Melanie searched her face. There was the most intense look in her eyes. It made Veronica so uncomfortable she looked away. “Are you sure?” Melanie asked.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Are you sure, Veronica?”
Veronica pulled away a bit, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah, of course. She’s fine.”
“Do you know it?” Melanie demanded.
“Melanie, I don’t know what you want me to say. If you think I had something to do with this, I had no idea—”
“But you knew this dance was bad news,” Melanie said. “You knew I’d better not let her go out with that boy. You said so.”
“Okay, Mel, I know you’re upset. And you have every right to be.” Veronica stood up from the couch. “How about I make you a cup of tea? I’m sure you don’t feel like it but it might help you calm down a little.”
Melanie jumped to her feet and Veronica flinched. “Veronica, you can’t avoid this. I need you to tell me if my daughter is okay. I need you to have one of your feelings, right now!”
Veronica took a step back and blinked. “What?”
Melanie pressed her lips together and looked at the floor for a moment. Then she looked up at Veronica again. Her eyes still held the same intensity. “Veronica, you can’t tell me you didn’t have a feeling about it. When we were at the mall. You did, you know you did.”
“Mel, what difference can that possibly make, now? You did everything you could. You told her no. She disobeyed you. You can’t keep her from doing that—it’s not your fault—”
“Tell me if my daughter is okay!” Melanie shouted, grabbing Veronica’s shoulders. Suddenly the static Veronica had heard when they were having lunch at the mall surged up and filled her head. Veronica jerked away from Melanie and it stopped. Melanie stared at her. Something new dawned in her gaze. Hope. “You know something, don’t you?”
Veronica shook her head.
“Please, Veronica. Anything.”
Veronica shook her head again but closed her eyes. She didn’t want to open herself to it. But what else could she do, when Melanie needed her so badly? She hugged herself, clutching her upper arms with her hands. She let down her defenses.
The static surged up again. She stood still and listened to it. It was a rushing noise. Not static, exactly—
“It’s water,” she said.
“What?” Melanie’s voice sounded faint. Far away.
“It’s water. Rushing water. A river. It’s the river. The American River. Somewhere where the water rushes. Loud.”
“Oh my god,” Melanie said.
Veronica felt very cold. She felt wet. She felt terribly, terribly scared. Lost. She opened her eyes. “She’s scared, and cold. We have to find her.”
“Cold? Cold how?”
“I’m not sure—she’s by the river, and she’s cold and wet—”
Moments later Veronica, Melanie and Harry left in Melanie’s Outback. Melanie drove, dodging through traffic. Her face was pale and her mouth was set in a firm line. Veronica huddled in the seat next to her, glancing at her, not knowing what to say. Was this really happening? How could this really be happening?
Melanie got on 99 north and then 50 east, and she might have exited on Howe but Veronica said, “No. Keep going.”
She didn’t know how she knew, except the noise of the water still rushed in her head, and it was getting more…more real. And it would have faded, she knew, if they’d taken the exit. She urged Melanie on again at Watt and at each exit, until they left Sacramento and entered Folsom. Only then did Melanie look at Veronica.
“Are you sure?” she whispered.
Veronica gave her an anguished look.
“Okay,” Melanie said. “We keep going.”
On they drove, and started climbing into the foothills. They left Folsom and entered El Dorado Hills. Still, Veronica felt the intensity of the rushing water growing. Her rational mind badgered her. How could she possibly think Angie would be so far out here? They were driving too far. The poor girl had to be somewhere near her school. What were they doing? But the noise was there, insistent.
They entered Placerville and she felt the energy shift. She looked to the left, searching the hillside as if she might see something. Melanie noticed and looked around as well. Then the freeway slowed down and they came to a stop light. Veronica almost said to turn. But it wasn’t quite right. They came to a second light.
“Here,” Veronica said. “Turn left here.”
Melanie said nothing but made the left as soon as the lights changed. Her face was grim. They had been driving for over thirty minutes. She seemed determined to see it through to wherever Veronica led them. What if I’m wrong? Veronica wondered. What if we get wherever we’re going and Angie’s not there?
The road snaked through the hills, headed more or less north. A sign pointed to a turn off for 193.
“Turn there,” Veronica said.
It might have been the winding of the road, or the fear in her gut, but Veronica started to feel sick. She didn’t say anything. She closed her eyes and just listened to the awful noise of the water. When she opened them, they passed a sign that said, “Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.”
“Pull over, Mel,” Veronica said, her voice shaking. “Pull over now.”
Melanie did, and as soon as the car stopped Veronica got out, rushing to the edge of the road that slanted down into a ravine where the river roared. The car’s headlights broke the dark, but beyond the edge of the shoulder, the ravine plunged into blackness. She couldn’t tell anymore if she could still hear the water in her head, or if all she heard was the real river. “She’s here. Somewhere.”
Veronica got Harry out and together with Melanie they jogged down the hillside to the bank of the river, using their phones as flashlights. Little rocks slid under Veronica’s feet as she descended, and she kicked up lots of brown dust. When she came to the river itself she looked around in the darkness.
“Angie?” she called. “Angela?”
Melanie joined her. “Angela? Angie?”
“Angela?” Veronica called again and again, walking along the river. Harry strained against the leash, and Veronica crouched by his side. “Find Angie, Harry,” she said, and unhooked him.
“Angela!” Melanie shouted. “Angie!”
Harry ran off beyond the dim light of their cells. Veronica strained her eyes, but all she could see, outside of the spot of illumination she cast with her phone, was the faint glow of pale rocks in the moonlight and the reflections off the waves in the river. Then Harry started to bark.
“Oh my god, Angela!” Melanie shrieked and pushed past Veronica, who darted after her. In the dim distance Veronica made out Harry, who was whining at a dark lump on the ground just off the bank of the river. “Angie, Angie, baby, it’s Mom!”
Veronica followed Melanie and saw as she threw herself on the indistinct mass.
“Oh, oh, Angie, Angie,” Melanie sobbed.
Veronica crouched beside her and shone the light on the shape. Melanie pushed the wet hair off of Angie’s white face.
“We’d better get her to a hospital,” Veronica said.
~~~
After a call to information, Veronica drove them as fast as she dared over the winding roads to Marshall Hospital in Placerville. Melanie sat in the back with Angie held in her arms, Harry on the other side of the girl for added warmth.
The wait in the hospital was short. Melanie went in with the doctors and nurses as they admitted Angie for the night. Veronica wished she could slip away, but even if she had her own car, she couldn’t leave. Still, she didn’t dare sit down or make herself comfortable, even as time dragged on. She had the overwhelming sense that she had done something very bad, and that Melanie would never forgive her for it.
“Ma’am?” called a woman behind a glass partition after at least an hour. “Are you Veronica Barry?”
Veronica stepped over, feeling very odd to hear her name fr
om this stranger’s lips.
“Lady in 418 called and asked to send you up.”
For a moment Veronica didn’t understand what she was saying.
“Your friend, I think—didn’t you come in with another lady and that poor girl? All wet? They gave her room 418. Just go down that hall and through two sets of doors. You’ll see the elevator down a hall to the left.”
Veronica nodded and thanked her, and began to walk. The feeling of shame clutched at her, though, and she wished she had just waited with Harry in the car. She was afraid to face Melanie.
When Veronica found room 418, she hesitated because the bed was empty. She shuffled her feet in the doorway, but finally went in. After a minute of looking around at the plain walls and trying to decide what to do, Veronica heard footsteps outside. Melanie came through the door. She stopped and looked at Veronica without saying anything. At first, Veronica met her eyes, but soon she looked down.
“Um,” she managed. “Uh, if you want… I can go now.” She glanced up and started toward the door.
Melanie stepped over and caught her hand. “Veronica,” she breathed. She clutched her hand. “I don’t know how I am ever going to thank you for this.”
Veronica felt herself flush and her eyes went to Melanie’s face. “What?”
Melanie swallowed and put her free hand to her mouth for a moment. She still clung to Veronica’s hand with the other. She finally released it and dropped both hands to her sides. “I don’t think there is anything I could ever do that would pay you back for what you did tonight.”
Veronica couldn’t tell if she meant pay back in a good way or bad way. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that she had done something very, very wrong. “I—I don’t know,” she muttered. “It’s… I’m sorry, Mel.”
“Sorry? What could you possibly be sorry for? You found my daughter,” Melanie said. She reached toward her and then froze and dropped her hands. She started to pace. “You found her, in Placerville, Veronica. Forty-five miles from my home. Do you know how I could have done that without you?” She stopped pacing and looked up at the ceiling. “I could never have done it without you, Veronica. Never.” She blinked back tears. She made fists and pressed the knuckles against her mouth as if it would help her regain control. Then she lowered them. “You found her.”
Veronica watched her, motionless. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even know what to think. She had the most overwhelming sense of vertigo, but she didn’t want to move to a seat, because she was afraid that if she moved at all, her feet would leave the ground and she would fall. Up. Into the ceiling. Through the ceiling, into the sky.
Melanie gazed at her.
Veronica cleared her throat. “Um. Yeah. It’s… I’m glad we found her.”
Melanie’s eyes softened and she reached out both hands, taking Veronica’s. She led her to one of the chairs against the wall. “Sit,” she said in a gentle voice. “They’re running some tests on Ange—they’ll be bringing her in any minute. I think we have a lot to talk about.”
Veronica sat. It was good to sit. She didn’t feel so much like she might just float away. A thought formed in her head, which she could put into a coherent question.
“How did you know that—that I would know?” she asked at last.
Melanie smiled. “Oh, Veronica. I’ve been your friend for twelve years. Don’t you think I’d notice a few things along the way?”
Veronica frowned, staring at her hands. She was finding it hard to look Melanie in the eyes. “But… but I didn’t know.”
Melanie sighed. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I think it’s just always been there. And for little things, you trust it. You just never called it by name, and for big things, it freaked you out so much… anyway, I knew you didn’t want to talk about it. So I just left it alone. But when I realized Angie was gone…” She paused. “I’m sorry I forced you to—well, no, that’s not true at all. I’m not sorry, because I would never take it back. My daughter is in the hands of doctors right now, and she’s going to be fine, and that is all because of your—your gift.” She let out a ragged breath. “But I am sorry—that I had to be so brutal about it, I guess.”
“Melanie, what does this all mean?” Veronica asked, lacing her fingers tightly together.
“You know what it means,” Melanie murmured. “You can say it.”
“It’s crazy.”
“Yeah, and you’ve probably grown up being afraid of it because you were afraid it didn’t really exist, but that you were crazy, right?” Melanie asked. She leaned toward Veronica. “I’m here to tell you something, right now: it is real. You found my daughter, Veronica. You. By yourself. We had nothing. No information. Nothing to go on. You—you knew where to go. You took us right to her. And it wasn’t some kind of guess. How could it be? She was in another county, Veronica. You found her.”
Veronica closed her eyes and exhaled. “How is this possible?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not so strange.”
Veronica’s eyes popped open and she stared at Melanie.
“It’s true,” Melanie said. “They have TV shows about it. There are books—hundreds of books about it. People make money—it’s a job.”
“Like palm readers? Like the one you took me to for my birthday?”
“Okay,” Melanie held up a hand. “She wasn’t exactly one hundred percent correct—”
“She told me I’d have a husband and two kids by now.”
“I never said there were no frauds in the world.”
Veronica smiled. She tried to loosen her fingers, but they clenched again. “And you think I’m the real thing?”
Melanie pointed toward the hall. “I got a scared kid out there to prove it.”
Veronica let out a long breath. “Is she awake?”
“She woke up for a few minutes, but as soon as she understood that she was safe she passed out again.”
“What happened to her, anyway? Did she tell you?”
“Pieces of it. I think I’ll be talking to my boss about arresting that little shit who did this, too.”
“What did she say?”
Melanie sighed. “Oh, it just makes me sick. I want to just lock her away from the world, so nothing like this can ever happen again. I think it was some awful prank, Veronica. This boy, he’s new to the school. He used to live in Placerville. He moved to Sac at the start of the new semester. He chose my daughter—my daughter—to pull this awful prank on to make himself look cool to the other kids.”
“What makes you say it was a prank?”
“I can’t be sure, exactly. She said something about other kids with them. She asked where they were. I’m guessing they all left the dance together. The kid, his name is Grant, he must have brought them out here.” Melanie shook her head and rolled her eyes. She grasped her hands together, wringing her fingers. “He must have driven them to that spot on the river—well, that’s my guess anyway. She said it was an accident—but he pushed her, Veronica!” Melanie’s eyes welled up. “She said it was an accident, a couple of times. She could hear the kids all screaming for her—and the water was going too fast, and it pulled her downstream—and then she couldn’t hear them anymore.” Melanie inhaled and let the breath out slow. “They must have left. They didn’t call anyone, or we would have seen police, some sort of rescue team. I don’t know who these kids were. I don’t know what was wrong with them. They left my daughter in a river, to die, Veronica.” Her shoulders shook and she covered her face. Veronica scooted over to her and wrapped her arms around her.
“She’s okay,” she murmured. “We found her. She’s fine. She’ll be hitting you up for money tomorrow and sneaking out again before you know it.”
“Oh god, no,” Melanie gasped. She pulled back, her face a grimace between pain and laughter. “She can’t do this to me again.”
Veronica took her hand and squeezed it. “I don’t think she’s ever going to talk to any of those moronic asshole k
ids again, Mel. And she’s going to be a lot more careful who she hangs out with when she does go out.”
“Just wait until I get the names out of her. I’m going straight to the principal. I want every last one of them expelled. They just left her there, Veronica.”
Veronica nodded. “There should be serious consequences.”
Melanie sniffled and got up for some tissue to blow her nose.
“Are you going to be okay?” Veronica asked.
Melanie let out a half-laugh. “Eventually.” She gazed at Veronica. “You?”
Veronica sighed. “Well, this puts the whole ‘avoid thinking about the traumatic events of last week’ thing into a brand new perspective.”
Melanie frowned and sat down. “You’re right. Wow. It does.”
Veronica rubbed her eyes. “I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it. I’ve been doing everything I can not to let any of those images from my nightmare or—or later—come back to me.”
“Later? You—you saw something else? Besides your nightmare?”
Veronica nodded. “When I found her. I was just—I was out of my head, Mel. I didn’t think any of it was real—or all of it was, I didn’t know what to think. And I held her body against me, and I saw—it was like I was her, Mel. I was walking… no I was running—I was in heels, running down the street, away from someone. And I had the most awful feeling of guilt.” She shook her head. “She knew him. I’m sure of it.”
“So it couldn’t be this vagrant they picked up for it,” Melanie said.
“No,” Veronica whispered.
“Oh, man. What are you going to do?”
Veronica shook her head again. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 6
She stood in a crowded cafeteria. She didn’t recognize it—this was not Eleanor Roosevelt High. Looking around, she caught sight of a green and gold banner with a shield, a letter P, and shamrock. This must be the cafeteria at Saint Patrick’s, then. Angie attended Saint Patrick’s, and Veronica had never seen the cafeteria before. Yet here she stood, holding a tray with a paper plate of spaghetti and a carton of milk.
The River and the Roses (Veronica Barry Book 1) Page 5