Rebecca didn't sleep,she tried.....God, she tried.
She lay in bed with the lights off, staring at the ceiling while the rain tapped against her window. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing. The figure standing in Daniel's study. The cabinet,the files and that phone buzzing in her pocket.
She turned onto her side then onto her back again.
"Just sleep," she whispered.
Her body was tired but Her mind wasn't. She reached for her phone.
3:47 AM.
She had been home for almost three hours.
It felt like ten minutes.Rebecca opened her messages.Nothing from Mark. Nothing from anyone.
She checked the unknown number.
The last message was still there.
Now you're asking the right questions.She stared at it. Then typed:
"Who are you?"
She waited...Nothing.
She typed again.
How do you know where I am? Still nothing. Rebecca threw the phone onto the bed. "Fine."
She pulled the blanket over herself. Five seconds later, she grabbed the phone again. She hated herself a little for that.
There was something she hadn't checked.
Something she had forgotten.
"The file" Emily's file!!
Rebecca sat up. Her heart started beating faster. She had seen the photos.The dates,The notes.
But she hadn't taken anything.
She had left the file at Daniel's.Or at least she thought she had.
Rebecca got out of bed and walked to her desk. She opened the drawer.
Empty. She checked the floor.
Nothing, then her bag.
She pulled everything out, wallet, keys,notebook, a pen, receipts, nothing.
"Come on…" she stopped.
Her eyes landed on the notebook.
The same notebook she had used earlier that night.
Rebecca picked it up...she turned it over.
Nothing. Then she remembered.
At Daniel's house, when she was looking through the file, something had fallen out. She remembered hearing a small sound.
A piece of paper hitting the floor.
She had looked down.
But with everything happening, she hadn't picked it up.
"Or had she?"
Rebecca opened the notebook, she froze.
There was a folded piece of paper between two pages.
Her fingers went cold.
"No…"
She slowly pulled it out.
The paper was small.
White, folded twice.
There was no name on the outside.
Rebecca looked around her room as if someone might be watching.
Then she opened it.
The first thing she saw was a list of names.
Daniel.
Mark.
Emily.
Rebecca.
Her stomach dropped.
"No."
She looked again.
Maybe she had read it wrong.
She hadn't....
Her own name was there.
Underneath it was a date.
September 11.
Rebecca frowned.
"What happened on September 11?" she thought.
Nothing came to mind. She looked at the other names.
Each one had a date beside it.
Daniel — September 2.
Mark — September 6.
Emily — September 9.
Rebecca — September 11.
Her breathing slowed.
Not because she was calm. Because she was scared.
She looked at the dates again.
They weren't random. They were close together.
Something had happened to each person, Or something was supposed to happen.
Rebecca turned the paper over.
There was one more sentence.....Written by hand.
Rebecca was not part of the plan....She stared at it.
"What plan?"
Her phone buzzed.
Rebecca nearly dropped the paper.She looked at the screen.
Unknown Number.
Again?....Her heart sank.
She opened the message.
You weren't supposed to find that.
Rebecca stared at the words.
Then another message appeared.
Put it back.
Her hands started shaking.
She typed....
Who are you?
The typing dots appeared.
Rebecca stopped breathing. Someone was actually there.
Someone was watching the phone.
The dots disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, a message came through.
Ask Mark about September 11.
Rebecca's face went cold....She immediately called him.
Once,no answer,twice, still nothing, third time. Straight to voicemail.
"Come on, Mark…"
She hung up. Then called again.
This time the phone rang once, twice, three times.
Then someone answered.
Rebecca didn't speak. Neither did he.
"Mark?"
Silence.
"Mark, are you there?"
A quiet breath came through the phone.
Rebecca sat up straighter.
"Mark?"
Then a voice spoke. But it wasn't Mark.
A man,calm, almost too calm.
"Rebecca."
Her blood went cold.
"Who is this?"
The man didn't answer....Instead, he said:
"You should have stayed out of Daniel's house."
Rebecca couldn't move.
"How do you know I was there?"
A short silence.
"You really don't understand what's happening, do you?"
Rebecca gripped the phone.
"Tell me."....A small laugh.
Not a happy one.
"You're asking the wrong person."
"Then who should I ask?"
The line went quiet.....Rebecca waited.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
The call ended.
She stared at the screen.
Then she looked back at the paper.
Rebecca was not part of the plan.....Her eyes moved to the date.
September 11.
She whispered the words.
"Ask Mark."
Something didn't feel right, Not just about Daniel.
Not just about Emily.
About Mark, Rebecca grabbed her coat.
She didn't care that it was almost four in the morning.
She picked up her keys.
Then stopped at the door.....her hand stayed on the handle.
For the first time, she wondered if she was making a mistake.
Then she remembered Emily.
The files,the pictures, the messages.
And the voice on the phone.
Rebecca opened the door.
"I need to know what happened on September 11th."
Then she stepped outside.
She had no idea that someone was already watching her from across the street.
And this time.....They weren't hiding.