Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (26 page)

I caught my breath, scooped some water in my hat and dumped it over my head. I thought about what Kate had said when she asked if the ghost was dangerous. When she asked if she had done anything to me.

I wasn’t sure anymore.

I had never been so happy to see the take-out spot. I said goodbye to my group, trying to act casual. All of them had gray energy around them. It hadn’t been fun, going backwards down the rapids. If they had been those teenage boys, it would have been a different story. But I was pretty sure that some of these people would complain back at the office.

We watched the bus take them away. I was exhausted and still shaking a little and eager to get home. I grabbed some paddles and loaded them.

Ty came up to me.

“Abby, you did good. Really good. It was pretty mean out there and bottom line, nobody took a bath.”

I shrugged.

“The raft just turned around so quickly. I didn’t have time to get it straight again.”

“Just like I said, you have to be prepared for anything. And you did great. It might not have been the prettiest river run ever, but you got through it and nobody fell in and nobody got hurt. You did exactly right.”

I started shaking hard and he rubbed my shoulders. Then he went into the bus and came back with a sweatshirt that had the University of Montana mascot on it.

“Here, put this on,” he said. “You’re freezing.”

I put it on and, still shivering, walked over to a sunny spot and stood there for a few minutes. Then I helped them load up. I wanted to get home. I wanted to look through those pictures.

It was time to get her off my back.

CHAPTER 25

As I pulled up, I saw Dr. Mortimer’s black BMW in the driveway.

I was still shaking. I didn’t know what it meant, didn’t know if she had really tried to hurt me. But whatever the reason for her being there, I felt a new urgency about finding her. I hoped she would be in the pictures that Kate was sending over.

As I collected my stuff, I thought of Jesse. More and more I questioned whether I had really seen him. He didn’t look like a ghost. He didn’t look like her. He wasn’t terrifying.

She had been angrier than ever, her face burning with a desperation and intensity that I hadn’t seen before. It had been a little while since I was up on the lava cliff. Maybe she thought that I had forgotten. Or I had changed my mind. Maybe she didn’t know that I had been going through files and pictures, trying to find out who she was and learn her story.

I wasn’t going to tell Dr. Mortimer about it, or even Kate for that matter.

I put a smile on my face and opened the front door.

“Hi, Dr. Mortimer,” I said, trying to sound normal.

“Hey, Abby.”

He got up from the sofa.

I threw my bag down by the coat rack and walked into the living room. He had been watching the news. The weather guy with the giant shirt sleeves was saying that it would be hot the next few days, with plenty of blue skies.

Blue skies.
It had been so long since I had seen a blue sky.

“So how was the river today?” he said.

His voice was a little off and I figured he must have picked up on something. I probably wasn’t doing such a great job at hiding the fear I was feeling inside. I tried harder.

“It was a tough one, actually. Most days are great. But, you know, can’t always please everybody. Some lady lost her hat and gave me a hard time.”

We sat down and I slid off my sandals.

“I have that too, at the hospital. It’s a drag, sometimes, huh?”

“You lose people’s hats too?” I said, working in a joke.

He smiled.

“We lose all sorts of things. You don’t want to know, trust me.”

I just remembered that I had planned on cooking dinner for him, but I really didn’t feel like it at all. I needed a nice cup of tea that could chase away the chills still crawling all over my insides, and then a good, long black and white movie.

“I’m going to change and then make you dinner. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Oh,” Dr. Mortimer said.

He looked a little sad.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help out. I ordered a pizza. I figured you’d be tired and hungry when you got home. It’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“I can’t even tell you how great that sounds,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

I got up and walked toward my room.

“So, you’re all set up in Kate’s room and everything?” I asked, turning back around. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m good. I have to leave in about an hour, though.”

“Okay, I’ll be fast.”

I was already feeling better and realized that maybe it was because Dr. Mortimer was here. It was nice having someone at home when I came back at the end of the day. Kate was hardly ever able to do that.

Although I was anxious to take a quick look at my email, I didn’t. I headed back out to the kitchen. Dr. Mortimer had set the table with plates, poured sodas, and was dishing out the slices already.

“Do you ever get used to that crazy night shift schedule?” I asked.

“No, not at all actually. When I first started out I thought, no problem. I’ll be used to this in a few weeks, maybe a month. But all these years later and I’m not even close to being used to it. I still have trouble falling asleep in the daylight and I have a heck of a time not yawning a blue streak after three in the morning.”

“Kate says you want to be a pediatrician?”

“Oh, she remembered that?”

His eyes glazed over for a moment.

“Yeah, I still want to do that. I would have to go back to school, but I’d like to specialize in pediatrics sometime down the road.”

I nodded and smiled, thinking he would make a great children’s doctor.

I noticed Dr. Mortimer’s energy suddenly turned gray. He was nervous. I had a feeling he wanted to talk about something and I hoped it wasn’t any bad news about Nathaniel. I couldn’t take that on right now. Not with what I already had on my plate.

“Hey,” he said, trying to sound casual. “I have a question for you. But you can tell me if I’m out of line. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings.”

I was relieved. I knew it was about Kate.

“What is it?”

“I’m kind of at a loss with Kate lately and need some advice.”

I didn’t want to say too much or make her mad. She wouldn’t like me talking about her with Dr. Mortimer. But I also wanted to help them.

“Sure,” I said, hesitating a little.

“Well.” He paused, fighting to find the right words. “I’m just wondering. Do you think if I can find Nathaniel and bring him in that I’ll have a chance with her again? I’m just not sure. She has that boyfriend and I’m trying to get a reading on that but can’t really. What do you think?”

I thought about it for a minute. He turned and looked at me, waiting for an answer. His eyes were so serious and I could see that he was really deeply in love with Kate. Still. After all this time.

But I didn’t know what to say. And I didn’t really know the answer. She could be stubborn sometimes.

“I don’t really know,” I finally said. “I know she…” I stopped and came up with some new words. “I know she really cares about you, Dr. Mortimer. And that she isn’t so in love with Colin. But, you’re right. I don’t know exactly what it would take for her to let all that stuff go.”

I did have a strong feeling about what it would take, but I wasn’t going to say it. I was thinking that a bullet through his brother’s head would satisfy Kate. And maybe nothing else.

Whatever I had just said seemed to lift his spirits a little.

“Thanks. That helps. I know there’s not an easy answer. Anyway, I better focus on getting Nathaniel first, right? Then, hopefully, all this relationship stuff will just fall into place.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I think that would be a big part of her coming back around. Getting Nathaniel.”

“Well, okay then. I better get ready.”

He walked out of the kitchen and I heard Kate’s bathroom door close.

I took my soda over to the sofa and sat down.

“Okay, Abby,” Dr. Mortimer said, walking toward the door.

I was expecting scrubs, but he was more dressed up than usual.

“You can reach me at the ER anytime. You have all the numbers. And I’ll be back in the morning just after seven or so. Sorry I couldn’t get any time off. I tried, but they’ve cut the staff tremendously this summer and it was too short notice. I hope it helps somewhat, me staying here during the day.”

“It does,” I said. “It was great seeing you tonight. Plus it makes Kate happy.”

I walked him to the door and said goodbye.

After watching his car drive away, I brought out my laptop and checked my phone. Kate had left a message, telling me she had downloaded the pictures and I should have them in an email. There were a lot of pictures to go through.

As I scanned the photos, that same heaviness crept back that I had felt before when I looked at those other missing women. Most of the women didn’t match up to her at all. They either had the wrong hair or face shape. There were a lot of them. Too many.

I muted the TV and turned on some music. Gladys Knight and the Pips started singing about being someone’s woman.

And then, two women later, I found her.

It was the eyes that I noticed first. Even when she was alive, she had those stark, serious eyes. They stared right through me.

Her name was Annabelle Harrison. She was 27 years old and had lived in Portland, Oregon. She had gone missing on November 9, 2003. And she was last seen at a grocery store.

I couldn’t believe it. I sat, staring at her picture and reading all her information over and over again.

She had the same long, dark hair, but it was styled nicely in the photo, and flipped up at the ends. The picture looked like she was at a party of some sort, with a large banner in the background. And even though she was smiling, she had the same haunted look that most of the missing women had: a hollowness in their eyes, a vacant expression on their faces. An eternal sadness in their souls, almost like anticipation of what was to come. Like they knew.

My stomach tightened as I phoned Kate. A small part of me was happy to have found her, but mostly I just felt a terrible sadness.
Annabelle
. It was odd that she had a name now, odd to see her filled out. Living.

I ran my finger over her picture, thinking about her name. Annabelle
.
It was a beautiful name. I thought about her parents when they named her and all the hopes and dreams they must have had for her, never dreaming she would end up at the bottom of a river 27 short years later.

I sighed, waiting for Kate to pick up. In a way finding her made all this insanity real. It wasn’t just my imagination.

It was official. I really did see ghosts.

CHAPTER 26

“Really? You found her? That’s incredible! Wait, hold on one second.” I could hear Kate talking to someone in the background. “Okay, sorry, I’m at Pioneer Place shopping with Erin. She’s in the dressing room. But I found a place to sit and go over the photos. I have my iPad here. Which one is she?”

I told her.

“Oh, my God,” she said before going quiet for a moment. “Wow, she looks just like the sketch you gave me. It’s eerie.”

“Yeah, for me too,” I said. “You know, I thought I would feel better, but I don’t. I just feel really sad. What do you think happened to her?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out tomorrow. But, Abby, you should focus on the good in all this. Remember that you’re going to be helping her loved ones. It’s still an unsolved case, and I know how especially heartbreaking those are for the families. It’s a terrible thing not knowing what happened to someone you love.”

When Kate said that, I thought about Jesse. That was exactly it. He was like one of those that went missing. And it
was
a terrible feeling. I didn’t know what had happened to him. He had just vanished that day, and I wasn’t sure if he was ever coming back.

“You’re right.”

“Hey, did Ben make it over there today?”

“Oh, yes. We had a pizza. It was nice seeing him.”

“Good. I’m glad he’s there, but it’s too bad you have to be home alone tonight. Is there a friend or somebody you could go hang out with for a while?”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said.

I was thinking of Claire. At least I could write to her. Maybe that would help shake some of this awful feeling.

“Good. Do it. This is great news. I have my work cut out for me tomorrow. I’ll try to find out what I can before heading home.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

“It’s all good. Keep your eyes on the prize.”

“I will,” I said. “Bye, Kate. Say hi to Erin and thanks again for everything.”

“I’ll call you later tonight. Bye.”

Eyes on the prize.
I wasn’t sure what that meant. Annabelle was dead. I couldn’t see any prizes coming out of that. The time for prizes had passed.

I tossed down the phone and it bounced off the sofa, landing on the ground with a thud.

It had been a day from hell. At least, that’s how I was feeling. Bad. Feeling like I used to feel.

Like I didn’t belong in my life.

CHAPTER 27

I needed some fresh air to change my mood. It was only seven and I thought I would go over to the park and watch a soccer game. I knew Jack and Tim played on a different team Monday nights. I put on my shoes and brought my cleats and shin guards, just in case they needed an extra player.

As I was driving over, I realized that part of my sadness had to do with Jesse. If I was able to see ghosts, then why couldn’t I see him anymore? Where was he? I couldn’t stop thinking about what Claire had written, the part about how Jesse might have moved on.

I knew it was selfish but I wanted him and needed him. With every passing day, I loved him more. But now I wondered if I didn’t love a ghost, but rather something else. A figment of my imagination.