Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3)

by Matthew Goldstein

  Cole paused. “Yes, I have.”

  Michelle’s face lit up. “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Um, I was thinking I might be able to find a missing person. Haven’t yet, but I’m working on it.”

  “Really? That’s so cool. With telepathy? How does that work?”

  Cole had known the question was coming but had been unable to think of a way around it. Great job backing myself into a corner. I should have said no, I haven’t thought of any way to use it yet.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” Michelle said at his hesitation.

  “Oh, it’s not that. I was just thinking of a way to explain it. The truth is, I’m not sure how to explain it.” Again, I'm sorry, Mom, but I don't want to have to explain that I hear voices.

  I'm so glad that the easiest explanation allows you to take all the credit, Meredith thought-said, joking but with a tinge of irritation.

  Cole tried not to show himself cringe as he continued. “Somehow I can kind of see the person that I connect to. Vaguely, but in a way, kind of like seeing into their mind.”

  “Weird. But awesome. So do you wander the street looking inside of people’s houses?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Sounds time-consuming,” Michelle said.

  “Like a needle in a haystack,” Cole said glumly.

  “Hey, you may get lucky. If you cover enough ground, you’re bound to find the person if they’re still in the area. I’d like to come around with you sometime. Sounds fascinating.”

  “It won’t be. It will just look like I’m walking around. Which is what I am doing.”

  “I guess so. Man, I really hope you find that person. That would be amazing. You'd be a hero. You could be on the news, special task force for finding missing people. How cool is that? I wonder if you would be the first person to ever do that. I wonder how many people can do it and never know it. Crazy...” Her gaze drifted off.

  “I have to admit it would be really cool. I hope I can figure out a more efficient method than just driving around randomly. We'll see.”

  “Are you going to do that later today?”

  Cole nodded. “Uh huh.”

  “Promise you'll tell me tonight what happens? I'll be dying to know. Give me a call whenever you get back.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Cole said, happy but a little uncomfortable. “Well, I guess I should get going. Can I use your phone?”

  After Cole had called Beth to pick him up, they had about fifteen minutes before she arrived. Michelle closed the door again and said, “Can you say something to me again? You know, telepathically?”

  I can do that. What do you want me to say?

  “That is just so weird,” Michelle said, shaking her head. “I don't think I could ever get used to that. I wish I knew how to do it and then we could have private conversations. How far does it reach?”

  “Seems about two blocks, but I'm working on making it longer.”

  “Neat. Did I just say neat? I mean cool. Okay, sorry, I'll stop bothering you with questions.”

  “You're not bothering me. It's actually pretty fun to talk about.” And fun to do, he added.

  She put her hands over her ears. “Aaah you're in my head again.” She dropped her arms and looked at Cole with mock anger. “I'm so jealous of you. I wish I had a superpower.”

  “I'm sorry. If I could teach you, I would.”

  “I'm just kidding. Mostly. I'm not really upset. All right, let's go wait by the front door for your aunt.”

  They filed out of the room, passing by Mark who was still watching TV. Cole feared another encounter, but he either did not notice or did not acknowledge them. Once they were at the front door, neither of them was sure what to say, and they waited in silence for the remaining time until Beth arrived.

  As she pulled in front of the house, Michelle said, “You're going to call later, right?”

  “Yep, I'll call.”

  “Okay, good luck tonight.” She embraced him in a quick, tight hug. “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  That evening was full of disappointment. Beth would only agree to drive him around for a short while, and so he was forced to travel the neighborhood the rest of the time on foot. His mother reported back nothing, though as her responses were sporadic, he wasn't sure if she was always searching. Dreading calling Michelle with no news, he stayed out searching until it was well past dark, but realized he would have to call her soon or it would be too late. Grudgingly, he meandered home.

  “About time,” Beth said when he walked in the door. “I was about to send out a search party.”

  “Sorry it's so late,” he mumbled, and continued into the kitchen to grab the phone. Reluctantly, he dialed Michelle and put the phone to his ear.

  “Hey!” she answered. “It’s getting late. I was wondering if you were gonna call. Didn’t find anything?”

  “No, nothing yet.”

  “That’s okay, even if it takes a week or a month, if it works it’s still worth it.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. Thanks.”

  “Good luck. I’ll see you in school Monday. Hey,” she added, “can you send me a message over the phone?”

  “I doubt it. I can try.” He pictured Michelle’s aura, focused on it and, as strong as he could muster, but without any actual hope, he transmitted, How awesome would it be if you heard this?

  “Holy shit, oh! I’m sorry, I never curse, but oh my God, I heard that! Or felt it or whatever. All the way over here. That’s crazy!”

  “Are you serious?” Cole said astonished.

  “Yeah, you said ‘How awesome would it be if you heard this?’ Really freaking awesome, that’s how.”

  “I guess it can go more than two blocks,” Cole said, trying to wrap his mind around it, and how it was possible.

  “I’d say so. Keep working at it and you could send messages round the world!”

  “Ha, maybe. We’ll see. I guess I’ll see you on Monday.”

  “Yeah, good luck with your search and let me know of any developments.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “See ya, Superman.”

  Cole hung up the phone slowly and shook his head as his mind raced through questions. Could talking on the phone have had something to do with it? But he had been on the phone with Beth during the initial test. Was it because Michelle’s aura was stronger than everyone else’s? Why was hers so strong?

  He returned to the library to relax and mull it over, but was interrupted by his mother.

  There seems to be no end to the mysteries of our bloodline.

  Mom, are you always listening? I asked you not to at Michelle’s and you did anyway.

  Sorry, Cole, your privacy is not as important as your safety. You were lucky, but telling Michelle could have been a disaster. Even as it is, you don’t know she won’t go telling people.

  Who cares? No one would believe her. I’m old enough to make my own decision and it makes me really uncomfortable to know that you're listening to every conversation I have.

  That's something you're going to have to get used to.

  Great. You're not even going to pretend to give me privacy anymore?

  What's the point? You won't believe it anyway.

  My real mom would never do this!

  That ended the conversation. As his irritation subsided, it was replaced with a growing depression and disbelief. Had he actually said those words? Through his denial, a small part of him had always known the truth, even if he would never admit it to himself. Having put it out in the open, he was sick with a deep regret.

  I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean that.

  No, it’s okay. You’re right. I’m going to investigate more. Have a good night.

  Cole sat alone in the silence, brimming with despair, the fresh wound of losing his mother tearing wide open.

  * * *

  “You're not going out anywhere this weekend?”

  Amy lifted her head from her plate of food that she had been
poking at with her fork. “Huh? What?”

  “This weekend. No plans?” Sam said from across the table.

  “Oh. No, no plans.” She went back to poking at her food.

  Sam exchanged a glance with his wife, who gave an encouraging nod. He cleared his throat and said, “We've noticed that you haven't been yourself in a while and were wondering if there was anything we could do to help. Do you need to talk about something?”

  When there was no response, Jenny added, “I hope you know you can talk to us about absolutely anything. We won't betray your privacy and I miss seeing that smile brighten up your face.”

  Amy sighed. “It's nothing,” she said, without looking up this time. “I promise I'll be okay. Things haven't been going so great with Cole, but it's temporary.” If only it were that simple, she thought.

  “I'm sorry to hear that,” Jenny said, hoping for Amy to elaborate, but she did not. “When I was in high school, I had this sweetheart. His name was Mickey. I was so infatuated with him that I was sure from day one I was going to marry him. After -”

  “I don't need your stories,” Amy cut her off. “You don't have to try to relate to me or make me feel better. I told you I'll be fine.”

  “Oh.” Jenny went quiet, her eyes downcast.

  The silence was broken by the blaring ring of the telephone. Jenny shoved her chair back and grabbed the phone. “Hello?... Yes, she is, hold on.”

  Amy looked up, wondering who was on the phone, dreading that it was Cole.

  “It's that boy, Martin,” Jenny said, beaming and handing the phone to Amy.

  “Hey, what's up?” Amy said.

  “Oh, uh, nothing too much. Just, uh, wondering what you were up to tonight.”

  Amy briefly wondered why Martin's voice lacked its usual energy and confidence, but she did not have the brain capacity to care. “I don't know. Nothing much, I guess.”

  “Would you like to see a, uh, movie, maybe?”

  Amy sighed. “I don't know. Not really.”

  “Oh. That's too bad.”

  The disappointment in his voice made Amy reconsider. “Who's going?”

  “Oh, uh, no one else is going.”

  “Just you?” Amy said, now more confused than ever.

  “Yeah. Is that all right?”

  He's probably trying to be a good friend because I've been out of it lately. I guess it couldn't hurt to get out of the house, and Martin usually does a better job than anyone at distracting me from my living hell. “Yeah, sure, let me ask if it's okay.” She pressed the phone to her shirt and asked Jenny, “Would you be able to take me to the movies?”

  Jenny nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, of course.”

  Amy put the receiver back to her ear and made plans with Martin to see a movie in an hour. Her foster parents did not press her for more conversation, but she caught Jenny throwing pleased grins at her husband. Sam remained passive, though he became more at ease. On the drive to the theater, Jenny remarked about “what a nice boy” Martin was. Amy nodded, her attention fixed out the window.

  Martin was waiting outside for her, dressed in his best polo shirt and khakis. He waved nervously as Amy approached. “Hey, I'm glad you could make it.”

  “Me too. You don't usually do things last minute like this.”

  “I was going to ask you in school on Friday, but... I didn't.”

  “Vague,” Amy said, and then glancing up and down, “You're looking all fancy. Is that gel in your hair?”

  Martin blushed. “Oh, just a little. I do that sometimes.”

  All of a sudden it clicked. “Wait a second. Are we just hanging out? We never hang out just the two of us.”

  “Yeah, I thought it might be nice.”

  “Martin, I don't know where this is coming from, but it's not something I can deal with right now,” Amy said, feeling nothing but growing frustration and the overwhelming hopelessness of being lost at sea. “I'm sorry, but I can't. You were supposed to be my relief, not add more problems to my life.”

  “What has been up with you lately? What problems?”

  “It's nothing.”

  “Look, I'm sorry for dumping this on you,” Martin said, softening up. “Can we just hang out as friends and watch a movie?”

  Without realizing it, Amy's muscles had tensed, and she consciously released the tension and let out a long sigh. “Yeah, sure. I'm sorry for blowing up on you.”

  “It's no problem, I –” He froze, his eyes shifting back and forth before he jerked his head around. “Did you say something?”

  “What? No...” The hairs on the back of Amy's neck began to prickle as the tension came creeping back.

  “Never mind,” Martin said, smiling. “I thought I heard someone whisper but it must have been my imagination. That's embarrassing. Let's go in.” When he noticed the look of horror on Amy's face, his smile faded. “What's wrong? What did I say?”

  “No, no, no, no, this can't be happening,” Amy shrieked, and sprinted away as fast as she could, hoping to move fast enough to outrun reality. Martin did not follow her. She ran for as long as her lungs could tolerate, and then collapsed on the side of the road. She sat there, hugging herself and sobbing.

  Your first thought is going to be, 'This has gone too far. I have to find a way to tell Cole even if it kills me,' spoke a voice within her head. Well, I hope you've realized how hopeless that is. But as an added incentive, if you try to disobey us at any time, we will attack all three at once. Cole can't protect them all.

  Amy squeezed her eyes shut, her terror rising. All three?

  We have your foster parents as well.

  “No, no, no, no, noooooooooooooooooo,” she wailed, curling up into a fetal position and shaking uncontrollably.

  Good. Now that we're on the same page, there's something we need you to do for us.

  12

  Sunday Cole spent searching the neighborhood, driving around with Beth in brief spurts when he could convince her, and spending the rest of the time on foot. His mother was fairly quiet, only speaking up to tell him that she was searching, or that she was not finding anyone. Cole continued trying to use his own abilities to search, but was still unable to extract a clear image of the person he connected to. He began to get lonely during his long walks, but was too awkward to call Michelle and too afraid to call Amy.

  The day wound down to a disappointing conclusion as the light faded and Cole traveled home for dinner, his legs aching. Exhausted, he spent the remainder of the evening skimming through books from Beth's library and reviewing various school subjects in which he had not yet caught up. He went to bed that night feeling as if he had accomplished nothing and had wasted his precious weekend.

  Monday morning he struggled to pull himself out of bed, not ready for the beginning of the school week. His legs were sore from the day before, and ached with every step. Good morning, Mom, he said as he vowed to do every morning now to patch things up. The unease was lifting and they were beginning to talk as they did before.

  After a quick breakfast, he was on his way to school. He stared out the window at the passing scenery, his mind preoccupied with the dread of awkwardness around Amy. He hoped she would be warmer to him today and perhaps they could patch things up between them. Another part of him was looking forward to seeing Michelle. Despite the fact that he had no news to share about his search, their friendship had become much more interesting since he had revealed his telepathy to her.

  He was startled out of these thoughts by his mother.

  Cole, Cole. I found her!

  Cole blinked as he oriented his brain. You found the missing woman?

  Yes! Tell Beth to pull over and I'll direct you.

  All past thoughts were displaced by instantaneous excitement. “Beth! Pull over! Mom found the missing person!”

  “Seriously?” Beth pulled to the side of the road and turned to him. “On the ride to school? Are you screwing with me to get out of going to school?”

  “No, really, I sw
ear. Mom says to make a left at the next intersection,” he said, repeating his mother's words.

  Beth hesitated, but followed the directions. They drove for a few blocks, Cole conveying the directions.

  It's on this street, Meredith said. Check for a street sign.

  Cole spotted the name, Broadview.

  Okay, now slow down.

  Cole repeated the words, and Beth slowed to a crawl. After a few seconds, Meredith said, Stop. Cole said, “Stop!” and Beth pulled over.

  It's that house. Across the street, Meredith said. Now, as you promised, call the police and give them the address.

  Cole nodded to the house that Meredith had indicated. “It's that one. Would you mind calling the police? I think it will sound more legitimate from an adult.”

  Beth sighed. “This is serious. I won't call the police on a hunch. Is she absolutely positive that is the house?”

  Cole nodded. “Please? The address is three fifty-one Broadview Avenue and her name is Marie Lopez.”

  Beth grumbled as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed the non-emergency police number. “Hello? Yeah, I have an anonymous tip to report. I have found a missing person by the name of Marie Lopez. She is at three fifty-one Broadview Avenue... Yes... Thank you.” She hung up and turned to Cole. “They're on their way. I don't want to wait around and have to answer questions.”

  “But how will we know what happens? I want to make sure they find her.”

  “We'll read about it in the paper tomorrow,” Beth said as she put the car in gear.

  Cole didn’t let Beth’s stubbornness ruin his mood. They had done it! With his mother’s help, he had found a missing person and rescued her. If she was in there, the police were bound to find her. He could not wait to read about it tomorrow. Marie Lopez had him to thank for her freedom.

  He was still smiling when he reached his school. He raced into homeroom to tell Michelle who was fortunately already there. With a stupid grin on his face, he walked up to her and said in a low voice, “Success. I found her.”

  Michelle’s eyes lit up. “Really?!” she nearly shouted before looking around and lowering her voice. “That's crazy. You’re like a real superhero vigilante now. You have to tell me all about it.”