know is he’s absolutely relentless. I’m waiting for the day he drops dead because he treats his body like he treats everything else in his life. He hammers the ever-loving shit out of it. He’s addicted to about ten different substances and he uses that false energy to keep his hands in a hundred different pies. He has ties to almost all organised crime in this city. I’m just a cog in his wheelhouse. I’m not defending myself — I know my actions are indefensible — I’m just telling it like it is. The people he has aren’t like the ones you dealt with at my offices. They’re a different class of criminal.’

Violetta said, ‘We can handle it.’

‘I need to stop him,’ Kerr said. ‘He’s on his way there now to kill Elsa and the other girls we have stashed there.’

Violetta’s stomach sank. ‘And why would he be doing that?’

‘You tell me.’

‘It’d have nothing to do with the fact you just escaped and are now able to contact him? You wouldn’t have been the one to suggest it, would you?’

Silence.

Violetta was expecting a lie.

Instead she got the truth.

Kerr said, ‘I’ve fucked up. I’ve made mistakes. I’m going to fix them. I’m going to fix it all, and I’m going to get my daughter back, and everything’s going to be okay.’

Violetta said, You keep thinking that.

See where you end up.

But she said, ‘That sounds like an excellent idea, Gloria.’

Kerr said, ‘I’ll stall Icke, but I’ll make sure he’s there when you hit the place. So the hostages are alive and well and Icke is right there for the taking.’

Violetta said, ‘How am I supposed