Call for help

Rachel sat on her bed, staring into oblivion, half hoping she would wake up and find she'd been having a nightmare. The past few weeks have been horrible. She'd lost her baby, and now she was losing the man she loved. Kingsley rarely talked or looked at her. Despite her insistence that she hadn't deliberately caused her miscarriage, he didn't believe her, and his family gave her hell. She spent most of the day hiding in her room and rarely eating, so she'd lost a lot of weight. She wished Richie were there; he would have a solution to her current problem. 

Thinking of Richie reminded her of Silvertown; were these recent happenings a punishment for what she'd done in the past? She was sad and lonely, her only friend being Calisa, who called her almost every day. They'd lunch together yesterday, and she'd cried throughout, with Calisa offering words of sympathy. 

Who had planted those pills, she wondered—Mabel, Lucy, or who? She had no idea, but it didn't matter. She had lost her baby, and her life was falling apart. She sighed and began crawling back under the covers.

A notification sounded on her phone. It was a Facebook message from Richie! She couldn't believe it. She read the message and instantly replied, sending him her number. Immediately, he called her.

"Ray, babe, how are you doing? Long time; I've missed you plenty. Your name is different, but I recognized you from your pictures."

"I lost my phone and your number. I was just thinking of you. I am so happy to hear from you. How are you? I've missed you so much too."

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

She sighed. "My life is falling apart, Rich; I need help."

"Send me your address. I'll be there tomorrow.

"What! Seriously?"

"Anything for you, Ray; send it immediately."

"On it," 

The next day, Rachel sat in the lobby of the Rest Place Hotel, waiting anxiously for him. She had given him the address and booked a room for him as well.

She still had money. Despite his coldness, Kingsley hadn't cut her allowance. 

She saw Richie coming and ran to hug him.

"You haven't changed a bit," she said, looking him over.

He tried to kiss her, but she resisted. 

"Stop it, Richie," she said nervously. "I'm married, and people are looking at us."

"Who cares? I'm so happy to see you; I've never stopped thinking of you or loving you." "I missed you, Ray," he added.

"Me too; I missed you, but I'm married now," she said quietly.

"I'm happy for you. I hope he deserves you." He said this, lowering his head slightly in defeat.

"He does." She smiled. "You really haven't changed."

"Neither have you, Ray; you look good, only sad. What's up?" 

"I'll tell you everything," she said as she led him to the hotel restaurant she'd ordered, and she told him everything that had happened to her since coming to Newtown. Richie listened without interrupting.

"Do you think your mom-in-law was the one who planted the pills?" He asked her.

She looked uncertain. "I'm not sure, but my husband seems not to trust me anymore. His mother is pressuring him to end our marriage."

"I love him very much, Richie,"

"I need assistance."

"Relax. I'll think of something; I always do."

"How have you been?" She asked him.

"I've been okay; I lost my foster mom to cancer last month."

"I'm so sorry,"

"It's ok,"

"How did that night go?" she asked fearfully.

"Don't worry about it; let's solve the immediate problem."

After lunch, they went up to the privacy of his room.

"What you need to do is have something to hold over her," he told Rachel. "Then she'll leave you alone."

"Something like what? The family is clean; there are no skeletons."

"Everyone has a skeleton," Richie said solemnly. "Now tell me everything about them."

She gave him a brief rundown. 

"Dad is a hedge fund manager, mom owns a cake bakery, sister is studying accounting at the university, and Kingsley is an insurance executive."

"What I needed from you was their social media information and email accounts. I'll do the rest."

Rachel provided him with all he requested.

"Go home, Ray; in a couple of days you'll hear from me."

"Thanks, and I go by Gina now," she smiled.

"I'll remember."

Richie stood by the window, lost in thoughts about Rachel. He loves her so much, but she never cared. She prefers another guy to him, yet the same guy lets her suffer at the hands of his family without defending her. "What a life," he concluded. Yet, he reassures himself that he must help Rachel for the sake of love; her choice notwithstanding, she deserves to be happy.

He spent all night doing what he did best: hacking. He came up empty on James Mitchell, then moved to Mabel. A deleted email sent a month ago caught his eye; the sender's name was familiar. He opened it and read, then froze with shock as understanding dawned. 

"Really? What a world!" "What a life!" He said, expressing shock.

Early the next morning, he called Rachel.

"Ray, ask Mabel to do something she won't usually do, like give you the key to the kitchen; if she refuses, tell her you are going to tell her family what happened on June 5, 1995."

"What?" Rachel was puzzled.

"Listen dammit!" He shouted impatiently and repeated the message.

Rachel agreed. She waited until everyone had left the house and then approached Mabel.

"Let me have the key to the kitchen, please!"

Mabel, who was preparing to go to the bakery, was initially stunned by her bold request, then flared up.

"How can you even talk to me, you baby killer?"

"Let me have the key; otherwise, I'll tell everyone what you did in June 1995."

Mabel reeled back as if struck. "What did you say?" She asked hoarsely.

Rachel repeated it, then added, "I'm quite sure you still remember June 5, 1995."

Hastily, Mabel fumbled for the key and handed it to her. Rachel took it, with her heart pounding, and went to the kitchen. She wasn't hungry, but she made herself a sandwich and went to sit in the garden, excitedly taking in what had happened. She then called Richie and narrated the encounter.

"Meet me at the hotel this afternoon," he told her.

She managed to finish the sandwich and then drove to the hotel.

"It worked, Richie," she said, excited. "What did you find out? What happened on that day? Why was she so scared?"

"Never mind. She won't bother you again. That's what matters. Now for the next phase of the plan."

"Phase? Plan? What plan? I don't understand."

He ignored her. "We'll be working together now, you and me,"

"To do what?"

He told her.

"What? No way!" She exclaimed, horrified.