Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (27 page)

I saw Jack’s large pickup truck near the edge of the grass where it was always parked. It almost seemed like he lived here. I always saw his truck in the exact same place. He was seriously obsessed with the game.

I walked up to the grass. They were in the second half. Jack saw me on the sidelines after a few minutes and waved.

“Hey, AC, what are you doing here?” he asked, chasing down the ball as it bounced out of bounds.

He threw it in to a teammate and ran back on the field.

“Thought I’d just watch a game for a change,” I said.

“Good! We’ll talk after. Don’t disappear.”

It felt good to have friends. It was a new experience this year and I liked it. It wasn’t even like I was going to tell Jack anything, but I already felt better being outside and saying hello.

The ref blew the whistle and the game ended. Everybody headed over to the sidelines. Jack had his usual entourage of friends following. Some of them were talking under their breaths, mad at the other team.

“You okay, AC?” he asked.

“Just needed some air. Had a little time to kill. Kate’s out of town and I didn’t feel like being by myself.”

Jack wiped off his face with his sleeve.

“Wanna come out with us? I’m supposed to meet up with Bree for a beer. Why don’t you come along?”

That was the one thing that was a little strange this year about my new friends. They were all older than me and usually went out for drinks.

“Oh, I’m good. I think I’ll just head home now. I enjoyed watching the game. You guys won, right? Why were those guys angry?”

Jack looked to the side where his teammates were collecting their stuff and leaving. The other two teams about to play were already on the field. The sidelines were crowded, full of soccer players.

“There were some real hacks out there tonight. The ref let them get away with a lot of crap. Hey, did you see my new jersey?”

Jack pulled it down and turned around, smiling. He knew I’d hate it. It was a Sergio Ramos Real Madrid shirt.

“Like I would say something about him,” I said. “Something nice, I mean. Come on. I can’t think of a dirtier player, except maybe van Bommel. Come to think of it, he would fit right in out here.”

“Sergio’s just tenacious, that’s all,” he said. “You’ll come around, AC.”

He laughed as I shook my head. He was just trying to make me mad.

“But seriously. You don’t look like yourself or something. You okay?”

“Just a hard day,” I said. “But I feel better.”

We talked for a few more minutes. I was tired now, really tired. I headed home and locked everything up and got ready for bed.

But first I had to write Claire and give her an update about how Kate had found Annabelle, and also about me seeing her so angry on the river. As I started writing, I stopped. Claire had written me in the morning, but I had missed it. Goose bumps crept up my arms as I read her email.

“You’re in danger, Abby. Danger! I’m picking up on something. Not sure what. But for God’s sake, be careful.”

I cringed. Claire had known. She knew that Annabelle’s ghost was angry and was coming after me on the river. I should have checked her message before leaving in the morning.

I wrote back, telling her everything and asking for help. I wanted Claire to tell her that we were close to wrapping up the case. I wanted her to tell Annabelle to leave me alone.

I headed to bed, dreading the river in the morning.

CHAPTER 28

I swallowed my fear as I grabbed my paddle.

Focus, I told myself.

Going backwards down the rapids had left me freaked out. Seriously freaked out. It brought back so much, too much. As I paddled us out into the calm waters, all I could think about was the dark place where I couldn’t breathe anymore. The darkness at the bottom of that lake.

It left me wondering if I really was crazy for being out here all day, for taking this job as a river guide. Even though most days I felt good, maybe I hadn’t thought it through. Maybe I was just trying to prove something. Like some tragic hero. Like William Holden getting killed at the end of all those old movies.

All it would take was one small mistake, one mistake to send me back to those waters. Kate was right. I had no business being out here. What was I thinking?

And there was no one to talk to about it. I was totally alone. I couldn’t tell Ty or Dr. Mortimer or Jack about the ghost on the river and I couldn’t tell Kate that Annabelle had tried to hurt me. And although I wanted to think that she hadn’t done it intentionally, I really had no idea. I couldn’t be sure one way or the other.

I just prayed that I wouldn’t see her again.

My first group was a large family from Chicago. We got in and after I gave them instructions, it was a relief to feel that the flow of the water was back at its usual speed. I still wasn’t sure what had happened yesterday. That part wasn’t Annabelle’s fault. After all, she couldn’t control how much water was released from the dam upstream.

I led us through Big Eddy, facing forward this time and full of a new fear I couldn’t quite shake. But I did well, catching the right channel and shooting the rapids with just the right amount of thrills. When we were out in the calmer section, Ty gave me one of his famous thumbs up.

“Nice,” he shouted, his voice echoing off the rocks and down the river.

The rest of the day was like that. Easy really. And normal. Like it had been all summer. Done right with no problems. As we loaded up to go home, Ty walked up.

“Hey. You know, we didn’t really get a chance to talk. I just wanted to say what a great time I had going on that hike.”

“Me too,” I said.

“Maybe we can do it again. Somewhere different. Like up in the mountains. I’ve been on some great hikes up there. How about Green Lakes?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’d love to. Green Lakes is killer.”

After work, I headed over to the park. I wandered around, checking out the courts and the running path through the woods. Helping Annabelle wasn’t helping. She wasn’t getting me any closer to finding Jesse. Maybe there just wasn’t anything anyone could do. Maybe it was all hopeless.

I couldn’t shake the feeling. Why had Jesse vanished?

I thought for a moment he might be mad about Ty. But that didn’t explain why he hadn’t been around all that time before. I walked the path through the forest and when I was by myself, I spoke to him.

“I love you, Jesse,” I said, softly. “Please come back.”

I hoped my words would cross between our worlds and reach him.

“I still need you. Please come back to me.”

Only a gentle breeze answered. I continued on the path looking for him, trying to fight the strong feeling, stronger now than the waves at Big Eddy, that I would never again see him.

CHAPTER 29

I didn’t see Dr. Mortimer when I got home. He had already left for work. I texted him, apologizing again about not being able to cook dinner while he was staying over. I saw that he had left all his stuff, probably in case Kate had to stay in Portland another day. He wrote back a little later.

“How about a rain check? I can email you my schedule.”

I sent back a smiley face.

I headed over to my soccer game, grateful that I was playing. I needed to get my mind off things, get lost in the grass, and only think about a soccer ball at my feet. My brain was on overdrive and I needed a break. I needed a goal.

I scored twice and we beat the Pirates 3-1.

“So close to a hat trick, AC,” Jack said. “Nice game.”

“You too, Jack. You had some great moves out there tonight.”

He smiled as he shoved his ball into his soccer bag.

“You seem back to your old self,” he said as he looked at me.

I didn’t like it when people stared at me that way, but I knew he didn’t mean anything by it.

“Yeah. Better day on the river.”

“Good,” he said.

I picked up my bag and checked the time. Kate would be home soon and I could hardly wait.

CHAPTER 30

Kate called before reaching the mountain pass and said she wouldn’t be home until after midnight.

“Sorry, Abby. I got a late start. I was talking with Erin. But just go to bed. We can talk in the morning.”

I could hear Diana Krall playing her piano in the background. It made me a little nervous, her driving back at these hours. I knew she must be tired.

“Did you get some coffee?”

“Got it right here. Hey, don’t worry. It’s a beautiful night and I’m pumped up. And there are still plenty of cars on the road.”

“Good.”

“Okay, I’m about to lose reception. If you’re sleeping when I get home, I’m not going to wake you. I want you to be rested in the morning.”

“I’ll be up,” I said. “I want to hear everything.”

After we hung up, I got my blanket and pillow and put them on the sofa. I wasn’t going to take any chances. If I stayed in the living room the front door would wake me. I found an old film noir on Turner Classics called
The Killers
. Annabelle looked a little like a young Ava Gardner, I thought before slipping into a deep sleep.

It felt like only a minute had gone by when the front door woke me. I met Kate as she came in with her bags.

“You did it. You stayed up.”

“Of course,” I said, yawning and then smiling.

I went into the kitchen and made tea while she changed. It was already after one in the morning. The kettle boiled and I poured hot water into two mugs, sliding in decaf Earl Gray teabags, and put them on the table along with some cookies. In a few minutes Kate wandered in, her hair up in a ponytail.

“Wow, it’s good to be home,” she said. “It’s a long drive back sometimes. That stretch from Warm Springs to Bend goes on forever.”

She sat down and blew on her tea, cupping it in her hands.

“We’re very lucky. Sometimes you forget.”

“That’s true,” I said. “We are lucky.”

Kate seemed a little shaken, but it wasn’t a surprise. She took her investigations seriously and they always affected her.

“Hey, before we start, how has work been?” she asked.

“Good,” I said, shoving a cookie in my mouth.

She was preoccupied so she didn’t pick up on the lie. I wasn’t going to tell her about Annabelle scaring me on the river or about how I had gone down backwards on the Big Eddy.

“And how’s Ty?” she asked, smiling.

Kate had been ridiculously happy when I told her I went out to dinner with him.

“We’re just friends.”

She nodded. And smiled some more.

“I just texted Ben to let him know that I made it back okay. He’ll probably drop by in the morning to pick everything up.”

Kate took a cookie and walked out of the kitchen. She returned with her computer and a large file stuffed full of papers.

“Oh, Erin says hi,” she said as she pulled out the papers and put them on the kitchen table. “She also says she misses you. She wants you to come visit her in Portland. She says being in a big city would be good for you.”

After my accident, when I was having all those problems with strangers, I sometimes talked to Erin about how much I hated living in Bend, about how it felt like the walls were closing in around me. She always told me that the world was a big place and not to settle for small things. And if I was unhappy, all I had to do was pick up and go somewhere else, try something different.

Things were much better now, although I hadn’t had a chance to tell her because she moved last year. We emailed back and forth once in a while, but it wasn’t often. I always really liked that advice she gave me and kept it close to my heart.

“Okay, ready?” Kate said.

“Let’s do it,” I said.

She handed me a large photograph.

“Here’s a picture of Annabelle Harrison and her husband and son, four months before she disappeared.”

There was no mistake. It was her. Annabelle was the ghost who was haunting me.

I stared for a few moments at the photo. It was one of those family portraits taken by a fancy studio, the kind that stamped their signature at the bottom of all the pictures. Annabelle and a light-haired kid were sitting together, her arm draped over his shoulder. A man in a suit stood stiffly behind them. Although they were all smiling, none of them seemed that happy.

“Jacob is seven there. He’s fifteen now. And that’s her husband, Derek.”

I ran my fingers over the picture.

“It was taken in August and she went missing that November.”

I nodded and then put the picture aside.

“And here’s her driver’s license. This was in
The
Oregonian
files. I was able to get photocopies of anything I wanted. Erin helped out with that.”

I held the paper in my hands. My sketch really had been good, looking very similar to the picture on her license. She had that same, serious expression, that same long dark hair. I read over her stats. She was 5’6 and 135 pounds with green eyes.

“I wasn’t able to interview her husband. He’s an attorney and was in court all day. But we did talk on the phone and he said I could email him with any questions. He seems interested in what I’m doing, although he didn’t have any idea why there would be a Bend connection in her disappearance. He said they had never been to Central Oregon before.”

“So he’s a nice guy?” I asked.

I wasn’t picking up on that at all. In fact, as I looked at him and touched him with my fingers, I was picking up on the opposite.

“I wouldn’t say that. He’s abrupt and cocky but he’s an attorney, so what can you expect.”

Kate stood up and pulled out her notes.

“And there’s something else about him.”

I looked up.

“He was a suspect,” she said. “No, wait. I mean a person of interest, to be exact. He was never charged and he hired a bigwig firm to represent him immediately. But at the time the police were interested in him. I talked with the detectives who had worked the case all those years ago and they said they searched the home several times, but never found anything. And of course, there was no body. Annabelle just vanished into the Portland night and the case went cold.”