Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (31 page)

“I’ll miss you,” I said. “But I want you to be happy. It’s like Erin says. If staying here isn’t what you want, then you need to leave. You belong at
The
New York Times
.”

“Thanks, Abby,” she said.

I thought I saw tears in her eyes too, but she looked away quickly. We got up and walked outside.

“See you later tonight,” she said.

I waved goodbye.

I went down Franklin and crossed over to the park. I looked anyway even though I knew that I wouldn’t find him. I checked in the trees across the water and in the shadows along the banks.

I was always losing the people I loved, one way or another.

I cried all the way home.

CHAPTER 45

A little more than a week later the authorities finally identified the body they had pulled out of the bottom of the Deschutes River as Annabelle Harrison. They also announced that the cause of death was a blunt force to the back of the head.

Kate continued to write most of the stories connected to the case, which dominated the front page of
The Bugler
. A few of them were picked up by some of the newspapers around the state as well as the Associated Press.

Kate also left an anonymous tip from a payphone in Redmond for the detectives heading the investigation regarding William Reynolds.

“I had to be super vague,” she said. “But maybe it will be enough to get the ball rolling in the right direction.”

We had seen several clips on the news already of Derek and Jacob Harrison talking to the media, microphones pushed in their faces. Derek Harrison called the discovery “heartbreaking” and told reporters that they were planning a memorial service so that “Annabelle could be properly laid to rest.” Her son mostly stayed in the background, but one time he stepped up and said that it was good to finally know what really happened to his mom.

As I watched him I realized that I had helped him a little. That was at least one small consolation that had come out of this horrible tragedy: whether or not the police were ever able to solve her murder, Jacob would now always know that his mother had not abandoned him. Maybe that wasn’t such a small thing.

The summer had flown and somehow I had only one more week left on the river. Ty and Amber would still be working through the end of September, but soon after Labor Day the company cut back on the daily runs and I would be out of a job.

I was going to miss the river and being outside on it every day. I had no idea what I would do, but I was sure it would be hard to find anything that would give me that sense of peace.

The party I was planning never happened. Dr. Mortimer canceled a few days before, Kate was only thinking about New York, and Jack and Tim from the soccer team always seemed to be busy. And with no job on the horizon, I didn’t exactly have much money to spend on a party anyway.

I was putting in applications in stores and coffee shops all over town, but so far had no luck finding anything. But I wasn’t too worried. I figured something would turn up.

Dr. Mortimer called Thursday, asking if I could stop by and talk on his dinner break. I was supposed to meet Ty at eight over at McMenamins, so I told him I could swing over by the hospital beforehand.

I found him in the ER waiting room, sitting off in a corner. He was in his scrubs, slouching in a plastic chair when I walked up. He looked serious and sad. I knew Kate must have told him the news.

“Hi, Abby,” he said.

We walked over to the elevators and went upstairs to the orthopedic section of the hospital. It was closed, so no one was on the floor. The chairs were big and cushioned and comfortable.

“So she told you, huh?” I said.

“Yeah.”

He brushed his hand though his thick hair and through the turbulent darkness moving above him.

“It’s just a surprise. I don’t know why. I just wasn’t thinking. She’s wanted this for a long time.”

“I was surprised too,” I said.

He looked different, much different than I’d ever seen before. Kate’s news had rocked him hard. He was intense and sad and something else I couldn’t put my finger on. He leaned back, crossing his feet out in front of him.

“She’s not leaving for the interview until Tuesday,” I said. “Do you have plans to see her before she goes?”

“No,” he said, his eyes darting around the waiting room. “Can’t.”

I smiled nervously.

“No soccer tonight?”

“No, we finished the outdoor league. But indoor starts on Monday. New team with a lot of the same players. It’ll be fun.”

“I’ll come watch one of those games too.”

“Sounds good,” I said, trying to fill up the strange silence.

“I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell Kate. Can you do that?”

“Sure.”

He sighed nervously.

“I’m leaving for Kenya tomorrow. I’m going to confront Nathaniel.”

My heart raced. No wonder his energy was wild and dark. I didn’t know how to respond.

“But Dr. Mortimer, you shouldn’t…” I started to say, but he must have seen the terror in my eyes and cut me off.

“No, Abby. I’m going. It’s all set. I’ve taken time off here at the hospital and have my ticket already.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Look, I just needed you to know, that’s all. I have to find him and take care of this situation.”

I understood, but I still didn’t want him to go.

“He’s a dangerous man, Dr. Mortimer. You have to be careful.”

He rubbed his face. It looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.

“I know. Don’t worry about me. He’s my brother. Besides, I understand now who he is and what he’s capable of doing. I didn’t get that before, but now I do. I’m ready. Now I have the upper hand.”

I couldn’t imagine anyone ever having the upper hand when confronting Nathaniel Mortimer. It would be like playing a chess game against Bobby Fischer—a crazy, murderous Bobby Fischer. He was always a few moves ahead, waiting patiently on the other side of sanity.

“Just be careful,” I said again.

He suddenly stood up.

“Sorry, I have to get back. Don’t tell her, Abby. I’ll be in contact with you through email and I promise to keep you updated.”

We hugged.

“Bye,” I said. “Please be careful.”

I left the hospital wondering if I would ever see him again.

CHAPTER 46

I drove over to meet Ty and tried to figure out what to do. It was an impossible situation. If I told Kate that Dr. Mortimer was leaving for Africa, he would be mad. And if I didn’t tell her, she would be mad.

I found Ty in the parking lot. We said hello and then went inside the restaurant and grabbed a table.

It was good to see him. As always, he looked great.

We talked about the weather and the end of the year party that the rafting company was planning when the season officially closed in a few weeks.

“So you miss being out on the river all day?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “More than I even thought I would.”

I told him about my unsuccessful job hunt and how I had been looking everywhere, including Starbucks, Macy’s, and all the outlet stores.

“You gotta think of something else. You won’t be happy in any of those places. What about working up at the mountain? I know you said you weren’t ready to be an instructor, but what about a manager or something? They’re hiring and I could put in a word for you.”

I smiled. I couldn’t imagine telling Kate that I’d be driving up to Mt. Bachelor all winter, on the same road where I had the accident.

“I better pass this season,” I said. “But thanks anyway.”

“Are you coming back as a guide next summer?” he asked.

“I’d like to. They told me they wanted me back.”

I hoped that whatever I ended up doing, I could always go back and be a guide in the summers.

“It was a great season,” Ty said.

“To our summer on the river,” I said, picking up my glass.

We toasted.

As the night went on, we talked about more and more things. Ty switched to beers and loosened up a bit.

“So, I don’t mean to harass you, but how come we never went on that hike? I just want to know. Obviously, I’m interested in you. Just tell me if you don’t feel the same way.”

I had been thinking about what to say to him for weeks.

“Well, it just scares me. I really like you, Ty, but I don’t know if I’m ready. I love having you as a friend. I know that’s not fair to you if that’s all there ever will be. But I’m not sure if it can be anything more.”

“Let me decide what’s fair,” he said. “I can handle it. That works for now.”

He looked at me for a minute.

“Let’s just hang out together and see what happens,” he finally said.

We sat in silence and finished our drinks.

“Okay, Craig,” Ty said as we walked back to the cars. The night air was cold on my face. “I’ll be around. How about you call me if you feel like it? We can go see a movie or take a walk. I’m a pretty good goalie too, if you want to get in some practice. You just let me know.”

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. He still smelled of that tropical lotion that he rubbed on his skin all summer.

“Okay,” I said, smiling. “Deal.”

I watched as he walked away.

CHAPTER 47

Kate pulled out her suitcase and threw it on the bed.

“You know, normally I wouldn’t mind, but he’s been such a jerk lately,” she said.

She was leaving for New York in the morning and the editors had decided that Colin would be taking over her beat while she was gone, which meant he was going to be writing a lot of the top stories.

We were in her room and I was lying on the floor with her fluffy down comforter over me.

“Let it go, Kate. Who cares? Look where you’re going and what you’re doing. You’re going to New York City for an interview.”

She put piles of folded clothes inside the carry-on. Then she grabbed a few more sweaters and stuffed them in. She was only going for a few days, but seemed to be packing for a month.

“I still have to get the job remember. I’m still up against a lot of people. A lot of topnotch people.”

“I think they’re the ones facing the topnotch competition,” I said.

“Thanks. Oh, hey, I talked to the Portland detectives today. They say it’s still early, but that they’re looking into the William Reynolds angle.”

“That’s good,” I said. “I guess.”

“Well, if nothing else they might be able to close the case.”

I knew you couldn’t always find justice inside a courtroom but something about the way Reynolds had died, without anyone knowing what he had done and what he was, left me feeling unsatisfied.

I sighed.

Kate took another jacket out of her closet and put it on the bed.

“You’re starting to remind me of some of those cops I deal with,” she said. “The ones who have been at it a while and have a heaviness inside that only seems to get worse with the weight of each case.”

“Hmmm,” I said.

“At this point I’m just hoping they’ll leave me out of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got a call from Bend PD. They heard that I was in Portland, snooping around about Annabelle a week before Daniel took his pictures of the body. They’re a little suspicious and want me to come in and talk to them.”

“Damn,” I said. “You should have told me sooner.”

“This kind of stuff comes with the job. Don’t worry. I’m not worried. If I have to, I’ll tell them I have an anonymous source who tipped me off. But I’m hoping they’ll leave it alone.”

“Just tell them. I don’t care.”

I was tired of hiding. Maybe it was time to just be who I was and not worry what other people thought.

 “Nobody’s going to believe your ghost story. I’m glad you’re thinking along those lines though. It’s time for you to be comfortable in your skin.”

We were quiet for a while. Kate sat on the suitcase and I helped her zip it up.

“I just wish Ben was in town,” she said.

Dr. Mortimer told her that he was in California at a medical convention for the week and that he might stay on a little longer to visit family.

“Even though we know that someone is watching Nathaniel, I still hate to leave you alone.”

“I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about that. I have some friends around if I need anything. So if they offer you the job when would you start?”

“Within the month. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

I smiled.

“Kate. If it’s good, I want you to take it. Really. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.” I looked at her for a minute. “I’m serious. And like you said, you’ll come back to visit. And I’ll visit too. It’s important to do what we’re supposed to do. You’ve outgrown
The
Bugler
. You need to move on.”

Kate reached over and gave me a long hug.

“And I’ll even keep watering your flowers.”

It was a pretty good joke and I was glad to see her laugh. Almost all her flowers had died in a freak early frost the week before.

“Thanks, Abby. It means a lot that you’re supporting me.”

We said goodnight. Her flight was early and I was dropping her off at the Redmond airport in just a few hours.

CHAPTER 48

Shortly after Kate left, I started a new job at Back Street Coffee. I was just working at the counter, but so far it was okay. I liked the people. They were friendly.

Ty had already stopped by a few times. He sat up at the bar and always ordered a black coffee.

Kate had called Wednesday in the afternoon and left a message saying that everything had gone well. I called her on my break and she told me that they had asked her back for one last interview later in the week.

“That seems like a good sign,” I said.

I was standing in the alley, wishing I had my jacket. A breeze was blowing right into me.

“Yeah,” Kate said. “It does, huh?”