Transience (22 page)

Jack got up and took two pills from his shirt pocket and poured himself a cup of water.
 

"Thirsty?" Jack asked.

"Nah," she said, not looking up from her work.
 

He opened his desktop drawer and fished around, finding a half eaten pack of lifesavers.
 
"How about some candy?"

"It'll give me cavities."

He looked up at his map, focusing on the red thumbtack where Carmen's body was found.
 

"Rebecca?"

"Yeah?"

"You like hiking?"
 

"What's that?"

Laura came back in the room, smelling of smoke.
 
Jack held on to his answer.
 
"So?" Laura asked, meaning,
are we finished?
 

"We're ready," Jack said.
 

Laura held open Rebecca's coat so she could slide her arms in.
 
Just then, Harrington entered the room, bursting at the seams when he spotted Rebecca.
 

Laura took note.
 
"We'll be in the car," Laura said suspiciously, pulling Rebecca along with her out of the room.
 

"Was that the arteest?" Harrington said with a grin.
 
Jack wanted to knock it right off his face.

"That's right…" Jack replied curiously.

"Jack, I know you're pressing because you feel you have some kind of moral obligation or something.
 
But… we all know how this is going to end."

"It's not over till we find a body."
 

"What are you gonna use next, a divining rod?"

A sudden realization hit Jack.
 
He turned and spotted the cassette player, left out in the open.
 
The asshole had listened to the tape!
 
Now Jennifer's slip of the tongue made sense.

"I'll tell you what that is, Jack.
 
Dumb luck.
 
Like that prick who had us running in circles in the Mitchell case; all he needed was to touch her undergarments, remember?"

"Didn't have
me
running in circles."

"Whatever, even more to my point.
 
Hard work, facts, intelligence solves cases, isn't that what you said?
 
Solid detective work, not superstition?
 
Remember?
 
Imagine what the press would say to this."

"I don't care what anyone thinks.
 
All I care about is finding Angelina.
 
Stopping him before he can kill again."

"And you think this little girl's story is gonna lead you to his front door?
 
She has a bad dream, describes some very common landmarks, the dogs get lucky and voila, it's supernatural!
 
Come on, man.
 
You're a glass is half empty kind of guy.
 
Lately you've been a glass is empty, broken on the floor kind of guy."

"You don't know the whole picture."

"I think Hellerman has spent a little too much time with psychotic patients.
 
You better be careful, it might be catching."

"At this point, I'd rub two sticks together if I thought it would make fire."

"You're wasting your time — this nut's had his way with Angelina, chopped her into little bits.
 
All we can do is wait for him to do it again, pick up a fresh scent."
 

In his gut, Jack knew Harrington was right.
 
But the idea of doing nothing, just waiting around, had a reek of failure that was suffocating to him.
 
Jack was a man of action.
 
He needed to keep moving.
 
He waved at Harrington's words like he could no longer stand the sight or smell of him.
 

"I think it's also time you sat Mr. Rosa down and fed him a truth sandwich, too.
 
He needs to start accepting reality.
 
Calls here 10 times a day.
 
Got the press hounding the Captain, tossing around accusations of racism.
 
They know which buttons to push."

"If it was my daughter missing, I'd be doing everything in my power too.
 
Whatever it took."
 
Jack went to step past Harrington, but Harrington simply broadened his muscular shoulders and took up the whole door.
 
He wasn't letting Jack leave until his point was made.

"We all want to see this case solved.
 
But this is no time to fall down the rabbit hole.
 
Her father needs to prepare for the worst; you're just making it harder, sending the wrong message."
 
Jack's mouth tightened, his clenched teeth bared like a snarling dog.

"What message?
 
Hope?
 
That's his flesh and blood.
 
He's not gonna give up just because you quote him a God damn statistic.
 
Giving people bad news doesn't seem to affect you, does it?
 
That's because you've never been on the receiving end.
 
Never experienced true loss.
 
Personal loss."
 
Jack pushed his way into the hallway.
 
Harrington called after him.
 

"That's not true.
 
I've experienced loss.
 
I took the under on the Saints/Packers last Monday."

Laura stood outside the station waiting for Jack, sucking on another cigarette and deftly wafting the smoke to keep it from blowing in Rebecca's direction.
 
Rebecca was climbing up the steps to the precinct and jumping off, over and over.
 

Laura was convinced nothing she tried was going to be the magic bullet that was going to solve Rebecca's problem.
 
The school counselor, Doctor Hellerman, Jack; none of them had any answers.
 
Facing her fear, as Jack had said, turned out to be just Jack throwing darts at a board.
 
She knew what he was trying to do — hoping he'd experience a moment with Rebecca like she'd had when they passed the church.
 
But she was the one who had to take Rebecca home tonight and stay up waiting for the screams.
 

Jack exited the station, an apologetic look on his face.

"What took you so long?" Laura asked.

"Sorry.
 
Let's go."

"Where to now?" Rebecca asked.

"Hiking."

Laura raised her eyebrows,
what?

CHAPTER 38

Jack led Laura and Rebecca along a dirt path through a thickly wooded area, just a few hundred yards from the main road.
 

The sun began to set, casting a crimson glow that back-lit the clouds.
 
Its colored beauty forced Jack to slow his pace, hold his look a little longer.
 
He wondered how many more scenes like this were reserved for him in his abbreviated future.
 
How many more moments of tranquility and peaceful reflection did he have left to savor?

"How far?" Laura asked.

"Not too far; right over this hill," Jack said, continuing forward.
 
Laura followed, pulling Rebecca to keep pace, her shoes seemingly filled with lead.
 

Jack looked down and noticed Rebecca's face had turned pale, she seemed anxious.
 
Jack watched her scrape off a chunk of tree bark with her fingernail, nervously.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I’m not much help."

Jack patted her head.
 
"That's not true, police work is all about trial and error.
 
You’ve helped me narrow my search.
 
That's what detectives do.
 
You'd make a great one."
 

That put a doubting grin on her face, which was quickly erased by the fear welling up inside her.
 
Rebecca had somehow managed to smother her dread to accompany them into the wooded area.
 
She had an overwhelming fear of traveling beyond the thin guardrail that separated the road from the dark woods, which stretched from the highway several miles — all the way to the small, one way street that led to her school.
 
Kids would often cut through to the mart to stuff their jackets with pop and chips.
 
She could have gotten home quicker using the shortcut too, instead of walking the long way round, up over the bridge.
 
But she didn't dare.
 
And worse, she didn't know why.
 
The answer was buried deep in the recesses of her mind, only the lingering emotion of whatever
it
was lay near the surface.
 

It was that burning question that kept her from running.
 
She needed to learn what secrets lie beyond, even if she dreaded the answer.
 
And she may never have another chance to be flanked by protective adults, escorting her through the darkness, shielding her from what dangers lie in wait.
 
But the suffocating rush of fear and anxiety was multiplying exponentially now.
 
She felt lightheaded and dizzy, her tiny heart pounded in her chest.
 

She looked up at Jack, slowly leading the way.
 
He made her feel safe, she liked having him around.
 
She sensed her mother didn't mind so much either.
 

They neared the crime scene, police tape still lined the trees in the distance where Carmen's body had been unearthed.
 
The rush of the river was louder here, its steep incline created an increase in velocity as it smashed against the rocks, enough to drown out the roar of the highway.
 
The noise whooshed in Rebecca's ears.
 
She became aware of her heartbeat, the pressure made her neck throb.
 
Laura felt the tension in Rebecca's clammy hand.
 

"Sweetie?" Laura asked.
 
Rebecca could only manage to look up at her, the color rinsed from her cheeks.
 

"Right up here," Jack said.
 
To Rebecca, it sounded like a warning, or maybe like a carnival ride operator —
here we go!
— just as he pressed the button that launched you up the coaster's ramp, careening towards certain doom.
 

They trudged through a swampy portion of grass, recently churned into mud by police car tires.
 
Yellow crime scene tape spread out in all directions like a spider web.
 

Rebecca broke free of her mother's grasp and ran ahead.
 

"Rebecca?" Laura shouted, but Jack held her back.
 

"No, let her."

Rebecca approached the burnt willow tree, split in two, its submerged branches creating a giant fork in the river, collecting leaves and trash.
 
Jack and Laura stepped behind her.
 

Rebecca stood in awe, something she had only dreamed was now standing before her, as if she'd conjured it into existence.
 
And then a horrifying thought occurred to her.
 
If this was real, then what if he was too?

"Look familiar?" Jack asked.
 
Rebecca looked back at him, her face white, her body shivering with fear.
 
Feelings of Deja Vu and panic rushed to the surface, her face a merry-go-round of emotions.

"Tell us what you're feeling?" Jack asked.

"I don't know."
 
Rebecca’s voice was trembling.
 

Laura reached out to touch the tree.

"This is where she was found.
 
Right here," Jack said.
 
Laura jerked her hand back, as if she'd touched something dead.
 

Jack placed his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder and knelt down before her, eye to eye.
 
"This was the place you described to Leonard?"

Rebecca jerked away, but he held onto her gently.

"Let go," Rebecca said.

"Rebecca, the other night, you said something to your mother about a necklace.
 
You said you couldn't find it.
 
Do you remember that?"

"She doesn't even remember me coming into the room," Laura said.
 

Jack reached in and pulled out Carmen's gold cross.
 
"Does it look like this?"
 
He held it up for Rebecca to examine.
 

Rebecca took the necklace.
 
Her eyes went glassy, her mouth open.
 
Jack had managed to pull something out of a dream.
 
Rebecca recognized the necklace, the memories were a blur, but the emotions attached to it engulfed her.
 
She knew in her heart this once belonged to her.
 
"This was mine…"

Laura stepped closer.
 
"What is that?"

"It's my necklace.
 
Jack found it."

"You don't have a gold necklace like that."
 
Laura turned to Jack, eyes sharp.
 
"What do you think you're doing?"

Jack slowly stood up.
 
"I just wanted to see-"
 

"This was Carmen's, wasn't it?
 
And you're giving it to my daughter, for what?
 
To convince her she's crazy?
 
This isn't what we talked about.
 
I wanted to help her, convince her none of this was real, but you're trying to convince her it is!
 
You're only concerned with this case, not with my daughter."

"That's not true-"

"Carmen was my friend.
 
But she's dead.
 
She's dead!
 
My daughter is alive. I foolishly thought this might help her. I thought if we did this she'd see that nothing would happen, that none of this was real and she was okay.
 
So we could work through the nightmares.
 
But you believe — you're trying to trigger some past life memory to solve this case.
 
It's bullshit!
 
And I'm a fool for agreeing to it, thinking this could help.
 
I must be losing my mind."