The Line (19 page)

“Officers?” Vivian’s voice was shaky. She hoped they didn’t notice.

“Are you Vivian Quillen?” The taller of the two EOs brushed roughly past Elizabeth.

“She is Ms. Quillen.” Peter moved forward to meet the EO. “I’m Peter Hill. Ms. Quillen’s daughter is missing. She’s left a note. Probably just a stunt, but we’re concerned.”

The EO looked at Peter, puzzled. “I’m Senior Officer Gillis.” He indicated his badge. “We weren’t called on a missing girl. We—”

“I believe there may have been a mistake.” Peter spoke quickly, stepping even closer to the EO. “Look here, Ms. Quillen is very upset at the moment. I wouldn’t want her more upset because of some official mix-up. Can we just focus on the matter at hand?”

“You said Peter Hill?” The second EO approached, eyes on his digitab. He showed the screen to Gillis. “That name is also noted on the call, sir.”

“My name shouldn’t be in your call record.” Peter looked genuinely confused.

Vivian and Elizabeth stood frozen while Officer Gillis read the digitab screen. Three creases etched his brow as he read the call record.

“I’ve been all over The Property and no sign of the girl.” The voice came from the hallway, startling everyone. Jonathan burst into the parlor. He looked at Ms. Moore, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Jonathan turned to the EOs. “Why aren’t you out there looking? Who knows where she’s got to by now?”

Officer Gillis looked annoyed. “Look, old man, we weren’t called here on a missing girl. We—”

“Why else would anyone call the likes of you?” said Jonathan. “Not like you do much good at anything else out here. Besides eating up taxes. Now go on and put your radar detectors to some use—see if you can’t track that girl’s genid out there.” He looked at the digitab Gillis had taken from his partner. “Is that the gizmo you use to do it? Never actually saw one before.”

“Are you saying you called us out?” Officer Gillis cocked his head at Jonathan.

“Are you telling me you don’t even know who called you? And you’re paid to keep us all safe, aren’t you? At least that’s what I hear every time I turn on the streamer.” Jonathan sounded disgusted. “Look, it’s almost dark, and we can’t find Ms. Quillen’s girl. And as you know, around here is not where you want a young girl lost after dark, brat or not.” Jonathan glanced at Vivian. “Beggin’ your pardon, Ms. Quillen.” He turned back to the EOs. “Now I suggest you crank up your fancy radar and go find her.”

Officer Gillis studied the screen before him for what seemed like an eternity. Everyone waited, silent, while he read. Finally, he looked up, first at the other EO and then at Peter. “I guess there’s some screwup. But I don’t understand . . .”

“Neither do I.” Peter sounded frustrated. “We have a missing girl. Now can we please see about locating her?”

“We’ll need to run some routine checks here first, verify Ms. Quillen’s employment status.” Gillis looked at Jonathan and Elizabeth. “Any problem with us verifying the two of you as well?”

“Waste of time,” Jonathan harrumphed.

“There’s no problem, officer.” Elizabeth shot Jonathan a sharp look. “I have a Private Enterprise license on file. Jonathan and Ms. Quillen are Gainfully Employed by me. Go ahead with your verifications. Then go find the child.”

 

 

THEY DIDN’T FIND her, of course. Rachel was far out of range of any patrol-issue genid detector by the time the EOs scanned the area. They gave up after less than an hour. Officer Gillis assured Vivian that a report would be filed and that Rachel’s genid would be added to the list of priority scans. Vivian acted the part of the distraught mother flawlessly. So flawlessly that Elizabeth felt worried for her.

When the EOs drove away, Peter insisted that he would escort Vivian to the guesthouse before he returned to Bensen. Jonathan and Elizabeth protested, saying she should stay at the main house, but Vivian assured them it was fine. She told Elizabeth she would use the intercom to keep in touch in case Rachel showed up. She leaned against Peter as they walked away.

Once she was settled on the couch in the guesthouse, Peter busied himself finding wine and pouring Vivian a glass. He sat down beside her.

“Are you all right?”

Vivian stared dully at him. “She could be anywhere.”

Peter hesitated. “I know this is hard, but I have to ask you some questions. I have to know what is going on here. After Daniel . . . after you left Ganivar, I couldn’t find you. I came looking for you, Vivan. Did you know that? I looked everywhere I could think of, every
way
I could think that wouldn’t risk drawing attention. I . . . had something to tell you. And then out of nowhere, you appear and ask for the key? What is happening, Vivian? Why did you want the key?”

Vivian was ready. She’d memorized the story, so she hardly had to think.

“I just couldn’t do it anymore, Peter.” Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks, real tears. “After Daniel was lost, I tried. I brought Rachel out here where I thought she would be safe. But the years . . .” She stared at him, eyes bright, unable to speak for a moment. “Oh, Peter,” she cried, “they just go on and on.”

When she continued she spoke softly, so that Peter had to strain to hear her.

“Rachel is almost grown. I just decided to go . . . to go where he was. That’s why I wanted your key. I decided to Cross. I didn’t care anymore what might happen to me. I didn’t care about anything.” She covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back sobs.

“But as far as you know, he’s—”

“I didn’t
care
anymore. And now look—Rachel is gone. I’ve been so selfish; I haven’t paid enough attention to what might be bothering her. And now she’s lost, just like Daniel.”

Peter tried to soothe her, but all he could do was wait for the worst of the tears to subside. When she was calmer, he got her another cup of wine. He said he would go back to Bensen and do some checking there. Before he left, he put his hand on Vivian’s shoulder. She did her best not to shrink from his touch.

“Try not to worry,” he said. He spoke softly, but his next words were chilling to her.

“We’ll find her, Vivian.”

R
ACHEL WASN’T SCARED at first. It was so surreal; it was like she was watching a stream show instead of living it. The idea that the Line was just gone for a moment, that she could walk right into the meadow. The idea that she couldn’t walk back out. The way her mom was crying when she hugged her and how Rachel had kept thinking it was the last hug she would get from her. Ms. Moore smiling at her, which was weird all by itself, since she hardly ever did. She had kept pointing off toward the trees, telling Rachel to hurry. And finally Rachel let go of her mom and walked away.

Ms. Moore and her mom stood there at the Line for a long time. Each time Rachel looked back, they were still there. Her mom was waving her arm, getting smaller and smaller. She thought they must have gone back to the house once she reached the trees, but she didn’t know. All she knew for certain was that she couldn’t see them anymore.

Rachel walked fast, as fast as she could with the two bags. They were so heavy. Part of the time, she had to drag the duffel bag Ms. Moore had packed, but she managed to hitch her mom’s bag over her shoulder and carry it that way. She looked around while she walked, trying to take in the fact that she had Crossed. She was
Away
.

She had walked for about an hour before she started getting worried. She tried to keep going in the direction Ms. Moore had told her to, keeping an eye out in case the ground opened up in front of her and some strange sheep-cat creature erupted from the hole. There was no sign of Pathik, and she started wondering if he was even still around. What if he had thought it was too dangerous to stay? What if he had gone home, wherever that was? She could be wandering around lost forever.

She decided to check out the map Ms. Moore said she had packed. She stopped beneath a huge old tree and worked her mom’s bag off her shoulders, dropping it to the ground next to the duffel bag. For a minute she stood very still, listening to see if she heard anything suspicious. Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she fumbled with the drawstrings on the duffel bag. The map was right on top. Ms. Moore had used the back of an old printout on orchid culture:
Dendrobium Rest/Growth Requirements
. Seeing it made her think of her special crosses. She would never see their blooms, never know what her experiment had produced. She hoped Ms. Moore would take care of them.

The map was pretty simple. Ms. Moore had drawn a picture of the greenhouse, with the Line labeled. There was a circle a little farther out, labeled “Oak Trees.” There was a long line ending in an arrow drawn out from the oak trees, along which Ms. Moore had written “Follow the setting sun.” That was it.

Great. Rachel looked up at the sky, where the sun was indeed setting. She had been walking in about the right direction, at least. But how far was she supposed to go? Would she still be alone out here when the sun did set and the dark rose up around her?

She closed the duffel bag and opened the bag Vivian had packed. There was a bottle of water on top, which made Rachel realize how thirsty she was. She opened it and drank, finishing it in two long gulps. She saw the sleeve of her winter jacket peeking out of the bag and pulled it out. The sight of it made her want to cry; autumn wasn’t even over yet, but her mom had packed her winter jacket. It made the fact that she wouldn’t be home when winter did come seem very real. She put the jacket on, even though it wasn’t that cold. That was when she heard Pathik say her name.

A
FTER SHE SAW Peter leave, Elizabeth checked on Vivian through the intercom. When she was satisfied that all had gone as planned and that Vivian was steady enough to be alone, she tried to focus on reading for a while before bed, but she couldn’t get her mind off of Jonathan. The pain in his eyes when he came to confess, to try to put it right. The pain that was still in those eyes tonight when he left her. He thought he had been responsible, all these years, for taking away her life, the life she could have had. She thought of the ease with which she could have comforted him, had she only told him the truth she was afraid to admit even to herself.

 

 

WHEN SHE DISCOVERED she was pregnant, Indigo and Elizabeth had agreed she would go with him Away. They had planned carefully, setting everything in place, trying to think of every possible obstacle. But the day she was to Cross, Elizabeth had found her mother on the floor in the kitchen, feverish to the point of delirium. Her father had called Dr. Beller, but none of the drugs he prescribed touched her illness.

After two months, Dr. Beller wanted them to send her to specialists in Ganivar. The specialists tried various treatments, but nothing helped. Elizabeth’s mother died just as new life was stirring within Elizabeth, never knowing she was going to be a grandmother. Elizabeth’s father took to his bed soon after. He was so lost without his love, nothing seemed to matter to him anymore. Jonathan had been working on The Property for almost a year by then, and he took over much of the business while Elizabeth looked after her father.

She met Indigo whenever she could, stealing moments between caring for her father. She told him that as soon as her father was back on his feet, they would be together. She dreamed of him at night, thought of him waiting for her in his tiny camp near the pool in the west meadow.

Her pregnancy began to show. She tried to hide it, but soon even the baggiest clothes didn’t conceal her growing belly. Jonathan thought she had been raped at first, was ready to hunt down the rogue who hurt her. When Elizabeth told him she had not been attacked, he did everything he could to help her. Through those long months during her father’s decline, it was Jonathan who made sure the orchid shipments went out on schedule. If they needed supplies from Bensen, Jonathan made the trip.

He came to find her in the greenhouse when it became clear that her father wouldn’t live much longer, to offer her marriage. He told her not to worry about the child coming, that it was a part of her and so he would love it as he did her. When she had to tell him she was in love with someone else, he grew cold. His face seemed to turn to stone right before her eyes.

She had been certain that Jonathan never suspected the father of her child was one of the Others. But after that day in the greenhouse, he began to watch her, to keep track of her comings and goings. His scrutiny made her afraid for Indigo’s safety. If Jonathan ever saw Indigo, ever got proof that he was not one of the town boys, he would have immediately alerted the authorities. If they found Indigo, Elizabeth knew they would kill him. By then, fear of the Others was a given in that part of the country—they were the bogeymen in children’s bedtime stories. Elizabeth had been afraid too, before she knew Indigo, so she understood that Jonathan would think he was doing the right thing.

Malgam was born three weeks before Elizabeth’s father died. It was a difficult birth. Jonathan saved her life that day. He came looking for her when she didn’t show up at the greenhouse in the morning, found her in her bedroom screaming into a pillow, and summoned Dr. Beller despite her protests. Elizabeth hadn’t wanted the birth attended by any doctor. There was a new procedure—genid recording—at every birth now. The government claimed that recording each person’s individual genetic identification would do everything from simplifying record keeping to improving medical response in an emergency, but Elizabeth didn’t want her baby’s genid recorded. She had no idea what the DNA analysis would reveal. Thankfully, Dr. Beller was quite amenable to skirting the new genid recording procedure, once he was given the proper incentive of enough bonus creds.

Elizabeth’s father was fading fast, but he seemed to be aware of Malgam. As soon she was able to, she took the baby to her father’s bedroom to show him. He hadn’t said a word about her pregnancy, even when it was obvious she was with child. But when he saw Malgam’s face peering out from the blankets Elizabeth had wrapped him in, her father seemed to become fully lucid for the first time since he’d taken to his bed. He studied the baby for a long time. Then he whispered something Elizabeth didn’t understand. She leaned closer to him, asked him to repeat it.