Charlie St. Cloud Page 0,47

Her cheeks felt warm from blushing. “You know where I can find him right now? Is he home?”

“Did he know you were coming?”

“No. I didn’t tell him.”

“What else didn’t you tell him?” Sam said. His eyes were locked on.

“I’m not quite sure what you mean.” The kid was starting to get to her again. It’s those video games, she thought. It’ll ruin them all. “Do me a favor, okay? Give Charlie a message?”

“Sure.”

“Let him know I came by.”

“Will do.”

The kid threw his ball and the beagle took off after it. “Hey, Tess,” he said. “You play catch?”

“Sure.”

“You throw like a girl?”

“Not on your life.”

“Then come back tonight. Charlie’s always here at sundown. See that forest over there? The big blue spruce?”

“Yes.”

“Follow the trail on the other side of the old log.”

“And then what?”

“You’ll find us in the clearing. We’ll throw the ball around.”

“Sounds fun,” she said. “I’ll see you later.” She took a few steps down the hill. She was liking the thought of playing catch with Charlie and the boy. Then she spun around, and said, “Hey, kid, what’s your name?”

He hesitated for an instant before he answered. “I’m Sam. Sam St. Cloud.”

NINETEEN

THE OCEAN HAD NEVER LOOKED SO MASSIVE. WHITECAPS streaked to the horizon, and the thirty-five-foot Down East lobster boat careened through the waves. With one hand, Charlie steadied himself on the dashboard; with the other, he peered through binoculars and swept the confused seas. He and Tink were running a track leg in a search pattern on Jeffreys Ledge, an area not too far from where the fisherman had picked up debris from Querencia.

That morning in the Driftwood, he had absolutely refused to believe the news about Tess. At first, he had erupted: “No way. It’s not possible.” Then all eyes in the restaurant had focused on him.

“You know something we don’t?” Hoddy had asked.

Charlie had wanted to tell them about her visit to her father’s grave and their dinner in the cottage. He had wanted to describe their midnight walk and even their first kiss. But he had suddenly felt afraid. It was an unconscious reflex. Maybe something terrible had happened to Querencia on the water, and it was Tess’s spirit that had come to the cemetery. It wasn’t impossible, and in that instant, he knew he had to protect himself. “She’s got to be around somewhere,” he had mumbled, trying to mask his confusion. “Don’t you think?”

“What’re you talking about?” Tink had said, stepping forward. “They found her rudder and a life ring. There’s been no word from her in more than thirty-six hours. What more do you need?”

Charlie had felt himself scrambling. “What about her house? Anyone look there?”

“Of course,” Hoddy had said. “No luck. Dubby Bartlett saw her dog running on the beach without a leash this morning. Her mother was expecting to hear from her by now, but there’s been no word.”

And so the men had paired off to start the search. Charlie joined up with Tink, who had borrowed a powerful lobster boat. The two had known each other only casually from the local beer-and-clam circuit, but they were both hell-bent on finding Tess.

In the early hours, the search had produced all sorts of junk, including a floating Coleman cooler with a few Buds and a Nike golf bag minus the clubs.

Then in the middle of the day, they had spotted a life raft that was partially inflated and blackened with smoke. Hauling it aboard, Tink unraveled when he realized it belonged to Querencia. First, he unleashed a gut-wrenching scream, then he shouted: “No!” That single, simple syllable stretched into an agonizing wail until he ran out of breath, and great gobs of tears coursed down his cheeks, soaking his scruffy beard.

The boat had vanished. Tess was nowhere.

The only life they witnessed all day on that angry ocean was a pod of humpback whales breaching two hundred yards to starboard, spray blasting from their blowholes before they dived to the depths.

In the outer reaches of his mind, Charlie began to wonder what had really happened. Was it Tess in the cemetery last night or her spirit? He had seen thousands of souls come and go and he knew all the vaporous clues. He had never before been fooled. They all gleamed with an aura of light. The old no longer hobbled. The infirm were restored with vigor. At first, their edges would soften and shimmer like gossamer. Then their appearance would change subtly, and they would begin to look the way