“You mean they killed your mother?”
“I meant Ursa.”
“What about Portia?”
“They killed her first.”
“Did you see that happen?”
“Ursa saw it happen. And when I went in her body, I saw it because it was still in her brain.”
Jo somehow kept going without crying. “Tell me what you saw in her brain. Tell me everything that happened that night.”
Ursa looked away from Jo. She grabbed the stuffed cat Tabby had given her, the only distraction at hand, and she tilted her head backward as she spread the plush animal’s body over her face.
“Ursa . . . ,” Jo said.
Ursa pressed the kitten to her face with both hands and closed her eyes. “I’m going to call him Caesar,” she said. “I like the way he smells, like Tabby’s perfume.”
Jo gently took the toy off her face and laid it on the bedcovers. “Ursa, you can do this. Tell Gabe and me what happened that night.”
She kept staring at the kitten.
“How about you pretend you’re writing a play?” Gabe said.
Ursa looked up at him with bright eyes, apparently intrigued by his suggestion.
“What is the first thing that happens?” he asked.
“It’s at night and I come down from the stars,” she said. “I’m looking for a body to use.”
“Then what?” he asked.
“I see a little girl jump out of the window of a building.” She saw Jo’s shock. “It wasn’t that high,” she explained. She turned back to Gabe. “The girl falls in bushes. That’s how she gets some of the bruises. She’s scared because two men are chasing her. They come outside and choke her. I see them kill her.”
Looking at Jo, she abruptly switched from the play to reality—to the fantasy that had become her reality. “That was when I went in Ursa’s body, because I hated that she had to die. I wanted her body to be alive even if she wasn’t.”
“What happened after you went in her body?” Jo asked.
“First I had to make her breathe again—with my powers. I made her better and I got up. I knew the men would think I was Ursa, so I ran. I got ahead of them because they were kind of scared that Ursa was still alive. There was a gas station by Ursa’s house, and I ran there. I saw a truck—like the kind Gabe has but bigger—”
“An open-bed pickup truck?” Gabe said.
She nodded. “It was parked by the side of the store in the gas station, and I climbed into the back of it. There was stuff in there I could hide under. I was afraid to move, and all of a sudden the guy who owned the truck got in and started driving. I guess he went onto that road you take to Champaign-Urbana, the one called 57. I was really scared because the truck was going so fast, and I was in a new body and everything.”
Jo and Gabe looked at each other.
“That was how I found you,” Ursa said. “My quark things did it for sure. They make good things like that happen.”
“How, exactly, did you find me?” Jo asked.
“The truck drove for a really long time. Before it stopped, it went down a bumpy road. Later I found out that was Turkey Creek Road.”
“What color was the truck?” Gabe asked.
“It was red.”
“Was it beat up—kind of like my truck?”
She nodded.
“That’s probably Dave Hildebrandt’s truck. His property is across the road from mine.”
Detective Kellen had a notebook in his hand. “Dave Hildebrandt?” he said as he wrote.
“Yes,” Gabe said. “He travels around looking for auto parts. He rebuilds cars.”
“Did Dave see you?” Gabe asked Ursa.
She shook her head. “He scared me. When he got home, right away he started yelling at someone. They had a big fight.”
“That would be Theresa, his wife,” Gabe said.
Kellen scribbled in his notebook again.
“When did you get out of the truck?” Jo asked.
“I waited until he stopped yelling. But when I climbed out, a big dog was barking at me. I ran because I was afraid it would bite me. I kept falling down because it was dark and I was in a forest. I stopped when I came to water.”
“Turkey Creek?” Gabe asked.
“Yes, but I didn’t know its name yet. I followed it and came out at that place where the road ends at the hill—right next to Jo’s house . . . I mean Kinney’s. I was too afraid to go by the house, so I went in the shed. There was a bed in there—just the mattress part—and I laid down on it. I fell asleep and didn’t wake up for a long time. When I did, it was daytime and I saw a puppy—that was Little Bear.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He was my first friend. Little Bear was my first friend after I came down from the stars. And now he’s dead.”
35
Now they knew how Ursa had traveled from Effingham to Jo’s rental house. But there was still a big hole in her story—the worst part. Why had she jumped out the window of her apartment? Jo hated to put her through more, but the police would never leave her alone until they stamped CLOSED on the Portia Dupree murder case.
Gabe dabbed Ursa’s teary face with the edge of the bedsheet, and Jo held her hand. “Let’s get this over with. Tell Gabe and me why you had to jump out the window.”
“Ursa did that. She was still in her body when that happened.”
“Okay, tell me why Ursa had to do something so dangerous.”
“I told you. Those two men were going to kill her.”
“Which two?”
“The ones Gabe killed.”
“Tell me their names.”
Ursa turned to Kellen, aware that the names mostly mattered to him. “The kind of little one was Jimmie Acer—people called him Ace. The more strong one was called Cory. Ursa didn’t know his last name because she never saw him before.”
“She never saw him before that night?” Jo said.
“No.”
“Why were Jimmie Acer and Cory at Ursa’s apartment?”
“Because . . .” She looked away from Jo, her fingers twisting the corner of the sheet.
“Were they doing things Ursa’s mother told her not to talk about?”
Ursa nodded, her head down.
“You’re not Ursa, so you can tell us.”
She looked up. “I guess you’re right.”
“What was going on with Ace and Cory?”
“Ace was there because he was always there. And he . . . you know . . .”
“What?”
“He went in Ursa’s mother’s room with her. Her mother said they were partying when they did that.” The glint of shame in her eyes revealed that she knew very well what they were doing in the bedroom.
“Why was Cory there?”
Ursa looked down again. “He came with Ace. To party.”
“Was he using drugs?”
“He acted like that, and he was drinking beer. He was waiting . . .” She leaned over and again picked up the stuffed tabby kitten to give her fingers something to fiddle with.
“Was Cory waiting to go in the bedroom with Ursa’s mother?”
“Yes,” Ursa said.
“What was Ursa doing?”
“She was watching TV in the living room. There was a movie on—that one where the twins meet at camp.”
“Parent Trap .”
“Ursa liked that movie.”
“Was Cory in the same room with Ursa?”
“Yes,” Ursa said, looking down at the tabby kitten.
“Tell me what Cory was doing,” Jo said.
“He kept laughing at the movie and saying how stupid it was. It made Ursa mad.”
“Then what?”
Ursa finally looked at Jo, begging with her eyes not to say more.
“Please tell me. It will be okay.”
Tears dripped from her eyes. “He put his hand on Ursa where he wasn’t supposed to. She told him to stop it and pushed him away. He said he would give her five dollars if she let him do it. He said s
he was going to be like her mother anyway, and if she was going to be a whore, she should start when she was little . . . because girls were prettier when they were little . . .”
Gabe pressed his hand to his mouth.
“What did Ursa do?” Jo said.
“She said her mother wasn’t a whore. But Cory laughed. Ursa got mad and turned off the TV. She tried to go in her room, but Cory grabbed her arm. He pushed her onto the couch and he—” Her tears became sobs. “He tried to take off her pajamas. She was screaming and hitting him . . .”
Jo was too choked up to ask, but Kellen did. “What happened? Tell us.”
“Ursa’s mother ran out of the bedroom,” she cried. “She screamed for him to get off Ursa, and she picked up a chair and hit Cory on the back with it. Ace grabbed the chair away from her, but Cory took it from him. He smashed it on the side of Ursa’s mother’s head.” Ursa covered her face. “He hit her really hard! She fell on the floor, and something was coming out of her head. It was her brains, I think . . . they were coming out . . .”
Jo pulled Ursa against her chest and held her.
That wasn’t enough for Kellen. “Why did you run?” he asked. “Did they threaten you?”
“It wasn’t me!” Ursa screamed.
“Why did Ursa run?”
“Ace was cussing at Cory and saying Ursa saw and she would tell the police. Cory said she wouldn’t tell, and he grabbed Ursa. He put his hand on her neck and pressed hard. Ursa knew he was going to kill her. She kicked him and bit him and got away. She ran in her room and jumped out the open window.”
“Wasn’t there a screen?” Kellen said.
Ursa shook her head, wiping her palms down her cheeks. “The landlord wouldn’t put screens in even though Ursa’s mother wanted them. They used to get in fights about it.”
“What was the name of the man in the restaurant?” Kellen asked. “You said he was Ace and Cory’s friend.”
“I don’t know if he was Cory’s. He was Ace’s friend. He used to party with Ace and Ursa’s mother.”
“What’s his name?”
“I’m not sure. Sometimes they called him ‘Nate’ and sometimes they called him ‘Todd.’”
“Nathan Todd!” The detective slapped the back of his hand against his notebook. “Now I’ve got him!”
“Do you know him?” Gabe said.
“Oh yeah, I know him. And the phone we found on Ace’s body shows he received a call from Todd around the time you were in the restaurant. With Ursa’s ID, I can pick him up.”
“On what charge?” Gabe asked.
“He’s an accessory to attempted murder.”
“Won’t that be difficult to prove?” Gabe said.
“We have our ways.” He put the notebook in his pants pocket and walked over to Gabe. “I have to thank you, Mr. Nash,” he said, shaking his hand. “We’re rid of two major scumbags. You’ve made my job a lot easier.” Jo found it unsettling that he was congratulating him for killing two human beings. But she saw the world differently than most, having been raised by pacifist parents.
Jo had absorbed many of her parents’ philosophies, and one of them was the belief that children deserved to be told the truth as much as possible. She often pondered how Gabe’s life might have been different if he’d been raised with the truth, knowing he had two fathers who cherished him.
Jo climbed off the bed. “Before you all leave, I’d like to say something.”
Everyone in the room—detective, deputy, psychologist, and social worker—faced her. Gabe looked nervous, maybe for good reason. Jo was too exhausted to know if what she was about to do was best for Ursa.
“I have a feeling this will be the only time I have so many people who are deciding Ursa’s future in one room.” Facing the two law officers, she said, “I know you won’t decide where Ursa goes, but whether or not I’m charged with a felony will affect her future.”
“Let’s have this conversation in the waiting room,” Lenora said.
“Why? Ursa wants to know what’s going on, and you know she can handle it.” Jo turned back to the policemen. “If I’m charged, I may be expelled from the university and graduate school.”
“Are you sure?” Gabe said.
“My advisor confirmed it. Before you decide my fate,” she said, turning to the men, “I want you to know what could happen if you charge me. I admit I made bad decisions with Ursa, but everything I did came from a place of compassion. Please make sure the punishment fits the crime before you completely wreck my life—and Ursa’s—because I’ll have no hope of becoming her foster parent if I’m charged.”
“I want you to be my foster parent!” Ursa said.
“I know, love bug. Let me finish, okay?” She faced Lenora and Dr. Shaley. “I have a lot more to say to you two. I have to be certain Ursa won’t be haunted with doubts about me if someone lies to her in the future.” Jo stepped back so Ursa could clearly see her face. “Right here, in front of Ursa, I’m asking you to please let me be Ursa’s foster parent. I would also like to apply for adoption rights. Let me tell you my qualifications—”
“Joanna,” Lenora said, “this isn’t the time or—”
“Please, hear me out. My number one qualification is that I love her—and I know no other applicant can say that. Number two, she and I are bonded by this tragedy. My understanding of what she’s been through will be healing for her. Number three—my parents left me significant inheritances when they passed away, so I have the financial resources to raise a child as a single parent. Number four, I don’t drink or use drugs, and I’ve never been in trouble with the law—not even for a traffic ticket. Number five—”
“I think we’ve heard enough,” Dr. Shaley said.
“This one is important,” Jo said. “Number five, my parents were scientists who taught me to value nature and be curious about the world. Ursa thrives in natural and scientific realms because they satisfy her need for intellectual stimulation. My goal is to be a professor at a top university, and I can’t imagine a better environment than academia for a child with Ursa’s abilities.”
“Are we done?” Dr. Shaley asked.
“Not yet. I’d like to talk about something you may see as a problem. I’m a cancer survivor. But my cancer was caught at an early stage, and my prognosis is good.”
Jo looked at Ursa. “Do you understand everything I said? No matter what happens, never doubt that I love you and I tried to keep us together. Beyond this, I have no control over what happens.” Jo sat on the bed next to her. “Seems our fates are as topsy-turvy as the characters in Shakespeare’s plays.”
“But this will end like Twelfth Night !” Ursa said. “Everyone will be happy!”
“Good lord, she knows Shakespeare?” Lenora said.
Detective Kellen grinned. “Our wills and fates do so contrary run,” he said.
“Hamlet , great line,” Gabe said.
“My favorite since high school,” Kellen said.
A nurse entered with liquid medication in a cup for Ursa.
“Looks like Ursa is fated to get some rest,” Lenora said. “Let’s take this conversation to the waiting room.”
“I don’t want to rest!” Ursa said. “Jo and Gabe have to stay!”
Jo and Gabe kissed her goodbye and let the nurse handle the imminent clash of will and fate.
36
Gabe’s hotel room was unaccustomed luxury and privacy after Jo’s sit-in at the ICU. The warm shower felt especially extravagant. “Sorry about this,” Jo told Gabe, “but I didn’t bring clothes in the bathroom.” She couldn’t hold the towel around herself while using the crutches.
Gabe looked up from his phone and appraised her naked body. “You’re apologizing?”
“Will you help me rebandage my leg?”
“Sure, I’m up for playing doctor.”
She put the bag of medical supplies on the bed and lay on her stomach.
“Especially when I get to look at your ass while doing it,” he said.<
br />
“Does it look okay?”
He stroked her cheeks. “It looks great.”
“What about the wound, Mr. Bottom? How does it look?”
“It looks like someone put a bullet in you.”
“Not infected?”
“Nope, it’s good.”
“First put on the antibiotic ointment—then a gauze pad before you wrap it.”
He touched her gently as he worked. He wrapped her leg, his fingers brushing her inner thighs. “I was badly distracted, but I think that will hold,” he said, taping down the edge of the bandage.
She rolled over. “Take off your clothes.”
He stood over her, staring into her eyes as he pulled off his clothing. He stretched his warm body over hers. “Am I too heavy on your leg? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m not exactly feeling my leg at the moment.”
Afterward, they held each other in a private little galaxy created by blackout curtains and the air-conditioning set on high. Only the loudest sounds of the city reached them.
“Tomorrow I have to go home and take over my mother’s care,” he said. “I was texting with Lacey when you came out. She has to come back to Saint Louis because her sons will be home the day after tomorrow. She wants to spend time with them before they go back to college.”
“That’s nice they’ll all be together.”
“Want to come home with me—just to pick up your car?”
“I can rent a car when I leave. I have to be here for Ursa.”
“You do.” He cuddled her closer. “It was good that you spoke your mind today. At first I wasn’t sure, but I think what you said is part of the reason they’ll let you keep visiting.”
“Or they’re using me to keep her under control.”
“Maybe a little of both.”
“I got the idea to speak out from your mother.”
“Really?”
“I knew what I wanted to say while they were all there, but I almost lost my nerve. Then I thought of Katherine having the guts to bring Arthur and George together.”
“You two are badass ladies.” He was drifting into sleep.
“Gabe . . . ?”
Where the Forest Meets the Stars Page 26