Hear the Children Calling (17 page)

“I want you to go back in time, Kate,” Alec said. “Back to Laura’s third birthday. Can you remember what happened when your friend gave her the doll?”

A smile spread across Kate’s face, though her eyes
were still closed. And in her mind she saw tiny Laura sitting on a stool in the Baby Bear Boutique.

Aunt Dorothy’s comin’ soon,
the child had said.
And she’s bringin’ me a dolly.

Oh, how do you know that?
Kate had asked.

My brain tells me. Mommy, it’s a big doll. Big like me! It has brown hair and eyes and it’s wearin’ a pink dress.

Chubby arms shot up into the air.

The chimes on the door jingled and Dorothy entered with a huge package. Dorothy and Kate smiled at each other.

I’m aching to see this myself, Dorothy. You’ve been talking about this “surprise” for weeks! What could it be?

You’11 see, Kate! Here you go, Laura. Happy Birthday, precious!

Laura had torn open the packaging and squealed with delight to see the huge doll. She hugged it tightly and kissed it. Then she went to kiss Dorothy. Kate smiled, but inside she was shaking. Not only had Laura guessed the present was a doll, but she had described its appearance perfectly.

In present time, Kate frowned.

Alec squeezed her hand. “Is something wrong?”

“Laura knew about the present,” Kate explained. “Even when I didn’t know myself, even when Dorothy had been working in secret, Laura knew.”

“That frightens you?”

“It—it confuses me,” Kate admitted.

“You must drive the confusion away,” Alec said. “You must concentrate on the joy of the moment. Can you call to Laura now, Kate? Can you remind her of her doll?”

Though he knew he wasn’t supposed to do so, Danny cut in. “You told her to call Laura Jennifer.”

Alec nodded but didn’t look beyond Kate. “If necessary,” he said. “But let’s try Laura first. Can you do that, Kate?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can you try?”

Kate breathed deeply. “Laura?”

Danny looked around, half-expecting his daughter to appear out of nowhere. He caught himself and forced his concentration on Kate.

“Laura, it’s Mommy,” Kate said. “Can you hear me?”

“Call her with your mind,” Alec suggested.

Kate’s head bent forward, and her eyes squeezed tighter. She called to her lost child, not only with her head, but with every cell in her body and every fiber of her soul.

Laura, please hear me! There’s someone here who wants to see you. Do you remember Maggie? She was your favorite doll, honey. She’s waiting here for you to come home. We’re all waiting for you. Laura?

Kate breathed deeply, shuddering. Danny rubbed her arm, but she didn’t feel his touch.

Laura, don’t be afraid. Please, please answer me. I want to help you.

“I can hear you.”

Kate sat up straight suddenly, her eyes snapping open. “Laura?”

The child stood before her, wearing a plaid dress and holding a book in her hands.

“Where are you, Laura?”

Laura replied in a voice only Kate could hear.

“I’m at school,” she said. “Who are you? I keep dreaming about you, but I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, honey,” Kate cried. “I’m your mother. Don’t you remember me?”

The child, standing in the doorway, shook her head vigorously. Danny and Alec saw the pictures on the wall behind her, but Kate could see a barren yard and the back of a brick building.

“You’re not my mother,” Laura said. “My mother is Alice Segal. But I wish you were my mother. I like you. I always feel happy when you’re in my mind.”

“Laura, that’s because I really am your mother,” Kate insisted. “Who is Alice Segal? Laura, something’s
happened to you. You’ve been trying to contact me with your thoughts, asking me to help you. But I can’t do that if you don’t tell me where you are.”

“I’m at school.”

“I know you’re at school,” Kate said. “Where is the school? How can we find it?”

“It’s in the center.”

“The center?”

Alec cut in. “Ask her the name of the nearest city.”

“Laura, what city are you living in?”

“We’re not in the city,” Laura said. “We have our own special place. Dr. Adams says it protects us from the Outsiders, from the people who don’t understand us. I don’t get it. You’re an Outsider. So how come you’re so nice?”

“I’m nice because I love you, sweetie,” Kate said. “Laura, please help us. Does the center have a name?”

Laura’s head bobbed up and down.

“Sure it does,” she said. “It’s called the LaMane Center. It’s in the mountains.”

“What mountains?”

Abruptly, Laura turned to her side.

“Someone’s coming,” she cried. “Oh, I can’t stay! If they heard me . . .”

“Laura!”

“I wish . . .”

“No! Don’t say that to me. No fire.”

“What fire?” Kate pleaded. “Laura, who is hurting you?”

“I’m not Laura. My name is Jennifer! Jennifer! Jennifer!”

She was gone.

Kate sat back, her eyes closing again as tears fell down her cheeks.

“Get her back out,” Danny ordered.

“Right away,” Alec replied.

When Kate was fully conscious again, she related what Laura had said.

“She’s in a place called LaMane Center,” she said. “In the mountains, somewhere.”

“That could be anywhere,” Danny said. “The Adirondacks or the Poconos, or—”

“What was she wearing, Kate?” Alec asked.

Kate looked at the doctor, bringing an image of Laura back to her mind.

“Short sleeves,” she said. “Which means she can’t be anywhere around here.”

“Warm climate,” Alec said. “That narrows it.”

“Not much,” Danny said. “What about this LaMane Center? What do you suppose it is?”

Kate, who had been hugging the doll all this time, put it aside and sat chewing on her lip. Something about the word “LaMane” was terribly familiar.

Before she had time to think about it, the telephone rang.

Kate went to the kitchen and lifted it from the receiver. She expected to hear one of her friends. Instead, she was greeted by someone speaking in a deep, whispering tone.

“We know what you’re doing, Mrs. Emerson.”

“What do—”

“Don’t try to find Laura, Mrs. Emerson,” the voice said.

Kate looked around the doorframe and called down the hall. “Danny? Danny, come here.” She spoke into the receiver. “Who are you?”

“Laura belongs to us now,” the caller went on. “If you try to get her back, we’ll hurt her. Just like we’re hurting your little boys, right now.”

“No!”

Danny grabbed the receiver from her. “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?”

His demanding tone was met by silence.

Kate had backed against the counter and stood staring at the telephone with her arms folded tightly. “He said he was hurting the boys.”

Danny didn’t stop to question her. He hung up the receiver and dialed Mrs. Ginmoor’s number. In the
meantime, Alec put his arm around Kate’s shoulder and led her to a chair. As she gazed up at her husband, her eyes were full of inquiry and the color was slowly draining from her face.

“It’s ringing,” Danny said.

There was a click, and then, “I’m sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected. Should you require Directory Assistance—”

Danny hung up the phone. “It’s dead,” he said. “I don’t understand. Kate, what happened? What did the caller say?”

“He told us to stop looking for Laura,” Kate said. “He said if we tried to find her, they’d hurt her. Then he said ‘just like we’re hurting your little boys, right now.’ ”

“I better get to Mrs. Ginmoor’s,” Danny said, grabbing for his car keys. “Dr. Tavillo, can you stay with—”

“I’m coming, too,” Kate cried. “They’re my babies.”

Danny saw no point in arguing with her. Joined by Dr. Tavillo, they climbed into Danny’s car and sped off toward the West end of Gull’s Flight. As they pulled onto the gravel road that led up to Mrs. Ginmoor’s modest bungalow, Kate grabbed the waist of her seat belt and squeezed it tightly. The house had taken on a sinister appearance, like a dilapidated mansion haunted by malevolent spirits.

“All the shades are drawn,” Kate whispered.

“Maybe Mrs. Ginmoor took the boys out for a walk,” Danny suggested.

Kate shook her head vehemently. “No! She never pulls her shades. She loves the sunlight. Danny, something’s going on in there.”

No sooner had the car stopped than Kate jumped from her seat and was running toward the front steps. The front door stood slightly ajar, and Kate pushed inside without knocking. Danny and Alec followed close behind.

“Mrs. Ginmoor?”

Kate’s voice bounced through the house as if all the rooms were completely empty. She went back toward the kitchen while Danny and Alec took to the upstairs. Kate found the remains of lunch on the table—two half-eaten bologna sandwiches and empty cups that had held milk. The warm smell of pumpkin pie, which should have comforted her, made Kate feel queasy. It took her just a moment to realize why. The filling was smeared all over the table and chairs, the crust smashed to bits on the floor.

“Kate, Kate, come up here.”

Kate left the mess in the kitchen and ran upstairs. She found Danny and Alec in a bedroom. They supported Mrs. Ginmoor between them. The woman was staring down at her trembling hands, her lips moving as if in speech, but without sound. Kate hurried and knelt down before her. Mrs. Ginmoor stared at her through strands of gray hair that had come loose from a hairnet.

“Mrs. Ginmoor, what happened?” she asked. “Where are the boys? Where are Chris and Joey?”

Mrs. Ginmoor shook her head.

“Please,” Kate cried. “Where are my babies?”

“She’s in a state of shock,” Alec said. “I’m going to call an ambulance.”

“N-no,” Mrs. Ginmoor croaked. “I’m so sorry, Kate. So sorry. The pie exploded. I—I guess there was an air bubble that popped, and it sprayed the filling all over. The boys were a mess, so I put them in the tub.”

“Where are they now?” Kate demanded.

Mrs. Ginmoor burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

“Oh, my God,” Danny groaned, jumping to his feet.

Kate ran after him, following him to the bathroom.

“Chris? Joey?” Danny’s deep voice penetrated the walls, but there was no response. He stopped short in the bathroom doorway, his bulky frame blocking the light.

Kate tried to get around him.

“Oh, no,” Danny gasped. “Oh, my dear God, nnnooo!”

Kate ducked under his arm. Her knees buckled, but Danny instinctively caught her before she hit the ground. And then, even as his cries of dismay turned to silent, disbelieving tears, Kate began to scream with all her might.

The boys were sitting in the tub with their arms around each other. Their eyes were closed and their lips blue. A long black cord dangled over the edge of the tub, leading to a smoldering wall socket.

24

F
OUR PEOPLE, THREE MEN AND ONE WOMAN, SAT ON
folding chairs that faced a giant television screen. Bright video images bounced off their white coats, the reflections like ghosts. They sat perfectly still, studying the tape carefully.

On the screen, a young boy sat in an overstuffed lounge chair, tilted back so that he faced up to a big overhead light. He might have been a child cuddling up to take a nap in his daddy’s favorite chair. But any semblance of comfort was eradicated by the presence of multiple wires and machinery. The four people—Dr. Lincoln Adams, his nurse Alice Segal, and two technicians—were unmoved by the wide-eyed look of fear on the boy’s face. One by one, the wires were taped to his head and chest. A metal clip encircled one of his fingers, and a soft, thin rubber tube was tied around his upper arm.

“I don’t want that shot,” Tommy Bivers said.

The nurse in the film, a gaunt young man with a
face marred by acne scars, grinned. “It’s just to keep you calm,” he said. “After the seizure you had the other day, the doctors are afraid to take chances. Now, turn away and let’s get this over with.”

Tommy glowered at him.

In the screening room, Jenny’s mother leaned forward. “Look, you can almost read his thoughts,” Alice said.

On the screen, Tommy went on staring at the nurse. The young man blinked and a moment later jabbed the needle into his own arm. Realization of what he’d done hit him almost immediately, and he began to shout in anger. “You little brat,” he cried. “You made me do that.”

“Isn’t that what you guys want?” Tommy asked. “For me to hurt people?”

The nurse had raised his hand to strike the boy, but it was stayed by a firm grip. Tommy looked back over his shoulder, then made an annoyed face. Dr. Adams’ image appeared on the screen. With sunlight shining through the window behind him, the picture recorded by the hidden camera was distorted, giving the doctor a surreal appearance.

“There’s no need for that, Mr. Vinton,” Dr. Adams said soothingly. “I’m sure Tommy will cooperate today. After all, he’s had time to think about his bad behavior the other day and how close he came to spending a few hours in the dark with our pet rats.”

Everyone in the screening room saw the look of terror that passed over Tommy’s face. And they saw it quickly disappear, replaced by an unexpected look of defiance.

“I don’t want to do this,” Tommy cried. “Not anymore. You want me to hurt people. I heard that guy the other day. I heard him say, ‘Wait’ll we try this on a human.’ I heard!”

In the darkened room, one of the technicians squirmed uncomfortably as he watched the film. His big mouth had gotten him a stern reprimand from the doctor, and now he was on probation. One more stupid
remark like the one he’d made hear Tommy, and he was out. He didn’t let himself think what “out” might mean—not after the rumors he’d heard about the Colpan woman.

“Oh, I’m sure you were mistaken, Tommy,” Adams said in a congenial, almost-patronizing tone. “We would never hurt anyone. Only the Outsiders hurt people.”

“Not all the Outsiders are bad, I think,” Tommy answered. “I think you made that up.”

“Are you contradicting me, Tommy?”

There was a threat in the doctor’s tone that immediately silenced the boy. Dr. Adams nodded and beckoned to someone off-screen. A moment later, the wooden donkey was brought in. Tommy stared at it, but when a cat was brought in—a real cat this time—his mouth dropped open.