“Who knows? You might try wandering around in the woods or the field.”
“The woods are being torn down,” Sarah said. “Elizabeth had to sell them off to keep this place going, remember?” Her infectious grin was back, and Larry Felding decided not to disturb it again. He sighed in mock embarrassment.
“I know,” he said. “But I have to pay for my Rolls-Royces some way.” He stared out the window at the battered Chevy that was technically his, but which everyone at Ocean Crest used as a sort of public transportation system. He saw another car pulling into the slot next to his.
“Speaking of Elizabeth, here she is. Are you ready?”
“I’ll go get my bag,” Sarah said, standing up. “I suppose you’ll want to have your usual private chat with the family.”
“You’ve been here too long,” Felding said sourly. “You’re catching on to how this place works.” Sarah winked at him, and he smiled back at her. “Tell Elizabeth to come in, will you?”
“Okay. How long shall I take to get my bag? The usual ten minutes?”
“Get out of here!” Felding cried, and Sarah fled, giggling to herself. She met Elizabeth in the hall.
“Hi,” she said. “Larry wants to talk to you, but I think I just upset him. Go in and calm him down.” Still laughing, she left the building and started across the lawn to the house she had been living in for the last five years.
Elizabeth tapped lightly on the open door and stuck her head inside. Felding’s eyes were twinkling when he looked at her.
“Come in,” he said, waving. “I just kicked your sister out.”
“She said she’d upset you. What happened?” Elizabeth wasn’t sure whether she should be concerned. When Felding laughed, she relaxed.
“Sometimes I almost wish for the old days when she didn’t say anything at all. She takes a very strange pleasure in needling me. Was she like that when she was a child?”
“From the day she was born. She was sassy, but she was happy. It made it all the harder when she got sick. She was so different all of a sudden.” She was silent for a moment, remembering. Then she shook off the memory and met Dr. Felding’s eyes. “Sarah said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. I always like to have a little chat with a resident’s family before they go home for the first time. To prepare them for anything that might happen.”
“And something might happen with Sarah?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.
“I don’t know.” Dr. Felding was frank. “It all depends, really, on Sarah.”
“Sarah? I don’t understand.”
“I’ve asked her to do something while she’s home,” Felding explained. “I’ve told her that I want her to use the time to try to remember what happened that day she walked out of the woods.”
“I see,” Elizabeth said noncommittally. “Is there anything you’d like me to do?”
“Only if you want to.”
“If it’ll help Sarah, I’ll do anything,” Elizabeth said earnestly. “You know that.”
“Well, you don’t need to sound so serious. I don’t have anything terrible in mind. Tell me, is the house much different from when Sarah left?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “That house hasn’t changed much in generations, let alone years.” Then her expression clouded over a little. “Except for Sarah’s room,” she said, half apologetically. “Mother painted it and got rid of all of Sarah’s things.”
Felding’s face fell a little. “What do you mean when you say ‘got rid of’?” he asked.
“If it’s important,” Elizabeth reassured him, “they’re all still there. In our family ‘get rid of’ means put in the attic. I’m sure all of Sarah’s things are up there. Is it important?”
“It’s hard to say. It could be. What I’d like you to do is go through all of Sarah’s old things with her. Make an adventure out of it.”
“It would be.” Elizabeth smiled. “I haven’t been up in that attic in years. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve been up there since Sarah came here.” She thought for a moment. “Once, maybe, but that’s all.”
“Then it should be fun,” Felding said. “Who knows what you’ll find up there. And something might jog Sarah’s memory.”
“I feel sorry for her, in a way. That was a terrible day. I don’t remember too much about it myself. Just seeing Sarah across the field, all covered with—” She fell silent, as if forcing the memory from her mind. “Well,” she said shortly, “anyway, I feel sorry for her. I suppose she does have to remember it all, but it seems a shame, after all