Chapter 30: The Hunt

Rose and Angus and Kate and Thursday

“AND YOU THINK, based on a curious message you can’t show us, that this girl has been kidnapped and some psycho guy has her to do nasty experiments on. Why the fuck us instead of the cops?” Kate demanded.

“Did you bring something funny instead of weed?” Thursday demanded of Rose. “Angus can’t handle hard stuff anymore. It’s the PTSD.”

“I know, honey. I was around before you were even thinking of dancing,” Rose said. “By the way, I understand why he comes to look at your cute sex garden when you dance. It’s inspiring.”

“Hope you had fun last night,” Thursday shot back.

“Oh, we did. We certainly did.”

“Quit farting at each other, my droogies,” Angus said. “This is serious. Rose and I both know this guy. He’s a crackpot disguised as a psychologist. He’s been stalking kids he thinks have a special ability.”

“The guy we sent on his way at Safeway?” Kate asked. “You mean he got one of those two kids?”

“No. He got their girlfriend. She’s a client of mine,” Rose said.

“What’s she buy from you?” Thursday asked.

“I’m a counselor for teen girls. You should have come to see me when I could have helped. Girls don’t have to endure that kind of abuse.”

“Angus! Did you...?”

“Didn’t say a word. She’s just very perceptive.” Angus scowled at Rose. «Turn it off!»

«This isn’t getting us anywhere, » Rose responded.

“Here’s what I want us to do,” Angus said. “You two visit the girl’s mother. Find out when and where she disappeared and why it wasn’t reported to the police. Rose and I will head to the bastard’s home. We’ve got an address.”

“You can take care of him if he’s home,” Rose said. “He won’t be, but I know you’ll have a good look around. I have a college friend who has an office near his. I’ll see if she’s spotted anything and find out if I can get into his office. It’s not likely. His office will be locked up tighter than the house. But maybe she’s seen something.”

“Okay. We’d better change into different working clothes,” Kate said, looking at Thursday’s cheekies and crop top.

“I wore a coat over it,” Thursday complained. She and Kate headed out to visit Mrs. Lombard.

“You be careful, Rose.” Angus said.

“You, too, old man. Keep that sword unlocked.”

Jaime and Keira and Lanie Lombard

«This is the place, » Jaime said, checking the street view Emerson sent to his phone. They still had Keira’s mother’s car, though they’d need to get it back soon. They hadn’t yet decided how they would arrange being together the rest of the weekend.

«Yeah, » Keira responded as she managed to park behind a snowbank. «We might as well go knock on the door. If Trayce answers and screams, we just turn around and leave.»

«Otherwise, we ask whoever’s there where she went.»

The two walked up to the door. Keira took the lead and rang the bell. There was no immediate response and Keira knocked. After a few moments, there was a noise and the door scraped open.

“Who are you and what do you want?” the woman demanded. “You’re too young to be police.”

She looked unkempt, a little desperate, and as if she hadn’t slept recently. Jaime and Keira could see a bottle of vodka and a baggie of what they assumed was weed on the living room coffee table. Neither looked as if they’d been opened yet.

“Is it okay, Lanie?” a woman asked from the kitchen.

“Couple of kids,” Mrs. Lombard answered.

“Mrs. Lombard, we’re friends of Trayce and haven’t heard from her all week. We were wondering if she was okay,” Keira asked.

“Okay? I wish I knew. ‘Leaving and never hear from me again.’ That’s what she said. The police won’t listen to me. They pointed at the note and said she was eighteen and they couldn’t do anything. I can’t believe she just walked off with just a note on a scrap of paper left in the car. Didn’t take anything!”

“She was going to meet us at the mall Friday. It was the first time we were going to meet face-to-face and she never showed up. Are you saying she left a note in the car and just ran away?” Keira asked.

“I know I’ve not been much of a mother. Not since her father was killed. But I’ve been making progress. I thought she was with me. That she understood. There’s nothing left now.”

The woman who had called from the kitchen came rushing to Mrs. Lombard and immediately wrapped her in a hug.

“We’ll make it, Lanie. We got through last night. We can get through today,” she said.

“Are you related to Trayce?” Keira said, she could see the answer, but wanted to establish the relationship aloud so she didn’t sound like she was making assumptions.

“I’m Lanie’s AA sponsor, Susan,” the woman responded. “Why don’t you come in and tell us what you know about Trayce’s disappearance?”

Susan and Lanie backed up to allow Jaime and Keira to enter the living room and sit down. They looked at the unopened bottle and baggie.

“Those are our enemy,” Lanie said. “They try to tell us Trayce is the enemy and they are our friends. We know. We won’t fall.”

“Not today,” Susan said. “One day at a time. Not today.”

Jaime was alarmed by the thoughts of bloody destruction Mrs. Lombard held in the back of her mind. They were filled with alternating images of a happy family and all of them lying dead and bloody. Her mind was a horror story, held together for the moment by her sponsor.

“You’ve told the police she disappeared?” Keira asked.

“They called me when they found her car in the mall parking lot,” Mrs. Lombard said. “Told me to come and get it or they’d tow it away. Snow was coming. When I got there, I found the note in the car. I showed it to the police, but they said there was nothing they could do. We call every day and they say they haven’t heard anything about her. Where could she go with nothing more than her purse? She didn’t have that much money. She hasn’t touched her bank account.”

Jaime could see she was barely holding it together. She had images playing in her mind of drinking the entire bottle of vodka at once. If that didn’t work, she’d run her car into a bridge abutment.

«We can’t leave her like this, » Jaime said to Keira. «Even with her sponsor helping her.»

“Don’t be too hasty, Mrs. Lombard. We believe something happened to Trayce. She disappeared on her way to meet us at the mall. We’re going to find her. Don’t lose hope. We’ll find her. May we see the note?”

Mrs. Lombard fished in her pocket and brought out a wrinkled piece of typing paper. It had been torn, but most of the message was still visible.

“I can’t take it anymore. You and the voices in my head are driving me crazy. I don’t know where I’ll go or what I’ll do, but I’m leaving and you’ll never hear from me again. Don’t even try to find me.”

«Fuck!» Jaime shouted in their heads. «She can’t have meant that. She was on her way to meet us!»

«It’s typed. It’s not even addressed or signed. She didn’t do this, » Keira responded, grasping Jaime’s hand. The world around them opened and Mrs. Lombard’s thoughts clarified.

He doesn’t speak. They are the voices she heard in her head. Like the voices I heard. But they’re kind and aren’t threatening her. They are angry at some man who ... kidnapped her! We have to find her, she thought.

«She hears, » Jaime said, clamping down on his thoughts.

“Mrs. Lombard, Trayce is in danger. We’re going to find her. Hang on until we do, okay?” Keira handed the note back to her and Mrs. Lombard shoved it back into her pocket.

“Tell me what I can do,” Mrs. Lombard said. Her eyes were clearer than they’d been when the teens arrived. Susan was sitting up straight, observing, but mentally silent.

“We’re going to her therapist’s office and see if she contacted him. We’re suspicious of him anyway,” Keira said.

“She said she was seeing a woman counselor,” Lanie said.

“She went to Dr. Edmonds after she’d seen Dr. Schwartz. Yes, you are right. We are two of the voices she heard. But we’re real people, not characters she was writing about. We’ve already seen Dr. Edmonds. But Dr. Schwartz is a little shady. He tried to treat Trayce with hypnotism and triggers. Trayce was coming to meet us and we were all very excited. Then she was suddenly not there. We couldn’t find her anywhere.”

“And you are just now looking?” Lanie asked.

“We thought she just decided she didn’t want us to be real and left. But, we kind of got a message from her early this morning and she was asking for help. The problem is we don’t know where she is yet. But I promise you, we’ll find her!” Keira said.

Yes. Find her. Bring her home safely to me.

Jaime and Keira and Emerson

“Emerson, what do you have on the quack? Anything?” Keira asked when she got their friend on the phone.

“Well, he’s got a lot of reviews online. Most say things like ‘So nice!’ and ‘Who’d believe hypnotism works? Lost ten pounds!’”

“That’s not encouraging. Sounds like a nice guy.”

“That’s not all of them. Here’s one that says, ‘Don’t fall for his ventriloquism act. He’s not talking in your head. I recorded it.’ Another says, ‘I don’t think I was hypnotized, but I think I got good advice.’ And here’s one that says, ‘This fraud knows absolutely nothing about women. Go to a female counselor!’ There’s enough to raise red flags if I was looking for a counselor. Which I might be after this.”

“Don’t despair, Em. We’ll work out a way to show you everything is real.”

“That’s the problem. Maybe it’s the same problem Trayce was facing. You can convince me that it is all real, but the rest of the whole world says it’s not. That’s what I have to reconcile. Don’t worry, though. I won’t break down until we get your girlfriend back.”

“Thank you. You’re really a great friend,” Keira said.

“So, here’s the doctor’s office address and a map from where you are. I don’t know what you might find on a holiday like today, though. Surely, he won’t be there.”