The Darkness - Jason Pinter [84]
personal blog. She talked about a lot of things on the site,
one of which was her relationship with her new girlfriend. A girl named Abigail Cole."
Paulina watched, and I could have sworn she didn't
blink for a minute straight.
"Keep talking," she said.
"She posted a lot of photos on the site. But she never
posted any photos like the one you described the blond
man having that night."
"So if she didn't post those photos," Paulina said, "why
do you think she was involved?"
"Pam shut the blog down, according to records, just a
few days after you were abducted. In the days leading up
to the cancellation, there was nothing to suggest that there
was anything wrong in her life. Did you ever tell your
daughter what happened to you?" Jack said.
I was surprised, looking at Jack, to see a hint of
sympathy in his face. He had no love for Paulina Cole as
a reporter, but considering her as a human and a mother
outweighed that.
"Yes," she said. "A few days after it happened. I went
up to Smith and told her about it. Only to keep her safe."
"Do you think it's fair to assume," Jack said, "that Abigail
told her girlfriend what you told her? That she told Pam?"
Paulina stood there, then wiped at her eyes which were
reddening. For some reason I felt ashamed watching this.
"It's possible," Paulina said. Jack nodded slowly.
"Henry was able to log on to Facebook and contact a
few of Abigail's friends. Through them, he found the
photos you referred to, the beach shots. They were taken
by a girl named Samantha Isringhausen, who then uploaded them to her account."
240
Jason Pinter
"I called Samantha," I said, "in her dorm room. When
I asked her about the photos, specifically the one of
Abigail in front of the hole, she told me that when Pam
saw it she immediately asked for the only copy. She loved
that picture so much that she never wanted it to be seen
by anyone other than her. Samantha agreed, and said after
sending the file to Pamela and uploading the rest, she
deleted them from her digital camera."
"So the only person who had that photo," Jack said,
"was your daughter's girlfriend."
"Wait," Paulina said, tears starting to run freely now.
"Are you saying..."
"I'm saying that the man who attacked you that night,"
Jack said, "got the photo from Pamela Ruffalo, your
daughter's girlfriend. She sold your daughter out."
32
Paulina didn't move. Her entire upper body trembled as
she looked from Jack to me and back again. Then she
stared at me long and hard, without taking her eyes away.
I couldn't understand why at first, but then I realized that
she trusted me more than she trusted Jack.
Paulina was hoping I would tell her that none of this
was true.
Instead I walked up to Paulina, and I'll be damned if
I know why I did this, but I took the woman's hand in
mine and held it.
"It's true," I said. "We haven't spoken to Pam or Abigail yet."
"Why not?" she said.
Jack replied, "Because you're Abigail's mother. And
you're a reporter, too. Because this part of the story needs
to be reported by you."
"How can I..." Paulina said, trailing off. "My daughter, she'll be..."
"She'll hate you," I said, "for a while. But eventually
she'll know the truth. And she'll respect you for it."
Paulina laughed bitterly. "My daughter hasn't respected me in a long time."
242
Jason Pinter
"Well, if she doesn't respect you," I said, "she'll sure
as hell love you for it."
"What about you two? What happens next?"
Jack said, "We'll be waiting for your call. Your promise to Henry still stands. We did our part and will continue
to."
Paulina nodded. Then she looked at her watch.
"I can be there in a few hours," she said.
"So go," I said.
"Yeah. Right." She looked at her hand, still held in
mine, and pulled it back. Then she ran it through her hair,
and straightened her jacket. "I'll call you once it's done."
As Paulina turned to walk away, Jack called, "Don't
we get a thank-you?"
She turned back, glared at Jack. "I'll thank you once
that blond bastard is either behind bars or in the ground."