For Nevermore Season 1

the midst of her dreams. The same murder that had dominated the news cycle, along with the string of missing women which was believed to be related. The unsolved murders that the sheriff’s department had been pouring most of its resources into. At first, Noella was tempted to tell Randy. Though she didn’t like Katie, she didn’t want to see the girl dead, and wished she could have somehow saved her. She wanted to see the killer caught. But Noella couldn’t tell anyone what she’d seen.
    They wouldn’t just commit her, they would throw away the key as well.
    The choice might have been more difficult if she thought she’d seen anything that would help solve the cases. But she hadn’t. So, keeping her mouth shut was the best thing she could do.
    Noella jiggled her right leg — something she’d been doing as long as she could remember to ease herself to sleep.
    No matter how hard she tried to think of anything else, Noella couldn’t stop thinking about Katie’s murder or Dante’s appearance. All of her thoughts were tangled together. And what really thickened the knot, was Noella’s certainty that all the recent nightmares, both in her waking life and in her dreams, were somehow connected by intersections she couldn’t see. Noella turned the events like keys in her mind, but no matter how many times she tried to fit them in the lock, the truth wouldn’t open and the pieces wouldn’t fit.
    What am I missing?
    The visions of murder finally started to fade, and Noella began to drift, leaving her body and hearing herself from somewhere below, as she hovered above and lightly started to snore. Noella cuddled her comfy pillow closer to her, and prepared to set eyes on her father again, or perhaps, even better, Dante.
    The knock on her door was like thunder crashing through her sleep.
    Noella bolted awake and sat straight up.
    “You okay, honey?” Josie asked.
    “Yeah,” Noella blinked her eyes, slowly focusing on her aunt, as Josie stepped into the room wearing her usual look of maternal concern.
    “Just have a massive headache,” Noella said. “It’s pretty bad, and I didn’t sleep well.”
    “Want me to get you some ibuprofen?”
    “Thanks,” Noella sat up in bed, rubbing her temples. “That would be great.”
    Josie returned with the bottle and Noella spilled three of the small brown pills into her hand, then washed them down with a gulp of water.
    “Listen,” Josie said, “Detective Avery is coming over in a bit. He wants to talk to you some more about the shooting.”
    Noella closed her eyes and sighed. “I told him everything I could remember. What else do they want from me?”
    “I know, I know,” Josie said, running her fingers through Noella’s hair and her thumb across her cheek. “And I’m sorry. But we don’t have a choice. We have to answer the detective’s questions. Don’t worry, Randy won’t let him pester you, at least not too much. Detective Avery just wants to show you a video, to see if it jogs any memories.”
    “A video?” Noella said, her stomach feeling like an elevator that suddenly plummeted 20 floors. At first, she thought of the video that Vicky had shown the girls in the locker room. Had that video found its way to Randy or the sheriff’s department?
    “Yeah,” Josie continued stroking Noella’s hair. “They pulled the security footage from Keefer’s. Avery wants to show you the video to see if it helps you remember.”
    A river of ice ran through Noella. She wondered why she hadn’t remembered Keefer’s video cameras before now. There were three, strategically placed throughout the coffee shop. Two up front and one in the back. Detective Avery must have seen the footage already since there was no way he’d come over to her house and watch it for the first time in front of Noella. And if Detective Avery had already seen the security footage, then that meant he knew Noella was lying. Not only had Noella witnessed the murder, the murderer had spoken to her. He had even said her name, meaning that she knew him. And if she knew him, she was involved, and things were about to get complicated.
    “Did they see anything on the video?” Noella asked, trying not to sound guilty or overly concerned.
    “I don’t know. But Avery will be here soon, so you’ll probably wanna shower and get yourself ready.” She smiled at Noella. “You get ready, and I’ll make some pancakes, okay?”
    Noella nodded, hugged her aunt, then headed toward the bathroom