INK: Abstraction (2 page)

Harry isn’t
tracking much of what’s happening. I think the exhaustion and
stress of her being gone are starting to take their toll. Looking to
him for answers on any of this is useless.

“I can try to do
an astral projection. It can be dangerous. I’m very vulnerable
while I’m streaming,” Carl explains. Harry blows out a
breath and looks to Miranda.

“Astral
projection? What is that?” I can’t pretend to know what
they are talking about.

Carl takes a breath to
speak, but Miranda cuts him off. “He’s basically going to
leave his body and travel to where Shay is.” She licks the
frosting off her fingers. “All seems a little farfetched,
doesn’t it?”

“Miranda, if you
aren’t going to be helping maybe you should go back to your
hotel,” McNab suggests.

“Oh, and miss all
the fun?” She sits on the back of the couch and smiles sweetly
at McNab, but you can feel the goading behind it. “Not on your
life.”

Harry doesn’t
notice the death rays between these two. This can’t possibly be
productive. The clock is ticking, they have to stop this. I stand
from the bar stool. “Okay, that’s enough. I don’t
give a rat’s ass what you two have going on between you, but
it’s going to stop. We need to find Shay, not sit here and
bicker.” I turn to Carl, who I can see is in complete
agreement. “Carl, I would do anything to find her and get her
back in one piece. If you can do that I would be incredibly
grateful.”

“Aren’t you
an assertive little thing?” Miranda heads back into my office.
Good riddance
.

“There’s no
guarantee that I’ll be able to contact her if she’s
alive. There’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to pinpoint
her actual location. And I absolutely can’t protect her or
myself when I’m in the astral plane.”

“We have to bring
her home,” I plead with him. “Carl, if you do your
projector thing we might at least know that she is alive.”

“Astral
projection,” McNab corrects. “And this
does
have
to be Carl’s decision.”

Harry’s worried
expression is forlorn when he looks to Carl. “Please Carl. We
would at least know…”

“I’ll do
it.” Carl doesn’t hesitate and he’s rewarded with
Harry’s relief.

“Thank you.”
Harry tries to hide the tears welling in his eyes.

Carl pats Harry on the
back. “We’re going to find her.”

Something in Harry
snaps and he breaks down completely. Carl guides him to the couch.
“Harry, we’re going to bring her home.”

Harry doesn’t say
anything. He tries to quiet his sobs while McNab, Carl and I comfort
him. “We are. Besides, she’s a hell of lot stronger than
anyone gives her credit for,” McNab offers.

“If we just had
an idea of who took her, then we would have something to go on.”
Harry’s lamenting, but I can see the wheels turning in his
head.

“I know, Harry. I
wish there was more information, some way to know where to start; do
you have any ideas, McNab?” I ask the loaded question that I’ve
been wanting answered since this all started. I want to know if Aiden
is involved in this.

“Eli, Aiden would
never hurt her,” he says with an unwavering certainty, never
lifting his gaze from Harry.

“How do we know?”
Harry perks up and looks to me for backup. Apparently he has been
having the same thoughts as I have. “He did shoot her. I would
think that if he knew what was happening he would be here looking for
her. Unless he already knows where she is.” Harry stares at
McNab, unblinking.

“Harry, Aiden
isn’t involved in this,” McNab answers.

“But how can you
be sure?” I challenge him, standing up.

“How can you
not
be sure?” He matches my stare. “He loves her just as much
as you do, Eli, maybe more.” He shakes his head while looking
down.

“If he did,
wouldn't he be here?” Who the hell is this guy? He has no idea
how much I love her, that I would give my life for her. Fuck him.
“Unless he was guilty.”

“Aiden is a lot
of things, but a kidnapper? No.”

“I think he may
have murdered Shayleigh’s neighbors,” Harry interjects
quietly.

“What?”
Carl is incredulous. “Of course he didn’t murder them.”

“He disposed of
evidence in Tampa, we saw it on the surveillance video.” I look
to Harry for confirmation.

“What you are
saying is that disposing of evidence makes him guilty? Is that the
key takeaway, Eli?” McNab raises an eyebrow, reminding me that
I’ve done the very same thing with Taffy’s breast
implants.

“That’s
different.” I put my hands on my waist trying to not slump
where I’m standing. “I found those.”

“You don’t
know what Aiden disposed of, or how he came into possession of what
he ‘found.’” McNab turns his back to me and paces
behind the couch.

“Do you know?”
Harry lifts his tired eyes to McNab hopeful that he’ll get an
answer.

“Yes, I do. I do
know.” McNab takes in a deep breath. “He found a
Blood-borne backpack in the field between Shay’s and the
Messner’s houses. He didn't know what was in it, other than it
was bloody and it looked like meat.” McNab pauses, reliving
Aiden's horror, or knowing him, he's pausing for affect. “Meat.”

He walks around to the
front of the couch, working hard to keep the remorse at bay. “He
thought that Shay had dropped it. Dropped it doing...well, whatever
his imagination led him to believe. He was trying to protect her, so
he threw it into the bay.”

I can’t stop the
laugh that escapes me when marveling at that rampant stupidity of
Aiden. “He really thought Shay did it.”

“He didn’t
know what to think other than that he had to protect her. That’s
what he did, what he thought was best. He was just trying to protect
her.” Carl answers for McNab.

“Where is he
now?” Harry asks, seeming to gloss over the entire
conversation.

“We don’t
actually know.” McNab’s expression is clouded with doubt.

“You don’t
know?” I’m dubious.

“No, we haven’t
been able to reach him since Shay went into the void.” Carl’s
voice is heavy with worry.

“So we can’t
rule him out?”

“Yes, Eli, we can
rule him out for all the same reasons we can rule
you
out.”
McNab closes the gap between us and looks me square in the eye.
“Because he loves Shay and wouldn’t hurt her.”

Miranda appears in the
doorway and McNab steps back, brushing his shirt down. He’s
silent, as is Carl. They both see her.

“What did I
miss?” she asks.

“Nothing
important.” McNab puts some physical distance between him and
Miranda.

“‘Nothing
important?’” She rests her finger on her chin. “It
certainly looks very important.”

“I think I’m
going to go lie down for a few minutes.” Harry dries his
glasses off on his shirt and slides them into his pocket. I’m
not sure if he really needs to lie down or if this is to distract
Miranda.

“Do you need
anything?” I ask, standing close by in case he falls over.

“No thanks, Eli.”
His hand rests heavy on my shoulder. “I’m just feeling
very tired and would like to lie down.”

Miranda is taking in
the entire scene with a morbid fascination. When she sees me looking
at her she raises her eyebrows as though she’s trying to entice
me. All I can think is
Hell no.
She turns and sits back down
at my desk.

“Wise.”
Carl nods. “I’m going to meditate in the back bedroom.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer.

The room is cleared out
with the exception of McNab and me. “Okay, what’s the
deal between you two? Did you have a thing?” I ask McNab point
blank.

“Eli, suffice to
say she’s bad news. The worst kind of news. We need to get her
out of here A-S-A-P, the sooner the better.” McNab shakes his
head. “I had my suspicions about Harry, but now that I see what
he's involved in, I know he’s part of something much larger
than what we thought. Miranda is just the tip of the iceberg.”
He motions for me to follow him to the kitchen. Once there he lowers
his tone. “Harry’s obviously in deep with the
organization, and Miranda cannot be trusted.”

“Why?”

“I can’t go
into it now, but just trust me. I care about Shay and I want her back
here with you safe and sound. Miranda may not be working toward the
same end goal.” He looks over my shoulder and turns to get a
glass out of the cabinet.

“Oh McNab, I’m
hurt.” I'm startled that Miranda is standing behind me, she's
a sneaky bitch. “I thought you would always remain a gentleman
and never kiss and tell.” Her meaning is layered thicker than
an onion.

McNab shakes his head.
“No, Miranda, I’m not a
willing
participant in
your fantasies.” He steps outside onto the back patio. I assume
he’d like to be left alone.

“So do you have
any ideas on how to help Shay?” I ask.

“I have some
ideas. I want her to find peace and I want to get the sicko that’s
committing these murders.” She pauses a moment and her demeanor
softens. “I’m really here to support Harry and make sure
he has everything he needs during the investigation.”

She's incredibly
transparent. There's no doubt she's here to watch Harry. “Who
do you work for?”

“I’m not at
liberty to discuss that. But you can ask Harry.” She slings her
purse over her shoulder. “I’m going to follow up on some
leads and then go back to my hotel. I’ll be back in the
morning. Give me a call if the mystic man decides to go astral. I’d
like to be here for that.”

“Will you call if
you hear something?”

She puts her purse back
on the counter, looking down, defeated. “Listen Eli, there’s
some tension between McNab and I, but I can assure you it’s
simply a matter of difference of professional opinion.” She
closes the distance between us and takes my hand. “I know you
are too smart to buy into all of McNab’s parlor tricks and
trained monkey act. We’re going to find her, and trust me when
I say, we don’t need McNab. He’s only going to complicate
things.”

“How so?”

“For instance,
wouldn’t it be much better if we were mobilized actually out
looking for her rather than
meditating
? The only thing we
should be planning is how to narrow down the search grid on the map.”
She steps in closer to me with a sympathetic gaze when I don’t
answer. “We don’t even have a list of suspects. How are
we supposed to have an inkling of an address or even a zip code where
we could start looking for her? McNab is a TV personality, not a
detective, not a P.I., just a pretty face with lots of charisma.”
She forces a sarcastic laugh. “Little wonder Shay’s
fallen for him. A small town girl like her didn’t have a chance
with his flash.”

“Shay hasn’t
fallen for McNab,” I protest. How would she know anyway?

“Well, I think
you’re smarter than that. She was spending an awful lot of time
in L.A. with him.” She puts her hand above my elbow and gives a
gentle squeeze. “Anyway, this isn’t what we need to be
worried about, we need to focus on finding her, and that’s what
I’m going to do.”

She pulls me into a hug
and I stiffen. There’s something about this that feels wrong.
Possibly that she has the emotional acuity of a garden tool, but she
is trying to comfort me and I can appreciate that. “Thank you
Miranda, call if you hear anything.” I pull my lips into a thin
line.

“You’ll be
the first one I call,” she reassures me while offering a
consoling smile. “We’ll find her and put an end to her
pain.”

Miranda looks back at
me once more before closing the door. I run my fingers through my
hair. The madness is getting to be too much. All I want to do is find
her and hold her and stop sitting around here with my dick in my hand
waiting for something to happen.

“Hey, how are you
holding up?” Trish’s voice pulls me out of my pool of
self-pity.

“Not good, how
about you?” I can’t manage a smile.

“Not good.”
She sits down at the breakfast bar with me and starts picking at a
doughnut. “No news?”

“No, nothing.
Although, Carl’s thinking about doing something where he says
he’ll be able to talk with her. At least possibly find out if
she’s still alive.”

“Really?”
She raises her eyebrows. “What is he waiting for?”

“I guess it’s
pretty dangerous, so he’s trying to decide whether or not he’s
going to do it.”

“Fuck that! What
is he, some kind of pussy? If he can save her, then why hasn’t
he already done it?” She gets irate and drops the doughnut on a
napkin. She stands from the stool. “Where is he?”

“He’s
meditating, and I’m pretty sure he’s just trying to
prepare for whatever it is he’s going to do. Something about
astral projection or some shit.” I put my hand on her arm to
keep her from giving him a rude awakening. The last thing I need
while he's trying to prepare to help Shay is him being a victim of
Hurricane Trish.

“Well, he’d
better make it snappy. We don’t know how much longer she has.”
Trish sucks in her bottom lip trying to hold back the tears. “That
is if she’s even still alive.”

“Don’t talk
like that. We can’t give up on her; she wouldn’t give up
on us.”

Trish cuts me a hard
look. “Hasn’t she though?”

“No, she hasn’t.
Regardless of everything that’s happened, she never gave up on
either of us,” I bite back, angry with Trish for suggesting
that Shay has given up.

“I for one am not
giving up on her.” McNab comes in from the patio.

Trish and I stand
silent for a moment, waiting for McNab to say something more
inspirational.

“I’m not
throwing in the towel. I know she’s going to be ok, that we are
going to find her and bring her home,” I say, trying to
convince everyone in the room including myself.

“Good, she needs
you right now, Eli. You need to really focus your thoughts on her in
a positive way. If you don’t believe in her, she’s going
to feel it.” McNab raises his eyebrows to make his point.