Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (80 page)

I checked my messages after I said goodbye to the team.

Paloma hadn’t called back.

***

I talked to Rosie again the next day. She said Paloma was feeling better. But when I called her a few times from home and Back Street, I still got no answer.

She was probably trying to work through everything that had happened. But I still had a lot of unanswered questions and talking to her sister wasn’t going to help me find out anything more about that ghost.

I needed to know what really happened that night in front of Amber’s house and then in the river. Paloma might remember more now that some time had passed.

I figured that it was worth a shot. After my shift I drove over to Club 6. I thought that if she was feeling better, she might be back at work. It was just past seven, but the place was still closed. I knocked a few times anyway, hoping someone would answer.

“Not till nine,” said a scruffy voice right before I was about to give up. A man wearing a ZZ Top tank top opened the door just a few inches, ready to close it again.

“Wait,” I said. “I’m a friend of one of the dancers who works here. Paloma Suárez. Do you know if she’s working tonight?”

“Pali’s history,” he said.

“What do you mean history?”

“She’s done here, got it? She’s missed three straight shifts without so much as a peep. I haven’t heard squat. I can’t have people working here who don’t work here.”

“You must be Eddie,” I said.

He sighed and scratched the stubble on his chin and looked at me and then opened the door.

“Yeah, that’s me. Come in for a minute,” he said. “She left some of her stuff.”

“Abby,” I said, following him inside.

It was strange seeing the club so quiet. There were no blinding strobe lights or disco balls spinning, no scantily clad barmaids or people dancing in the middle of the room. It was just him and a television over the bar, tuned to a baseball game.

But even though it looked just like a regular room now, something about it didn’t feel right.

We stopped at the bar and he faced me.

“So, you’re a friend of hers, huh?” he asked.

I was getting a bad feeling, like we were being watched.

“Yeah.”

His eyes were on me, checking me out.

“She’s been going through a hard time,” I said.

“Yeah, whatever. She can take a number. Anyway, she left one of her, uh, outfits here. Hold on, let me get it.”

He left me standing there while he went into the back.

I wandered around a little, hoping that I could see something. But I didn’t. There was nothing, then or now. Nothing except a feeling.

I saw ghosts all over town. I saw them rising up from rivers, in coffee shops, and at parks. It felt like there was something here. Why wasn’t I seeing it? It didn’t make any sense.

I looked around some more and then glanced up at the cage.

I jumped back.

It wasn’t exactly a ghost, but there was something there just the same. Something I had never seen before. A dark mist was moving around inside the cage. It looked like black fog, and it was hovering behind the steel bars.

I blinked hard, my back glued to the wall. I was too scared to move.

I just stood there watching as mist moved around the cage. Suddenly it started spilling out, falling down onto the dance floor like a black waterfall.

Oozing and dripping, it slowly started to crawl toward me.

I held down a scream just as the owner came back out.

“Got it,” he said. “Hey, you okay?”

I looked at him.

“Huh?”

I looked back over at the floor but the fog was gone, like it had never been there.

“Here,” he said, handing me a bag. “I don’t know, maybe you want to try it on. See if it fits.”

I stared at him for a moment, not knowing what he meant.

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“Well, I’m short a girl now that Pali’s gone. You don’t exactly have her curves, but I think you might do. You might do just fine. I pay good and there’s tips. What’d ya say?”

I gave him back the bag and walked away.

“Say, if you talk to her, tell her I’m really pissed,” he yelled. “And think about the job offer.”

I let the door slam hard behind me.

CHAPTER 34

“Mo!” I said as I walked in.

She looked up from behind the espresso machine and cracked a smile.

“Hey,” she said, pulling a shot.

She was dressed in her usual tank top that showed off all her tattoos. Her hair was short and choppy and she had a small ring in her nose.

“How was your tour? How was Europe?”

“Sick,” she said, nodding.

I slid my bag in the drawer.

“Are you guys playing a show here sometime?”

“Next week at The Horned Hand,” she said.

“Cool. I’ll be there,” I said.

Mo was still the same. We didn’t say much more the rest of the day, but it was nice having her back. The morning was smooth and lot of the regular customers treated her like a rock star. And even though she was still serious and quiet, I could tell she was pleased that so many people were happy to see her.

David showed up later and after talking to Mo for a good 15 minutes finally started helping me up front with the line.

“It’s like our little family is all back together,” he said as he walked by.

I sat in the crisp air outside on my break, the sun hitting my face but not helping much. I hadn’t brought a jacket. But I didn’t want to go back inside. It was too beautiful.

I still hadn’t gotten ahold of Paloma. Even though Rosie had said she was doing better, I was still worried about her. I was also starting to feel a little resentment. I had reached out to her. Ty had pulled her out of the river. She could call me back. It wasn’t too much to ask.

Lyle wandered out and handed me a small cup.

“Here, try this,” he said, touching his afro. “It’ll straighten your hair.”

I took a sip.

“Wow,” I said.

“Beans are from Hawaii. It’s our newest blend. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s my new favorite.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s really smooth.”

He went back inside as I eyed Kate’s Subaru while she drove into the lot. I waved slowly as she got out of the car, surprised to see her.

She was wearing her new dark suit, the one she bought on her trip to Portland last month, and looked professional and serious. She walked over to me and sat down.

“Spiff,” I said.

“Thanks,” she said. She looked around at the customers sitting at the other tables and then smiled.

“Want some coffee? Lyle just brewed up our new blend. Here, try some.”

She took a sip.

“This has a really nice flavor,” she said. “I don’t want any now, but can you bring a pound home?”

“Sure,” I said.

There had to be a reason she was here.

“Looks like the tourist season finally tapered off. I can actually find a seat in this place now.”

“Yeah, it’s a little better,” I said. “Hey, I thought you were busy all day. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“My interview got cancelled, so I thought I would stop by and say hi.”

She stared out at the cars on the street, her energy moving fast around her.

“Plus I wanted to talk to you about something.”

It was in the way she said it, those small pauses between the words, the slight breathlessness in her voice. Something was up. I sat back. A Jeep with a ‘Dog is my Co-Pilot’ bumper sticker pulled up.

“So what’s going on?” I said.

She rubbed her hands nervously and leaned close to me.

“It’s good news, Abby,” she said. “Really.”

“Go ahead. I’m ready.”

“It’s about Jack Martin. They found him in Canada under an alias. Apparently, he’s been there the entire time, living in Vancouver. He was arrested last night.”

“What?” I said. “Are you sure? Are they sure it’s him? I thought…”

“It’s him,” she said. “He’s already in jail in Seattle. The FBI says they’ll probably push the trial back now to early next year so they can include him. February, maybe March.”

“I can’t believe it,” I said finally.

It was the news I had been dreaming about for months. Jack being caught and thrown in jail. He hadn’t gotten away with it after all. He escaped off the island, but he hadn’t gotten away.

“It’s hard to believe,” I repeated, still a little stunned.

I just sat there smiling, the breeze blowing back my hair.

Kate reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

“It’s over, Abby,” she said, tears in her eyes. “It’s finally all over.”

CHAPTER 35

The sun was still up when I walked through the door. Kate wasn’t home yet. I got a soda and wandered outside to sit by the pond.

Since she had told me the news of his capture, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jack Martin. And for once it was a good feeling, something else besides fear or anger. I was almost looking forward to the trial now. And I wanted the players on my soccer team to finally know what had really happened.

A strong wind scattered leaves on the grass and tried to knock down more from the trees above me as I called Ty to tell him the news.

“That’s awesome, Abby,” he said.

He was working and couldn’t talk, but said he would call me later. As I said goodbye, a hummingbird floated down and stared at me, its long beak not far from my hand, and then zoomed away to the flowers by the fence.

But as I put the phone down, I remembered Jesse’s warning. If it wasn’t Jack around me, what was it? What had he seen?

I yawned and rubbed my eyes. It felt like I hadn’t gotten any sleep in a long time. It felt like insomnia was creeping back into my life.

But now with Jack in jail, there would be time to catch up. I headed inside for a nap.

***

I woke up in the dark.

Country music in my ears, hot air blowing.

I sat up and looked around. The sound of a car engine rumbled through me, a road up ahead.

I was in a dream.

Riding in the back seat of a car.

All the windows were down, the air like fire on my face. My head throbbed as I stared out into the fierce night that stretched for miles and miles around us.

The motor shifted into another gear, and we picked up speed. Faster and faster down the highway. Too fast. The car then turned off onto a dirt road. It didn’t slow down.

I stared up at the front seat, the driver finally coming into focus.

I could only see her hair, her eyes looking ahead in the mirror.

Short hair. Dark.

“Paloma!” I said. “Paloma, what’s going on?”

But she didn’t hear me. She just kept looking straight ahead as we drove on.

The music louder.

I started shaking.

“Paloma!” I shouted again. But suddenly, there was someone else driving.

I could only see the back of his head. Or what was left of it. Then I saw his reflection in the rearview mirror. His eyes seemed to glow. And something else.

The hot air pouring into the car had pushed back his hair. There was a hole in his forehead. A bullet hole.

He started to laugh. My head ached, pounding to the beat of the music on the radio. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Fear and rage and adrenaline coursed through me as I tried to move. But I couldn’t.

I looked up again at the mirror and caught his eyes staring at me. He saw me.

He saw me.

“You’re next,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.

He began laughing again. The car was moving faster, jumping higher and higher in the air with every rise and dip of the rough road. It was losing control.

Then I felt it bounce off the road and fly through the air. I could see a large boulder illuminated in the headlights. We were heading straight for it.

“Paloma!” I shouted. “Paloma!”

My screams were drowned out by the sound of metal hitting rock.

Everything went black.

***

I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat.

I sat up and grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand.

I drank it down, staring at the curtains blowing. It was dark outside. I was hot, so very hot. I went over to the window and felt the cool breeze against my face. It wasn’t a dream. I was sure of it. I could still hear his laughter.

I made it to the bathroom just as the vomit came up.

CHAPTER 36

I was sitting on the sofa, trying to calm down when something exploded up above the house. I jumped.

I walked over to the window and slid open the curtains. It looked like the huge storm that had been threatening most of the summer had finally arrived. Hard, heavy drops spit down from the sky, pounding the pavement out in front of the house. Another quick, sudden flash lit everything up, followed by another loud crash. A moment later thunder shook the house again.

My phone rang.

I looked at it and didn’t recognize the number.

I glanced out at the storm, not remembering if it was dangerous to talk on a cell phone while the skies were still crackling overhead with electricity. But something told me that I needed to answer this call.

“Hello?”

“Uh, is this Abby?” the woman’s voice said. She sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place from where.

“Yeah, this is me.”

“Hi, Abby. It’s Rosie. Rosie Suárez.”

I walked back over to the window as another large crack of thunder shattered overhead.

“Have you heard from Paloma?” she asked. “She’s not there with you, is she?”

“No,” I said, the dread building inside me. “I haven’t heard or seen her since the river. Why?”

Rosie was quiet for a moment. I heard a loud boom on the line.

“She’s gone, Abby,” she said. “When I got home from work, she wasn’t here. I knew something was wrong when I went over to her apartment during my lunch break to pick up some things for her, you know clothes and some of her things. But her car wasn’t there. And then when I came home she was gone, Abby. But her phone was still here. She never goes anywhere without her phone. I’ve been calling her friends and no one’s seen her. I don’t know where she could be. I have a really bad feeling.”