Pure (Book 1, Pure Series) (20 page)

           
The woman sank onto a floral sofa and crossed one leg over the other.
 
She stared at me steadily.

           
I stood awkwardly by the coffee table.
 
I wasn't sure what to say exactly, so I just plunged ahead.
 
"Mrs. Neverov—"

           
"Dolores," she interjected sharply.
 
"It's Dolores Silver, but just call me by my first name."

           
I winced.
 
Of course I had known that her last name wasn't Neverov, but I had forgotten in my nervousness.
 
"Dolores," I said.
 
"I know you've been over everything with the police, but is there anything you can tell me?"

           
"About what?" Dolores asked impatiently.

           
I shifted from one foot to the other uneasily.
 
"Is there anything you can tell me about the way Irina disappeared?"

           
Dolores shrugged.
 
"She was at her father's house, and then she wasn't.
 
That's all I know."

           
"Isn't there anything?" I asked.
 
"Anything at all that you've heard?
 
Even something that seems insignificant may be important.
 
I'm trying to help Irina and all of the others who have disappeared."

           
"I know nothing about my daughter," Dolores said stiffly.

           
"Dolores, please.
 
Irina is missing."

           
Dolores sat forward, suddenly animated.
 
"Irina is
not
missing."

           
"What do you mean, she's not missing?"

           
"I mean she's not missing this time," Dolores said heatedly.
 
"She's been missing all along.
 
The fact that she's missing now doesn't make any difference."

           
I was starting to get worried.
 
Was Dolores Silver crazy?
 
"I still don't know what you mean."

           
"Irina went missing from my life when she went to live with
him
."
 
Dolores spat the last word with venom.
 
Her face had gone red, and a vein was standing out on her neck.

           
"She chose him!
 
She chose to live with her father!
 
That's when she disappeared from my life."

           
I felt my face begin to burn.
 
I understood what she meant now.

           
"If her father had cared about her, this never would have happened!" Dolores screamed.
 
"And if
she
had cared about me, this never would have happened.
 
She would have been at home with me where she belonged.
 
I
would have kept her safe!"

           
Dolores slumped back against the sofa and buried her head in her hands.
 
She began to cry.

           
"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

           
I went to the door and let myself out.

           
As I walked down the drive to GM's car, my heart went out to Irina, wherever she was.
 
Irina had been horrible to me for years, but now I realized that she had problems of her own.

Chapter 9.

That night I got ready for bed early.
 
I took off the iron charm and set it on the table by my bed.
 
I set my phone down, too, and climbed under the covers.

           
I wasn't quite ready to sleep yet, but I was tired, and I needed to lie down.
 
I threw an elbow over my eyes.
 
The day had been draining, and I was no closer to discovering what was going on in the town.

           
My phone rang, startling me.
 
I glanced at it.
 
It was Simon.

           
I answered it.
 
"Hey, Simon."

           
"You sound tired.
 
Did I wake you?"

           
Simon's words were casual, but there was something anxious in his tone.

           
"No, I wasn't sleeping," I replied.
 
"Is everything okay?
 
You sound like something's bothering you."

           
There was a long pause before Simon answered.
 
"Katie, I don't want you to get upset.
 
But I think we should call off the investigation, and I mean both of us.
 
My parents don't know anything about James's disappearance and—"

           
Simon broke off.

           
"And what, Simon?"

           
Simon sighed heavily.
 
"Katie, don't you ever watch the evening news?"

           
"No.
 
I was a little too worn out to watch the news.
 
I went to see Irina's mother, and things didn't go so well."

           
"Maybe that's for the best," Simon said.
 
"I really think you should stop looking into things."

           
"At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with you," I said.
 
"But why won't you tell me what's wrong?
 
Did something happen?"

           
"Katie, they found one of the missing people."

           
I felt a rush of excitement.
 
"Simon, that's wonderful.
 
Maybe they'll all be found now."

           
"Not this way, I hope," Simon said grimly.
 
"When they found him, he was dead."

           
Cold spread through my body.
 
"Oh, Simon.
 
It wasn't—"

           
"No, it wasn't James," Simon replied quickly.

           
"Then—"

           
"It was Mr. Hightower."

           
"Mr. Hightower?"

           
"Yeah, they found him near the Old Grove.
 
The body was not in good condition, but they identified him by a large ruby ring he used to wear.
 
Katie, they said most of his bones had been broken, and his face and body had been shredded.
 
Whoever killed him was a real psycho."

           
The chill in my body deepened.
 
"He was shredded?"

           
"Yes," Simon replied grimly.
 
"Do you see now why I think it's a good idea to stop the investigation?"

           
"Yes, I do see why," I said.

           
"I'm glad you agree," Simon replied.

           
"You must be terrified about James," I said.

           
"I'm worried about James and you.
 
I don't want to see either one of you end up like Mr. Hightower.
 
It's best that we stay out of the police's way and let them do their job.
 
I care about you, Katie, and I want you to be safe."

           
"I want you to be safe, too," I said.

           
"Are we still on for tomorrow night?" Simon asked.

           
I was startled by the question.
 
"You mean you still want to go to the movies, even though we now know what happened to Mr. Hightower?
 
And with James still missing?
 
Are you sure you feel up to it?"

           
"Yes, like I said before, sitting at home does no good."

           
"Okay," I replied.
 
"Then I guess we're still on."

           
"Goodnight, Katie."

           
"Goodnight, Simon."

           
I set the phone down and pulled my covers around me more tightly.
 
Hearing about Mr. Hightower's gruesome demise had left me feeling shaken.
 
I could see why it was a good idea to stop the investigation.
 
I could also see why I couldn't stop now – I had to find out what was going on before anyone else was killed.

           
Was Mr. Hightower's death the work of Gleb Mstislav?
 
I had a feeling that it was.
 
What could I do – what could anyone do against a creature like Gleb – whatever he was?

           
I thought of William.
 
Would he come if I called for him?
 
But what if he didn't want to see me?
 
What if he even saw me as an obstacle to his own investigations?
 
I decided not to call for him – wondering was better than finding out for certain that he wasn't interested in seeing me.

           
I switched off the light and resolved to get back to work tomorrow without Simon.
 
I hoped no one else was torn apart during the night.

           
Saturday morning, I showered and dressed quickly and hurried downstairs.

           
GM was already seated in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea when I walked in.

           
"Good morning, Solnyshko.
 
Would you like me to make you some eggs?
 
Or maybe oatmeal?"

           
"No thanks, GM.
 
I'm just going to have some yogurt and fruit."

           
I got what I needed and sat down at the table across from GM.
 
I shot her a furtive glance.

           
GM would have read the paper and would know about the fact that the body of Mr. Hightower had been found.
 
I didn't know if GM would agree to drive me around today.
 
I knew that walking around on my own would be out of the question.

           
"GM?"
 
I tried hard to sound casual as I stirred my yogurt.
 
"There are a couple of places I would like to go today.
 
Would you mind driving me?"

           
"Where is it that you wish to go?"

           
Before I'd fallen asleep last night, I had worked out a plan.
 
"You know how I went to see Irina's mother yesterday?
 
I'd like to go see her father today.
 
I'd also like to go see Mrs. Hannity.
 
She's the neighbor of Mr. Del Gatto – he was my English teacher.
 
He's one of the people who disappeared."

           
I waited, scarcely daring to breathe.

           
"What time would you like to go?"
 
GM did not sound troubled.

           
I relaxed.
 
"We can go whenever you want.
 
Whenever it's convenient for you."

           
GM smiled.
 
"All right.
 
How about after lunch?"

           
"That sounds great, GM.
 
Thanks."

           
"Of course, Solnyshko.
 
We should be safe enough during the day.
 
Terrible things only seem to happen at night."

           
After breakfast, I went up to my room – there was one last thing I still needed to check on.
 
I looked up Mrs. Hannity's address online.
 
I had been to her neighborhood before, and I remembered that it was near the Old Grove.
 
I hoped that I was right about that – it was an important part of my plan this afternoon.
 
I found her address and mapped it out.
 
Luckily, I was right.
 
Her house was near the Old Grove.

           
Then I turned to my homework, and I forced myself to concentrate, telling myself it wasn't healthy to obsess over what I was going to do that afternoon.

           
When the aroma of cooking chicken wafted up to me, I shut my math book and my notebook and ran downstairs.

           
GM was just setting a bowl full of salad on the table when I walked into the kitchen.

           
"Smells delicious," I said.

           
GM walked over and kissed me on the forehead.
 
"I've got chicken and sweet potatoes baking.
 
It's almost done."

           
I set the table, and GM pulled the chicken and sweet potatoes out of the oven.
 
Soon we were eating lunch.

           
I was so eager to begin the day's investigation that I couldn't help eating a little too quickly.

           
"Relax, Solnyshko.
 
You will injure your digestion."

           
I made an effort to slow down.
 
I was relieved when GM finally finished her lunch, and the two of us went out to the car.

           
"Where to first?" GM asked as she settled behind the wheel.

           
"Let's go to see Irina's father," I said.
 
I gave her the address.