“I got up at 7:00 am to get ready for work,” Cache said.
Adaline gazed at them both and bounced her knees. “I was up all night.”
Brandstrom took out his pad of paper and jotted down a few things, peered up for a minute, and stared at Adaline. His nose scrunched and he arched his eyebrows in a way that made her think he was questioning her.
He’s not your friend. You’re in trouble.
“You didn’t sleep at all?” Brandstrom brushed his mustache.
“Leora couldn’t sleep. She believes someone has been watching us and has night terrors all the time about it.”
Cache stepped forward. “There’s no nightmares or anyone watching us. She’s got an overactive imagination.”
Officer Brandstrom crossed his arms and glanced down at his watch. “You daughter felt someone was watching your house, and you never reported this. Kids see more than we give them credit for. How long has she been saying someone’s been watching your house?”
“A week, Brandstrom. She’s been convinced something’s going on, and I’ve tried to comfort her, but it didn’t help.” Adaline moved her hands back and forth to calm her racing nerves moving up and down her arms and legs.
Brandstrom walked around the great room and wrote as he moved. He gazed up from his notebook and glanced down at the sandwiches on the table. “Is this what they last had to eat?”
Adaline nodded. She looked at where he was and held her stomach. Leora didn’t eat much of anything for breakfast. She’d be cold, hungry, afraid, and have no way to reach them. No phone. Telling the girls they needed to have their coats, boots, and gloves on was one of the only things that told her they might be okay.
“Any other questions you have?” Cache asked. “We want to find the girls.”
The kitchen table screeched as Brandstrom turned quickly from where he stood to move back into the living room. He faced Cache with a firm stance and clenched his jaw. “When did you leave for work today?”
Cache stared back at him without flinching. “8:15.”
“You went straight to work, no stops?”
He swallowed hard. “A bought a camera for Leora for her birthday.”
Brandstrom unbuttoned his top collar and stretched his neck, then scratched his throat. He kept his glance on Cache as he did so. “Adaline?”
She intertwined her fingers together, waiting for him to respond to where she was. “Yes.”
“Walk me through your morning?” He continued to stare in Cache’s general direction. Her head continued to play ping pong with her sinuses. The urge to grab her head and hold it to relieve some of the pressure was strong, but she didn’t want to draw more attention to the two men questioning her every move at the moment. She growled silently but could feel the sound waiting to unleash at the base of her throat.
Burning.
Raging heat and fury.
She gulped a few times, trying to force it down, but the bite sprung out as she opened her mouth. “If you’re going to ask me a question, look at me when you’re talking.” Adaline covered her mouth and peered down, not waiting to see the reactions and judgment she felt she’d see.
“All right. I can do that,” Brandstrom said. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Slowly, she glanced up to make eye contact and not try to look away, especially after what she just said. “I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the girls. The girls never eat unless I take a bite of their sandwich.”
Office Brandstrom frowned. “You were playing Kiss a Roo?”
Adaline’s hands began to shake. Every peanut butter and jelly sandwich needed first to have a bite taken by her, a kiss-a-roo, a love bite, before the girls would eat. It had been their game since they were both three and could handle eating solid meals without choking or gagging. They wouldn’t be able to eat without her.
“Adaline?”
The room spun again, and she hoped this time it could take her back in time to undo all the things she didn’t do and try to make it right—starting with listening to her daughter about her nightmares more. Maybe then she could’ve stopped this from happening. They’d be shopping for balloons, cake, and packaged games right now instead of vanishing into thin air. She gazed at Officer Brandstrom and nodded lightly.
“What do you remember next?” he asked.
“It started to snow, and the girls wanted to go play. I told them it was fine as long as they got their gloves and boots on and stayed in the yard.”
“Where did you go?” Brandstrom jotted a few more notes in his notebook.
Adaline stared at the ground. “I went to get dressed for only a few minutes. I told the girls I would be right there.”
“I see. And, when did you notice your girls were gone?”
She lifted her head and pointed her finger toward the kitchen window. “It grew silent. It’s not normal for those two. I ran to the kitchen window to make sure they were right where I told them to be, but they weren’t there. So, I ran outside to look for them.”
Cache punched the side of the couch and began pacing again around the great room. “I should’ve stayed home.” He opened the fridge and placed the milk on the counter.
Adaline sneered at his comment and bunched her fists together. It didn't matter if she took the pills or not. Being numb seemed to be right there, at the surface, but at least without drugs, she knew something wasn’t controlling her. Adaline was tired of feeling influenced by situations that continued to haunt her, that no one but her seemed to understand.
“What happened next?” Brandstrom asked.
“I looked all over the yard, and in even in the shed. They weren’t there, so I went back inside to see if they went to their room.”
“Do you have a recent picture of them?”
Adaline grabbed her phone and tapped in her PIN. “Here. I took this a few minutes before they disappeared.”
“That will help. I need you both to fill out a missing person’s form.” Officer Brandstrom held up his finger to her and seemed to be listening to someone in his ear. He turned around to face the opposite direction.
Adaline stood waiting to hear what was going on and moved a few steps toward the fireplace. Her foot stepped on a hard texture, and she glanced down at the floor to see what it was. A golden locket lying on top of glass pieces from the broken vase she ran into earlier caught her attention. An engraving of an owl peered up at her as the chain lay on the ground. She knew this locket, but from where? Adaline bent down and picked it up, and her body reacted with intense muscle aches. Pain. Discomfort.
Cache placed his glass in the sink and began moving back into the living room. “What’s going on?”
Adaline quickly put the locket in her coat pocket and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Officer Mills appeared around the corner, and his stance held defeat. He didn’t say anything but seemed to be waiting for Officer Brandstrom, who still had his back turned to them. Cache gazed at her, and waves of alarm and panic filled her body. He reached for her hand, and she took it. Stepping closer to him, she stared at each one of them, waiting for who would move first, and watched Cache react in the same way. The room became dead silent. The last twenty-four hours held nothing but quiet, and it made her stomach churn. She began to hum to create some noise.
Officer Brandstrom placed his hand on his head. “Understood. Thank you.” He continued to stand in the opposite direction for a moment. It seemed he was avoiding looking at them.
She stopped humming and squeezed Cache’s hand tight. “Brandstrom. Did you hear anything?”
He turned around and gave Officer Mills a head gesture, one they both understood. “My partner will stay here with you and finish taking your statements. The paramedics are right outside. They’re going to get you checked out, Adaline.”
“No. I’m just fine.” Adaline let go of Cache’s hand and stepped toward him. “You said we’re losing time. This doesn’t help.”
Officer Brandstrom
lowered his eyebrows and gazed at her. “It does if you want to be cleared as a suspect. Stay here and get checked out. Don’t make this harder on yourself.”
“Where are you going?” Cache asked. “What did you just hear?”
“I’m sorry, but you both need to stay here in case someone calls,” Brandstrom said. “Mills will be here with you and you’ll be the first to hear anything at all.” He said that last statement by holding eye contact in the corner of the room, rather than at anyone.
Adaline watched him disappear out into the snow, and she glanced up at the corner he had just spent time looking at before he left. Origami butterflies danced on the wall, full of life, free and joyful, just like her girls. She held her heart and clenched the locket in her pocket. “My girls.”
Four
Adaline Rushner
Monday, October 18th
10:30 a.m.
Right after Officer Abbott left, a few paramedics came into the house and hastily moved around Adaline. Each one of them carried a blue duffle bag over their shoulders. A tall woman smiled at her and placed a bag lightly on the couch, then unzipped it. She began pulling out some supplies while another gentleman knelt in front of her and looked into her eyes. “I’m Zack. The guy behind you is Collin, and beside me is Kat,” he said. “I’m going to ask you some questions and get some vitals from you.”
“Sure. Do what you need to do.” She cleared her throat and bounced her leg up and down.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
She held her hands together in her lap. “Adaline. Adaline Rushner.”
“Adaline, what day of the week is it?”
“Monday.”
Zac smiled. “Good. What’s the date today?”
Adaline shook her head, annoyed at the dumb questions. “October 18th.”
He paused for a moment and stood to grab what appeared to be a stethoscope with a wristband from Kat. “What’s your pain level at—from 0 being no pain at all, to 10 being intolerable?”
“A three, maybe.” She shrugged.
Zac made a few sounds in understanding and then gazed in the direction of someone behind her. “We believe you have a small concussion. I’m going to check for tenderness on your face, neck, and head.”
She nodded and sat very still as he moved his fingers together to warm them before touching her face. Every winter, Adaline did the same thing with the girl’s hands, and their fingers would always linger in hers even after they were nice and toasty. Their fingers would be so cold now, and she wasn’t there to keep them snug. Adaline closed her eyes.
Please be out of the snow. Mommy’s coming very soon.
The paramedic gently felt her cheekbones, and then he moved to her neck. She cringed.
“There’s some tenderness there around the base of her skull.” Zac said it out loud, and Kat nodded in response. He stood, walked around the couch, and directed his fingers to her head, moving in a careful and rhythmic motion.
Adaline could feel him parting her hair. The pain was manageable until he got back down to pressing at the base of her skull again. Adaline jumped and moved forward. Kat gazed at her with a kindness in her face, a quiet apology.
“I’m sorry. There’s swelling there,” Zac said, coming around the couch to face her. “You took quite the hit.” He mentioned a few numbers to Kat, and she wrote them down. They had their secret code of names and numbers, which made no sense to Adaline, but it didn’t matter as long as they went through this quick. He grabbed the mosaic pillow from the floor and planted it underneath her elbow, and then took the stethoscope around his neck and brought it forward. “I’m going to take your blood pressure. I need you to turn your arm outward to me.”
Zac slid the cuff up her arm, just an inch or two above the inner bend of her arm. He started to inflate the cuff, and the tighter it got, she could feel her throat, heart, and stomach tighten as well. It felt as if her stomach was being wrung out like a dirty dishcloth. Tighter and tighter. Adaline took a deep breath and counted. After counting to fifteen, the cuff loosened and began to deflate slowly.
“110/69. That’s good,” he said, unstrapping the cuff from her arm.
Kat handed him a little flashlight and he gave her the cuff. Collin, the other paramedic, seemed to be the observer. “I’m going to check and see if your eyes are dilated. I need you to look directly at the light and hold for a moment. Right eye first.”
She did what he asked, hoping it would be like it was in her childhood. If she obeyed and followed directions, it would all be over soon. Adaline trembled.
“Collin, can you get a blanket for Mrs. Rushner?” The paramedic followed his directions promptly, and he continued to shine the light at her eye. “Good. Let’s do the left eye now.”
The blinding intensity hit her eye, taking her back to when she awoke in the snow, and the sun blurred her vision. She flinched.
The paramedic put the flashlight down, then peered at Kat. She wrote something down on a piece of paper, and he gazed back at Adaline. “Are you feeling sick?”
“No. It’s just cold in here.” She rubbed her arms.
He stood and grabbed an object right above her. A blue fleece blanket draped in his hands, and he gave it to Adaline while he looked back down at her. “You’ve been through a lot. We’re just going to check your pulse and then your breathing.”
“Am I done after that?” she asked, bracing the blanket to her shoulders.
“If these check out, then we’ll have you fill out a form saying you’re all clear and we’ll be on our way.” Zac scratched his cheek.
After the last two tests, Adaline jumped up quickly before another random question could come in. The paramedics began packing up the equipment and talking amongst themselves about what they would pick up for dinner and whose meal would taste better. Philly Cheese Steak won. Her stomach gurgled at the thought of eating, and nausea hit again. Adaline stood tall instead of holding her stomach to not give herself away.
Don’t show you’re sick. I’m doing these stupid-ass tests for Brandstrom because he asked. The girls need me, and I can’t afford to have the paramedic rush me to the hospital.
Zac placed his hand on her shoulder. “You have a small concussion and are going to need some rest for the next few days. Put an ice pack on your head by the base of your neck. It will reduce the swelling,” he said. “If you’re vomiting, losing consciousness, or having a difficult time waking up, you need to go to the hospital immediately and seek medical attention.”
Right? That’s going to happen.
Adaline nodded her head to appease him.
“The tenderness should be gone in about 7-10 days.” He pulled out some paperwork and a pen. “This copy is yours, going over what I just mentioned. This other one states that I went over this information with you. Sign right here on the line.”
She took the pen and signed the piece of paper in his hand and grabbed the copy of the instructions for herself.
“Take it easy.” They walked out through the front door, and she followed, standing in the doorway. Cache sat on the porch staring at his shoelaces. He had a thing with paying attention to the knots in his shoelace when he didn’t want to talk. Perhaps that’s how he felt. A knot, stuck together and bound to something he couldn’t undo. He wanted to but didn’t know how. She worried many times that he hoped to release her.
The moment the paramedics were out of sight, she cradled her aching belly and stepped back inside. Adaline wanted to lock the door and have no one else come in. Their home was their safe space, or at least it had been until it became a missing person facility. A call came in on Officer Mill’s radio, and he quickly left the kitchen, marching down the hallway and into the second bedroom on the right.
Cache stepped from the porch and moved in the house toward her. “They cleared you?”
“Just a little bump, nothing to fuss over.” Adaline rubbed her arms to comfort herself as she peered down the hallway after the officer. “He got a call. Th
e officer. It’s probably the girls, right?”
He turned in her direction and touched her chin. “We’ll find them.” Cache held out his hand, and she wrapped herself in his arms.
“I’m sorry I lost that time, Cache,” she said. “I’d give anything to have that back. One hour is a long time.”
Cache released her and nodded. “I should’ve stayed for breakfast with you and the girls instead of rushing off to work so quick.” He scratched his chin. “They’ll be okay. They have to be, right?”
“Right.” Adaline released her hold on Cache. “I’m going to go see if I can find something in the girl’s room.”
“What do you think you’re going to find?” he asked.
She clung to her elbows and peered into his eyes. “I don’t know, but I can’t just stand here doing nothing while our babies are out there.” Adaline brushed past him and walked down the hallway to the girls’ room. Her hands shook a few steps before getting into their room, and her throat constricted as she stood in the doorway, holding down a rushing river of feelings trying to escape. The room held the candy-coated scent of strawberries and cream from Eliza’s favorite dog, Pinkerton. She had gotten into the perfume cupboard one day to give her dog a makeover starting with a real bath, complete with bubbles and a container of perfume. The smell never went away, even after several spins in the washer.
Adaline grazed her finger across the multiple stickers on the headboard.
I know you love stickers. Mommy will get you more when I go to the store.
She breathed in slowly and exhaled. Sitting around and waiting for her girls to come home wouldn’t work for her. She needed to figure out who took them and why. There had to be a clue. Adaline opened the closet and sorted through their clothes. She searched through each of the pockets, unsure of what to look for but determined to find something. The last dress in the closet had a vibrant blue color that reminded her of the ocean. Adaline hugged it tightly, then hung it with care back on the hanger. She went to their sock drawer, the nightstand, and bookshelves, going through every page of each book.
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