44: Book Two

by Jools Sinclair

  CHAPTER 12

  I slid off my sandals and let my bare feet sink into the grass. The opening band took the stage and hammered out their set as a few gray-haired adults and little kids danced up in the open areas in the front. The sun was still pretty high in the sky, but not for long. I was glad I brought a hoodie. I knew that once the sun fell behind Mt. Bachelor, the temperature would drop substantially.

  As I sat looking around, I thought how weird it was. Somehow being out in big, noisy crowds comforted me in a way. I didn’t like to get too close to people, but for some reason I found it soothing to sit anonymously in large groups. I liked being around happy strangers.

  “Hey, Ty. Deschutes is on tap, if you want it,” Amber said. “I know you’re not a wine guy. It’s up over there at the booth.”

  “Awesome!” he said, standing up. “Be right back.”

  He left and I sat listening to the music while Amber told a story about one of her rafting groups.

  “Abby, you doing okay?” she asked when she finished. “You seem quiet.”

  I didn’t know Amber very well and she didn’t really know me. She was talkative and outgoing. I was usually quiet and it seemed to make her uncomfortable. She was always asking me if I was okay. I supposed it would take her a little while to get used to me.

  “Oh, everything’s really good. Just enjoying the music.”

  Ty returned and sat down with a plastic cup of beer.

  “Man, this is pure liquid gold. This pale ale rocks! It’s my favorite. That’s why I moved here, you know.”

  “What?” I said.

  “Yep. I drank it back in Montana, so when I was looking for a new place to move to, I checked out Bend, Oregon, the home of Deschutes Brewery. And the rest is history.”

  “That’s the craziest story I’ve ever heard,” Amber said. “Moving somewhere ‘cause you love their beer.”

  “I’ve heard crazier,” Jake said. “I came here for a girl.”

  Ty smiled, his energy bright as he looked over at me.

  “Yeah, but it’s true. That beer is the best,” Amber said. “You should go get a job at the plant, Ty. Complete your fantasy.”

  Everybody laughed. I smiled while I scanned the crowd.

  “Nature calls,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

  “Want me to go with you?” Ty asked.

  “No, but thanks. I got it. Drink your gold.”

  I walked around the blankets and got to the main path that led to the bathrooms. Nature didn’t really call, but I needed a chance to think. That white energy moving rapidly around Ty made me nervous. I had seen it before, around Kate and Dr. Mortimer.

  I headed over to the back and looked at the T-shirts for sale. Then I looked around for a moment. Just in case. There were a lot of tall guys in baseball caps, but none of them were Jesse.

  As I walked back, I caught sight of Jack Martin in the beer line. I walked up and said hello.

  “Hey, AC. What are you doing here?”

  He seemed a little off, not quite himself. Of course, he wasn’t playing soccer. It was hard to imagine Jack doing anything else.

  “Hey, I almost didn’t recognize you without a jersey on,” I said.

  His energy was gray and wobbly. He ordered his beer and walked with me. I pointed out where we were sitting.

  “We’re all the way at the back,” he said.

  “Are you with some of the team?” I asked.

  I figured I should go say hello. It was the summer of making friends, I reminded myself.

  “Oh, no,” Jack said. “I wish. I’m with my cousin. He’s visiting from back East and he’s driving me insane. Seriously insane.”

  I smiled. That explained his mood.

  “I don’t even like this singer,” he said, sipping from his cup. “But I’m trying to fill up the hours.”

  I nodded.

  “Okay then, see you Tuesday at the game,” I said. “Hang in there.”

  He smiled and downed more of his beer.

  “This should help.”

  At about eight Ray LaMontagne took the stage, thanking the cheering fans for coming out and listening to him play. He started the set with Hold You in My Arms, one of my favorite songs.

  It was a good night.

  CHAPTER 13

  After the concert, we all hung out for a little while longer, finding some seats in the courtyard in between restaurants on the other side of the river. Everybody started talking about where they were from. I was surprised that none of them were from Bend, or even Oregon for that matter. Amber was from Washington, Jake and Desmond from California, and Dylan was from Idaho. And then there was Ty, who was born and raised in Montana.

  After about an hour, we meandered over to the parking lot. They were all going on to the clubs downtown. I said goodbye. Ty walked me to the Jeep.

  “See you Monday,” he said.

  “Yeah, see ya. Have fun tonight.”

  “Oh, I’m heading home. It was a long day climbing and I’m beat,” he said, smiling as he backed away.

  “Okay. Get some good sleep then.”

  I couldn’t stop thinking about Ty as I drove. Maybe I needed to take the advice I’d given to Kate. Maybe going out to dinner with him just wasn’t the biggest deal I was making it out to be. Ty was a friend and it was nice. I really missed having a good friend.

  The house was dark and empty. Kate wasn’t home yet and I had again forgotten to leave some lights on. I hated walking into a dark house. It always gave me the creeps. After I opened the door and entered the alarm code, I ran from room to room turning on all the lights.

  I went to my computer and logged on, hoping Claire had written back. As I waited for the computer to start, I did the math. It must be too soon. It was only eight in the morning over in London now. She probably hadn’t even had a chance to read my email.

  But I saw a message from her in my inbox and opened it.

  Abby,

  I think this spirit needs your help. I think she’s a strong spirit and won’t be going away anytime soon. There is something she needs, something you can help her with.

  Maybe if you help her, she can help you. With finding Jesse, I mean.

  Cheers,

  Claire

  I closed the computer, leaned back in the chair, and suddenly felt like crying.

  I had been such an idiot.

  Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?

  The ghost. Maybe Jesse had sent her.

  CHAPTER 14

  Things were different now. I was the one who would be stalking her, finding out what she wanted. And what she knew.

  The next morning I drove back over to the park and walked down the path that led into the forest.

  I had made a mistake. In my desperation and fear maybe I had ruined my chances at seeing Jesse again. Maybe Jesse needed me. Maybe the ghost was trying to tell me something about him. Why had I acted like such frightened fool?

  I was so busy trying to ignore her that I had stopped thinking clearly.

  But not anymore. I would push down my fear and bring up my courage. I would find her again, see what she wanted, and find Jesse.

  I was alone again on the path as I headed into the shadows of the forest. I walked slowly, looking behind the trees and shrubs. I came to the spot where I saw her when I was running, but she wasn’t there.

  “I’m here,” I said out loud. “I’m ready to talk now.”

  But nothing answered back. It was dead quiet.

  I stayed for over an hour, walking around and thinking. Two runners ran by and then a group of women from the boot camp thundered through. But no ghost.

  I wasn’t discouraged though. I had a pretty good idea where I could find her.

  CHAPTER 15

  It was on the third run through the rapids when I saw her. Across the river from the take-out, pacing back and forth in white, high up on the lava rock cliff. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as we said goodbye to the tourists.

  I had been loo
king for her all day and had a strong, stomach-on-the-floor feeling that I would find her on the river. She was in the same area where I had first seen her, across from where Ty had thrown me in the water. But I wouldn’t be able to get to her until after work. I could only hope that she would wait.

  As we headed back up river for the final run, I asked Ty if there was a road on the other side.

  “Nope,” he said. “No access. There’s not even a trail over there. Why?”

  “Oh, I’m rock collecting,” I said. “Really wanted to add some of that ancient lava to round out my collection.”

  I knew that sounded dumb, but it was all that came to me.

  “I can take you over when we’re through later. If it’s just for a few minutes.”

  “That would be great.”

  I had six women from Nevada in my last group. They were nice enough, but didn’t seem to be too into the river trip. They were attending some conference in Bend all week and talked about that among themselves in between the rapids. I didn’t mind. It gave me time to figure out what I would say to the ghost. The tourists were still talking about one of the presenters as they got out of the boat and walked back to the bus. I didn’t get a tip.

  After their bus pulled out of the lot, we started loading up to go home. Ty walked up to me.

  “What if I take you over now and come back for you in 15 minutes?”

  “Great. Thanks, Ty. I really appreciate it.”

  “Let me go tell the others what we’re doing. I’ll be right back.”

  I glanced back up at the cliff. She was still there.

  As Ty paddled us across, I worked on my courage. He steered the raft up against the rocks, back paddling to hold us steady. I jumped up onto the small landing.

  “Okay, see you in fifteen. But being that I’ll be doing all your packing-up work this afternoon, I think you owe me a dinner.”

  “You’re on,” I said.

  I looked up. Except for the sharp edges of the black rocks, the climb wasn’t too bad. When I got to the top, a cold breeze blew into me, drying the nervous sweat that was dripping down my face. Those stark eyes locked into mine immediately. I rubbed my palms together and took deep breaths as I walked up to her, slowly, step by step. My heart was pounding in my ears, but I reminded myself I was doing this for Jesse. Jesse might need me.

  A dark energy swirled in and around her as she glared. She was angry.

  I took a step closer, forcing my shaking legs to move. I could see her better now. She was older than me, maybe about Kate’s age. Her long, black hair was wet and clinging to her face and dress. There were gashes on her arms and legs.

  Chills shot through my body as I looked at her and tried to find the words I had been rehearsing in my head.

  “Ddd… ddd… ddd…” I stuttered. My stomach was woozy and I wasn’t sure if my knees would hold me up much longer. “Did Jesse send you?”

  She didn’t say anything, but started moving toward me. I took a step back, but then forced myself to stay put, planting my feet. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

  She put an icy hand on my face as she glared at me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get any oxygen. I was captured by that blackness that surrounded her. I closed my eyes, preparing to be thrown off the rocks, back into the deep, dark waters below.

  But she didn’t push me.

  Her hand was frosty on my face, but it was gentle as it turned my head toward the river. I opened my eyes and tried to breathe as she pointed to the water, to the spot where I’d first seen her.

  Before vanishing, she put her hand on her chest. And then she was gone.

  CHAPTER 16

  I decided to tell Kate about the ghost. I entered the code for the alarm after I unlocked the door. I would tell her everything after dinner. I needed her help.

  I was pretty sure I understood what the ghost was saying, that her body was down at the bottom of the Deschutes River. I didn’t know what she wanted, but I had to start by finding out who she was and what had happened to her.

  I emailed an update to Claire and walked out to the kitchen. I was making enchiladas for dinner. I saw a cooking show earlier in the week and had figured I would give it a try. I set up my laptop on the counter, found the saved recipe, and began working on the chicken.

  In about an hour, I had everything ready to put it all together. I heated the tortillas individually in a frying pan before soaking them in the sauce I had made and then filled them with the chicken mixture, rolling them up and grating cheddar cheese over the top.

  I sighed as I waited. I was nervous about telling Kate and was trying to think of a way to tell her that wouldn’t make her upset. She wouldn’t like that I saw a ghost on the river, but I couldn’t leave out the river setting because it was an important part of her story.

  I heard the door open and shouted out a hello. Kate walked in and patted my shoulder, asking about dinner and flinging her shoes across the floor.

  By the time she returned in sweats, I had plated our dinner adding avocado and sour cream, lit a candle, and poured her a Corona. We sat eating at the dining room table.

  “Amazing, hit me again,” Kate said, holding out her empty plate. “You have a real talent.”

  I smiled.

  “Thanks,” I said, shrugging.

  We asked each other about our days. I was vague, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was in a happy mood, which was unusual lately.

  “It goes to the jury tomorrow and I don’t think it will take them long to decide,” she said.

  “Good,” I said.

  “I stopped by the police station to say hello to some old friends. I miss them.”

  “I bet they were happy to see you.”

  “They were. It was really nice.”

  After dinner we headed over to the TV, throwing ourselves like pillows on the sofa. We watched a little of the local news before Kate flipped it to Cold Case Files.

  “Hey, Colin might stop by later. He’s bringing a documentary on the South during the Civil Rights Movement. You can watch with us if you want.”

  “Oh, sure,” I said.

  We watched the show for a few minutes.

  “Hey, Kate,” I finally said.

  “Hmmm.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about something. Is it a good time?”

  She shot a quick, intense look over to me. I knew that she was thinking about Nathaniel.

  “No, nothing about him. I promise. It’s something else.”

  She seemed relieved and muted the TV.

  “What’s up?”

  “This is going to sound weird, I know. But. Well. I’ve been seeing this ghost and need your help.”

  “A ghost?” she repeated.

  “Yeah.”

  I had told Kate about Jesse, and knew she was never too sure about whether I had seen him or invented him. But she hadn’t totally written it off. She knew my visions about Nathaniel had been real and was open to the possibility that I saw ghosts too.

  “So where did you see it?” she asked.

  Her eyes were wide and serious.

  I told her all about it, including how I saw her on the river. I said that the ghost seemed to need something, and that I wasn’t able to ignore her anymore.

  “What do you mean, she needs something?”

  I could tell that it made her angry.

  “What right does she have to want anything from you? Jeez, you need to move on from all this, you know? You’ve paid your dues and then some. Don’t get involved.”

  I took a deep breath. This was harder than I thought it was going to be.

  “I can’t not get involved,” I said. “I don’t have a choice.”

  I wasn’t going to mention how I thought the ghost might help me find Jesse.

  “Not have a choice? What does that mean? Are you in danger?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. I promise, I’m safe. I’m sure of it.”

  I wasn’t really sure, but I sounded confident and I could
see that Kate relaxed a little. She threw her head back on the cushion and exhaled slowly.

  “And you’re absolutely sure it has nothing to do with his brother? How can you know?”

  I did actually know, but didn’t know how to explain it.

  “I’m positive. This isn’t like that. Not at all. I’ve been seeing ghosts this past year. I’ve told you about them. They’re out walking around. I know it sounds nuts, but you wanted me to tell you about these things, and that’s what I’m doing.”

  What I was saying was true, although I also needed more from Kate than just an ear.

  “This ghost has come to me and needs help. And I’m going to help her.”

  “I don’t like this part of your life, Abby,” she said, crossing her arms. “It scares me and brings up all that stuff again. Can’t you just walk away and let her find someone else?”

  We sat watching the television for a while. The investigators were at the lab doing new DNA tests.

  “Okay,” Kate said. “Tell me what she said. Tell me what the ghost wants.”

  I told her that she was at the bottom of the river and needed my help finding her body.

  “Oh, great. Perfect,” Kate said. “A drowning.”

  “Drowning?” I said. “Wow. That’s funny but I never even thought of that.”

  Kate looked at me strangely.

  “Yeah, it’s hilarious,” she said. “What else would it be?”

  “I don’t know. But it’s something more. She didn’t speak to me, she just pointed to the river. But I got this dark feeling about it. I don’t think she drowned. I’m pretty sure it was something else.”

  I knew that would pique Kate’s interest a little. She was a natural detective and loved solving mysteries.

  “So, you think she was murdered? Is that what you’re thinking?”

  As she said the word murdered, I knew.

  “Yeah, I think that’s exactly what happened.”

  “If that’s the case, then it must be unsolved, right? If her body hasn’t been found, if she’s still in the river, then she must be listed as a missing person.”