Dark Visions (11 page)

"Is there anything new about Sarah? Has she
called from Mary's?"

"Nothing yet. I'm going to jump in the car
and go find her."

Amelia turned toward him. She used the back
of the couch to get into a sitting position. "Where're you going to
go?"

"I'm not sure yet," Caleb lied. Then he
thought better of it. "I think I'll give that Psychic Fair a
visit."

Amelia shook her head. "Sarah wouldn't be
there. That's the last place she'd be."

"What are you going to do?" Caleb asked.

Amelia picked up the remote control and
flipped the television on. Caleb watched her as she turned the
volume down low and searched for the local news.

"Get rid of this headache and start making
some phone calls, I guess. I'll start with Mary's dad and then work
through the few friends Sarah has."

"Why don't you call hospitals? Maybe she was
admitted somewhere last night."

He looked away as Amelia glared at him. "You
seem full of all the answers this morning. Why don't you call the
hospitals?"

"Because, I'll be in the car driving
around."

"Are you okay, Caleb? Let me rephrase that.
Are we okay? Are we acting like parents with a daughter that didn't
come home last night?"

"What do you think?"

"I look at your hands and they're shaking.
Your eyes are glancing left and right. You're fidgety; moving
around like you can't stand still. It's okay, you know, we'll get
our Sarah back."

"How can you be so sure? Are you aware of
something I'm not?" Caleb asked.

"You know that's not the case. I just don't
want to overreact. Besides, I need the first hour of the day to be
calm for the sake of this splitting headache."

Caleb couldn't hold it in any longer. How
could she be so selfish? Sarah didn't come home last night. The
police were looking for her for crimes he was sure she didn't have
anything to do with.

He didn't want to think about the other call
he received earlier that told him not to involve the police.

For his daughter's life, he would keep the
police out of this as long as he could.

"You have to ask yourself what you're doing
as a parent to get your daughter back. What kind of commitment are
you willing to make?"

"What are you talking about now?" Amelia
asked, her eyes not leaving the news channel. "You know as well as
I that I would do anything for Sarah."

"So get up and start doing something." His
voice was louder than he intended.

He didn't want to attack her. He wanted to
weep at how unfair life was. He wanted to laugh at the craziness of
it all. How could he have two daughters and both are kidnapped?

He also needed to leave as soon as he could.
Every second counted.

"You're not being yourself," Amelia said.
She set the remote down. "I think the first phone call I make is to
the police department to see if they heard anything about
Sarah."

"No! Don't do that," he shouted. "Besides,
I'm going to stop there first. It's only seven blocks away. You and
I both know the amount of paperwork to fill out on a missing person
which is something you can't do on the phone."

"Then I'll join you," Amelia said as she
rose from the couch.

"No. You stay home."

Amelia stopped. She started to rub her
temples in circles. "Why's that?"

"In case Sarah calls or someone else. Just
promise me one thing." Caleb walked over to her and grabbed each
arm above the elbow. He stared into her eyes. "Promise me you won't
involve the police yet. You remember how bad they bungled the case
with Vivian. Let me handle them for now. Okay?"

Amelia nodded.

Caleb turned, grabbed his car keys and ran
for the door without another word.

Chapter 24

An uncomfortable silence filled the trunk.
From inside, Sarah felt a car whoosh by on the highway.

The heat seemed to be rising. It was almost
unbearable.

She braced herself as she heard a key slide
into the lock. That's funny; he used the fob to open the trunk
earlier.

Then she heard a soft thunk sound.

"Ah, man. When I looked at that car go by I
must've turned a little. The key broke in the fuckin' lock."

"Step aside," she heard the cop say.

Now she knew why he chose to use the
key.

"You don't have to get uptight. I just broke
my key."

Sarah could hear the agitation in her
captor's voice. Something was going to happen between these two
soon. She pushed herself to the back of the trunk and closed her
eyes.

"Wait for me here. I've got pliers in my
cruiser."

Another car whooshed by.

A few moments later she could hear the
pliers at work. Metal protested as she listened to one of them
working on the broken key. Not ten seconds later a horizontal light
creased what little darkness was left in the trunk. A soft blast of
cooler air brushed her cheeks as the trunk opened.

She looked up. No one was there.

She heard sounds of a scuffle. She pushed
the trunk lid all the way open and sat up. Too much light came too
quick. She had to rub her eyes and squint.

The men were fighting on the shoulder of the
highway. It looked to Sarah like they were struggling for the gun
that was now missing out of the cop's holster.

She started to get out of the trunk. A shot
rang out. Sarah instinctively ducked.

She jumped out of the trunk and fell to the
ground. Her legs weren't quite ready for the weight. She crouched
behind the car.

She wanted to help the officer, but was in
no shape to do it. She also didn't want to die if that gun went off
again.

She looked around to see if she could get
someone's attention. Up and down the highway she saw only one car
and it was traveling away from them.

She thought about the police cruiser. It
would have a radio. Maybe another weapon.

Sarah hobbled and crawled to the cop car.
The door was unlocked. She swung it open pushed herself up into the
driver's seat. A small burst of energy hit her with the
anticipation that this kidnapping was over. A laptop was on the
passenger seat. A shotgun was bolted into the dash. She decided the
radio would be her best bet. Sarah locked herself in the police car
and started pushing the radio buttons.

Something hit the windshield. Sarah jumped
backwards and smacked her head on the headrest.

There was a hole where a bullet had passed
through. The guy who'd kidnapped her was standing in front of the
car aiming the gun at her.

"Get out," he said. "Or the next one goes in
your head."

Sarah unlocked the door slowly and eased it
open. She got out and stood beside the cruiser on legs that still
couldn't be trusted.

"Now get in the back seat."

She moved towards the car she'd been in.

"No," he shouted, waving the gun at her.
"The backseat of the cruiser, you fuck."

She turned around and got in the back of the
cop car. The front door was still ajar. She could hear him ask the
cop for his car keys. She couldn't see the officer from the
backseat. Her captor still held the gun out in front of him.

She leaned back. There had to be a way out
of this. She had been so close.

She could barely hear the cop ask, "What
about me?"

"Wrong place at the wrong time."

Sarah reached for the door handle. She had
to make a run for it.

The gun went off.

Twice.

Chapter 25

By the time Caleb made it to the Psychic
Fair's parking lot, he was fuming. To remain calm he'd been
reciting a mantra,
no police, no police
. After he found a
parking spot and stepped from the car, he continued this
mantra.

People gathered near the entrance doors. The
fair looked busier today. He wondered if he'd get to speak with
Dolan. Then he smiled at such a thought. Of course he will. Dolan
won't be able to refuse him. Not after he saw his name in Sarah's
notebook circled the way it was.

He got in behind a small crowd and waited in
line. Once he got to the ticket table, he bought a pass to allow
entry, and swung open the doors to the Psychic Fair.

He saw Esmerelda right away. She was
standing by a booth he guessed was hers. A girl about Sarah's age
was talking to her. They turned away and started down the aisle
heading away from him.

He was sure neither one had seen him.

He decided to follow them. Halfway down the
aisle he caught up. Without letting them know they were being
followed, he began talking.

"Tell me what's happened to Sarah. You can
start with your warning of danger and then tell me where she is."
Not knowing what to do with his hands, he crossed his arms on his
chest.

Esmerelda turned around. "If I knew where
your daughter was, I wouldn't just tell you, I'd inform the police
too."

"We don't want the police involved."

Esmerelda looked at her companion. Caleb
turned to her and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Mary Bennett."

Caleb unfolded his arms and pointed a finger
at her.

"Did you send me a text last night?"

Mary looked at Esmerelda, then back to
Caleb. She nodded.

"What is going on here?" Not worried about
making a scene, he shot out questions. "What have you people done?
Who are you? Where do you have my daughter? You're going to pay for
this."

Spittle shot from his mouth as his agitation
rose.

Esmerelda and Mary backed away a little. It
looked to Caleb that Esmerelda wanted to say something.

"Tell me where Sarah is," he said.

An audience gathered. People were watching.
Esmerelda looked past him, over his shoulder. Caleb spun around in
time to see two security guards approaching.

"Look, I want my daughter. What is it? Money
you want? Just tell me."

"I'm on your side," Esmerelda said. "I'm not
the enemy. I don't know who took Sarah, and I don't know where she
is."

"Then explain the text I received. Why would
you send it?" he asked looking at Mary.

Hands touched his arms. He shook them
violently to release the grip.

"Don't touch me," he said in a deep
snarl.

"Okay, mister, just calm down," the guard on
his right said.

People were everywhere. No one was talking.
Everyone just stood and stared.

"My daughter was kidnapped last night. We
were warned about it by her," he said, pointing at Esmerelda.
"While this kidnapping took place, I received a text from her." He
pointed at Mary. "But they won't tell me where she is."

The guard stepped forward, halfway between
Caleb and the two girls.

"I'm sure there's an explanation. Why don't
we go in the office and sit down. We can all talk about it
there."

"No. I want to know where Sarah is now."

Esmerelda stepped forward. "I already told
you, I have no idea. No one here does."

"You sound like a lawyer. Don't worry, I
won't sue. Just tell me where she is before I lose my fucking
temper," Caleb said.

"Okay, mister. Let's go."

Both guards tried to manhandle him. Caleb
wasn't as agile as he used to be, but he managed to get out of the
vice grip of the guy on the left.

He swung his weight, planted his foot and
used his shoulder to knock the guard on his right off balance.
Then, staying low, he whirled around and knocked the other guy off
his feet. He hit him square in the stomach. Caleb heard the wind
rushing out of his mouth.

"Leave me the fuck alone. I came here to
find my daughter. I will not lose another daughter."

The one guard was trying to catch his breath
while the other had both hands in the air, chest high. He was
nodding his head. "Okay, okay, take it easy," he said.

"What seems to be all the fuss here?"

"Who're you," Caleb snapped at a tall man
approaching from behind Esmerelda.

"My name is Dolan Ryan. I run this
fair."

"Then you're the one I want to talk to,"
Caleb said. He pointed at Esmerelda. "Your psychic here is somehow
involved in the disappearance of my daughter and so are you. She
wrote your name down in her notebook. The same notebook the police
have in their possession. That's why I'm here."

"Why don't we go to my office and talk this
out."

Caleb looked around. People were everywhere,
standing, watching, listening. He nodded his head.

Dolan turned and walked away. Caleb followed
him to an office in the back. They all filed into the small room.
One of the two guards came inside and shut the door behind him.

Caleb filled Dolan in on the warning from
Esmerelda and the text he received from Mary. Esmerelda told them
about Sarah being on the news and Mary explained why she sent the
text and how she knew Sarah.

After everything was out, Caleb was
dumbfounded. He'd had no idea who Sarah was or had become. He knew
Amelia would have no idea that Sarah was out saving strangers from
trouble. He told them about the police coming to his door this
morning looking for Sarah.

"How do you explain your name in her
notebook?"

"We kind of bumped into each other. I saw my
name in her book too. I asked Esmerelda about it, but we couldn't
come up with any reason why."

"If my daughter writes down some kind of
prophecies and then acts on them, it would make sense that you are
involved in some way. Your name was circled."

Everyone was silent for a few heartbeats. He
realized he didn't even know his daughter. He wondered if it had
anything to do with Vivian. Maybe he closed down emotionally after
she was murdered and he hadn't been available for Sarah. He felt
that he had let her down, which motivated him even more to find
her.

"Sarah sent Mary to tell me that Denise, my
daughter, was going to be shot," Esmerelda said. "I want to call
and warn her but I don't know where she lives."