Vault of Glass, page 6
The conversation veered off into stupid territory when they started relating circumstances to Jigsaw, and so she was done. Maisie turned on the first Saw movie just in case they could get some ideas from it. But Perrie couldn’t focus on the film.
Halfway through the movie her dad walked through the door. Maisie and August then picked up their things and left.
“Are you hungry?” Perrie started for the kitchen. “I can make us something to eat. Spaghetti?” It wouldn’t take long to cook, but her mind would stay occupied. She didn’t wait for him to respond, so she gathered everything she would need.
Her dad set his lunchbox on the counter. “That sounds good.”
“So, Mrs. Lee called this morning.” Perrie wanted to lay this on him gently.
“Neven’s mom? I didn’t know you two were talking again.” He unpacked his lunchbox, quirking a brow.
“We’re not, technically.” She blew out a breath. “Neven’s gone missing.”
Her dad’s hands stopped their methodical chore and dropped to the counter. He squeezed his eyes shut and frowned. Perrie needed her dad to say something, to make her feel better—the same as he had when she’d gotten a scrape in her younger years, when he would say it was all okay. But things weren’t really okay.
“Neven? Missing? Are you sure?” He pursed his lips and removed his work badge, resting it beside the lunchbox. Another hard thing about her breakup with Neven was that her dad really liked him.
“Yeah, I went over to see his mom and we talked for a bit. I spoke with a police officer investigating the case, too.” She turned back to her task and filled one of the cooking pots with water. The sound of running water was strangely soothing.
“Is he part of the other missing people?” His question was the same as her own.
“I—I don’t know.” Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She hated doing this in front of her dad.
“Oh, Perrie.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “It’ll be okay.”
She peered up at his face, seeing his apprehension. He knew the same as she did—that it wasn’t okay and most likely the same as the other cases. But he squeezed her one more time before releasing her.
“Let’s get dinner going. I’m starving!” He clapped his hands together and the edges of her lips tugged up a fraction.
After dinner, stuffed from two servings of spaghetti, Perrie headed to bed early. Once in bed, she cried to herself, trying to muffle the sounds out with her pillow and blankets pulled up, covering her whole face. She didn’t want her dad to hear her, to worry more.
She barely slept a wink, tossing and turning all night, reliving those last moments with Neven. What more could she have done? Should she have invited him to stay longer? Asked where he was going? With a groan, she threw one arm over her face in frustration.
Perrie rolled over and stretched for her phone. She attempted to text Neven a few more times but to no avail. All she wanted was to stay in bed, so she shot Maisie a text too.
Perrie: No school for me today.
Maisie: Try to hold your head up, jellybean. I’ll talk to you later.
The last thing she wanted to do was go back to school. Around the time her dad woke up, she told him she wasn’t feeling well and she would probably stay home. He didn’t question, only wanted her to get some rest.
But she didn’t. She stared at her ceiling for hours until her phone ringing drew her out of her nightmare of a reverie.
Maisie.
“Hey,” Perrie answered.
“It’s August. Maisie let me use her phone. I just wanted to check in on you. The school works in mysterious ways when your face isn’t here.”
“I know, I know, my face deserves the attention. But I’m fine, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She just needed one full day to be alone, even though it wouldn’t have been the worst thing to have him in bed beside her with his arms folded around her.
“If you need anything, I’m here. Maybe I’ll eventually become part of the social circle and get a cell phone.” He paused. “Nah, I like the freedom. But for you, anything.”
“I agree. It’s too overrated.” All she had was a basic phone from her dad without a camera, and honestly, she didn’t even care.
“See you tomorrow, doll face.” He understood. He always did.
A knock sounded at the door around four in the afternoon. Perrie forced herself out of bed to see who it was. She spied Maisie through the peephole and swung open the door. Crimson stained Maisie’s cheeks, and her hair was all over the place. Her cousin must’ve gotten home and rushed over—not that the run over here took more than a few seconds.
“How are you doing?” she blurted.
“Oh, you know. A day full of nothing is like a day at the circus.”
Maisie grunted, slid in past her, and booked it for the fridge. Before Perrie knew it, Maisie pulled out several slices of cheese and a juice box. “Compared to my day, it very well could’ve been.”
Perrie’s brows shot all the way up. “Is that negativity I hear? Coming from the queen of all things positive?”
“Yeah, whatever. You weren’t there to deal with David all day. He’s worried, I’m worried, we’re all worried, but I had to comfort him throughout third period. Then August left early during lunch, so David came and sat with me. That human specimen has drained all things positive from my very soul.”
“Wow. So, I take it you aren’t into David then?”
Maisie offered her a slice of cheese, but Perrie dismissed it with a flick of her hand. She shrugged and plopped onto one of the barstools at the breakfast bar.
Her cousin seemed to contemplate Perrie’s question further, sipping quietly from her juice box. “Um, no thanks. Anyway, David talked to Neven’s mom and she’s even more panicked. There’s still no sign of him and everyone’s on edge.”
Perrie took a seat next to Maisie on the other wooden barstool, where she was unfolding another piece of plastic from a cheese slice. She removed the slices and folded them both into smaller squares before sticking the entire thing into her mouth.
“I get it. I’ve been replaying the whole day over in my head and I still don’t understand what could’ve happened.”
Maisie patted Perrie’s shoulder. “We have to breathe and take a step back. We can’t overthink how we’re feeling until we know something solid.”
That was exactly what she was going to do.
“Speaking of circuses, you don’t think it’s possible Neven could’ve joined one, do you?” Perrie asked, her shoulders slumping forward.
“If only we could all join the circus, Perrie. If only.” Maisie shook her head, chewing on her thumbnail. She stayed a little while longer to chat and finished her snack, which included two more slices of cheese. Then she stood from the stool and stretched before leaving.
Perrie attempted to keep herself occupied after Maisie had gone, opting to snack on something while watching TV. She could barely focus on the screen, which was sad considering the movie was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
A couple hours later, another knock sounded at the door. Perrie peeked into the kitchen and looked at the clock as the pendulum swayed. It was just a few minutes before eight and her dad was working until nine tonight.
“It’s just me!” Maisie shouted through the door, then birdy whistled.
Perrie’s shoulders relaxed. She birdy whistled back as she unlocked and opened the door for her. “Back already?”
“Yes!” She squeezed past her again.
Perrie got a good look at her, noticing she was wearing black from head to toe. Black leggings tucked into boots and a lacy baby-doll dress. Dark, little felt buttons were dotted down the center of the dress for decoration. It was a very Wednesday Addams look.
She’d completed her ensemble with a matching black eye patch lined in lace and silk trimming. The patch was calm in comparison to her other eye, which had been made up with black eyeshadow, bringing out the blue in her iris. Perrie supposed black wasn’t a dark color for Maisie this time.
“Are we going to rob a bank tonight?”
Maisie snorted. “No, silly. I start my job at the Glass Vault, remember?”
Perrie totally let that slip her mind and had forgotten all about the new job. Worry stirred within her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to skip it tonight?”
She scrunched up her nose. “If you don’t want me to go, Perrie, I won’t go.”
There was a distinct sadness in her cousin’s offer and she could tell Maisie wanted this job. Maybe it would be a good distraction for her. Personally, Perrie wished she’d applied with her and had the diversion right now.
“No, it’s okay. I know you want to go.” Perrie sighed. “But you have to promise me you’ll be extra careful. Seriously, don’t stop for anyone. Drive straight there and straight home.”
“Deal. Now, I’ll need your help getting the car backed out of the driveway,” she said. “I’ll put the car in neutral and then we can roll it onto the street. We’ll have to take it a few houses down before I can start the engine again.”
“Wait, what?” Perrie jumped upright. “You still haven’t told your parents?”
Resting her hands together, she batted her eye innocently. “No, but I promise I’ll tell them tomorrow. I just want to get a feel for the place first. I don’t want to get my hopes up if it’s not going to work out. It’s not like I’m going out partying—I just want a job.”
“Damn it, fine,” Perrie grumbled. “Just a heads up, if they come over here asking me where you are, I’m going to tell them. Aunt Krista can see through my lies, no matter how hard I try to tell them. She’s like a human lie detector.”
“I know! I don’t know how she does it.” Maisie giggled.
“All right. Let’s get that car ready. The sooner you go, the earlier you can get back and let me know what really isn’t for the “faint of heart” in there.”
They snuck as quietly as they could next door and managed to get the car on the street. There were a few times they almost gave themselves away with laughter. But success came as they rolled it down the drive without a problem. Perrie helped Maisie walk the car a few houses down before her cousin got in and started it up.
“Good luck.” Perrie reached through the window and high-fived Maisie. She watched the car roll away, her stomach in tight knots. A gut feeling told her this was a bad idea.
A light pulsing throbbed at Perrie’s head, waking her up. The beeping of the alarm buzzed a few seconds later, and it wasn’t making her head feel any better. She took some Excedrin, washed it down with water, and got dressed.
Grabbing her things for school and a quick bite to eat, she made her way over to Maisie’s. She couldn’t wait to ask her all about her first night on the job and find out exactly what was inside the Glass Vault. Knowing Maisie, she would have plenty to spill, not one detail spared.
Perrie stopped short of the front door and noticed Maisie’s car wasn’t in the driveway. She looked toward the street to see if maybe she parked against the curb. Maisie hadn’t.
Did she leave for school without me? Impossible.
Uncle Jaron’s truck was still parked in the driveway, and she knew her aunt’s car was in the garage. As she raced to the door, Perrie tried not to overthink. She rang the bell several times and banged on the hard wood in between, her nerves bouncing like crazy.
Aunt Krista answered the door in her pajamas with a scowl crinkling her forehead. It was obvious she’d woken her aunt up. “Perrie? What’s going on? Is your dad okay?”
“Where’s Maisie?” Her heart was pounding ferociously, seconds from jumping out of her chest.
“She probably just overslept. Let me check on her,” Uncle Jaron said, appearing behind Aunt Krista, looking crisp in a pressed suit with his dark hair slicked back. As he walked away, her aunt peered out toward the driveway and scrunched her nose when she noticed the missing car.
“Did she already leave for school?”
Perrie cupped her mouth and shook her head frantically. “No, I don’t think she came home last night.”
Uncle Jaron returned frowning. “She isn’t in her room.”
“What do you mean she didn’t come home last night? She came home, did her homework, and went to bed early,” Aunt Krista noted aloud.
No. No. No. Fear and worry consumed Perrie in that moment. She ran her hands through her hair, gripping hard as she tried to make sense of this. Uncle Jaron and Aunt Krista were talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was all noise. She needed to tell them.
“Maisie started a new job last night at this place called Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault over on Oak Street.” Perrie laid her confession before them like a neck exposed to the guillotine, waiting for the blade to come down.
“What are you talking about?” Aunt Krista barked.
Perrie hadn’t seen Aunt Krista this mad in a long time. The last time she’d been this angry was when she and Maisie accidentally broke her aunt’s three-piece set of unicorn figurines. They’d been playing with a ball in the house and had gotten a little too reckless, then blamed it on the dog, of course. But she’d known in a split second they were lying. Now Perrie just wanted to crawl into a dark hole and find a way to reverse time.
“Perrie, tell us exactly what happened.” Uncle Jaron’s tone came out calm.
Perrie started with telling them about Monday, the day they’d found the new glass museum and how they were hiring. She then confessed to them how Maisie emailed the owner, Quinsey Wolfe, and how he’d hired her right away.
Taking a breath, she also spilled the beans about last night being Maisie’s first day. She purposely left out the fact she’d helped her move the car for her cousin’s grand escape plan.
“Thank you,” Jaron said for her honesty, as if she’d just performed a miraculous deed. She turned to Aunt Krista, who studied Perrie with narrowed eyes. No pat on the back from her.
“Let me try to call her, okay? Just relax.” Uncle Jaron produced his cell and raised it to his ear. Perrie took hers out and shot Maisie a text.
Perrie: Maisie, call me now!
When no answer came, Uncle Jaron left a short message and hung up.
“This is what we’re going to do first”—he placed a comforting hand on Aunt Krista’s shoulder—“we’re going to go to the school to see if Maisie’s car is there. Maybe she went to school early and forgot to tell Perrie. If she isn’t at the school, then we’ll stop by this Glass Vault and look for her there. Okay?”
Perrie and Aunt Krista nodded in unison. Uncle Jaron grabbed his keys and Aunt Krista slipped on a pair of sandals. They all hurried out the door to his truck and climbed in.
Before Perrie could buckle, Aunt Krista rattled off a hundred questions. “Why didn’t you tell us Maisie started a new job? Who is Quinsey Wolfe? When was she supposed to be back? Why didn’t she tell us about this?”
“I don’t know the first two. I think she should’ve been back around midnight. She knew you guys would say no.”
Aunt Krista gave her “the look” and Perrie wished she would just stop for a minute. “That’s right—we would have said no,” she shouted. “There are people missing, your friend is missing, and not to mention it was a school night. There’s no way we would let her work a job that late at night with everything going on. I don’t care how close she is to turning eighteen.”
Silence filled the truck for the rest of the ride to school. Perrie slumped in her seat, unable to stop the miserable emotion consuming her. Her phone hadn’t buzzed once from Neven and now Maisie wouldn’t answer. Uncle Jaron kept his cool, but she knew he was as disappointed as Aunt Krista. No telling when they would get her dad involved, but she was sure it wouldn’t end well.
Uncle Jaron pulled into the school parking lot a few minutes later. He circled it twice, and Maisie’s car was nowhere in sight.
“Where is this place? You said on Oak Street?” Aunt Krista peered around the front seat.
Perrie could barely find air to breathe as she said, “Yes. It’s right off Oak Street.”
Her uncle was already leaving the school parking lot when Aunt Krista asked, “Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like a place for a museum.”
“That’s what we said, but it’s there.”
With Uncle Jaron speeding down the road, it didn’t take long to arrive at Oak Street.
“Slow down so we don’t pass it up.” Perrie leaned forward in her seat to focus. “Stop! This is it.” She pointed.
Uncle Jaron slammed on the brakes and they all lurched forward.
“Where?” Uncle Jaron asked while Perrie jabbed her finger at the air.
When her eyes finally refocused, her hand faltered. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault was nowhere to be seen. There wasn’t a trace of a building—it was as if nothing had ever been there at all.
Chapter 8
How could the Glass Vault be gone? There was no way. Perrie knew she hadn’t imagined it being here. Swinging open the car door, she ran to the edge of the curb and stared at the cut-down trees. Aunt Krista jogged up beside her and placed both hands on Perrie’s shoulders. Those two hands did nothing except weigh her down.
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
Wriggling out of her grasp, Perrie spun to face Aunt Krista and her uncle—who now stood directly beside her.
“Yes, I’m sure! We were here Monday after school and there was an old stone building right there.” Perrie pointed at the empty space. “Neven saw it too. There was a big wooden door with a plaque that said Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault.” She trudged through the grass. “See, there are trees that have even been cut down.”
“Who knows when those trees were cut down. And if it was here, it’s gone now,” Uncle Jaron said skeptically.
“It wasn’t a traveling carnival on wheels!” Perrie yelled, her breathing ragged.
Aunt Krista tried to rest her hand on her arm again, but Perrie pulled away before she could.
