whatever horrors had beset her. She tried not to dwell on what had happened, or on the severity and nature of the crime, choosing instead to be thankful that her daughter had been found alive.
She couldn’t help thinking about Willow. What had happened to her? Was she still alive? If Willow’s father had been upset before the discovery of Katie, she couldn’t imagine what he was feeling now. She thought about how she would feel if the roles were reversed and it was her daughter who was the one still missing.
Her mind churned, and she couldn’t sleep even if she tried. Nurses and doctors walked past her, trying to give her enough space to breathe. They’d been so exceedingly kind to her and her family that it made her feel guilty that she wasn’t able to reciprocate such kindness.
She discovered how lost in thought she was when someone sat next to her. The person’s shoulder brushed up against hers in a strangely intimate way. She turned and saw Karl’s familiar profile. He was dressed in civilian clothes and wore a baseball hat that covered his gray-blond hair. His thin, arched nose unevenly separated his cheekbones. He looked thinner than she remembered. Why hadn’t she noticed this before, when he’d sat in her kitchen while conversing with her father? Was it because of the baseball cap and the civilian clothes he was wearing?
Why had he come here? Was he here in an official capacity or as a friend—a special friend from a long time ago that she’d all but put out of mind? She looked away from him and stared at the green wall across the hallway and didn’t talk for a few minutes.
“Thank you for coming,” she finally said.
“How’s she doing?”
“The doctors don’t really know at this point.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
He shrugged.
“Same old buster,” she said.
“Seems the more things change, the more I stay the same.”
“Sometimes change is a good thing. It can mean growth and maturity.”
“I guess.”
“Have the police made any inroads on the case yet?”
“The state police bagged Katie’s clothes and took them down to the lab. We’ll find out later what they’ve discovered . . . fibers, DNA, the usual stuff.”
“What about Katie’s friend?”
“There’s been no sign of her. As you might expect, her father is quite distraught.”
“I assume they’re resuming the search for her tomorrow?”
He nodded.
“I wish I could be there and help them look for Willow, but Katie needs me.”
“People will understand why you can’t be there.”
She snatched a quick glance at his profile, not quite believing that as a teenager, she had fallen for him so many years ago.
“How’s Raisin taking the news?” he asked.
“Poor kid has been through so much lately, he rarely shows any emotions, especially the way Ray and I have been getting on as of late.” Did she really say that? Her mind felt so jumbled now that she could barely control what passed from her brain through her lips. Fortunately, he let the comment pass.
“We’ll be investigating Katie’s disappearance and trying to determine who did this to her and why.”
“Do you think any of this has to do with the missing James kid?”
“Can’t know for sure, but it’s entirely possible. Two rich kids missing in this small town seems a bit too coincidental for me. Katie might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is why she’s still alive.”
“What’s happening here, Karl?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Just don’t tell me how wonderful this town used to be, when we both know that most people here could barely make ends meet.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.”
“It seems that all I hear lately is misplaced nostalgia about how wonderful Shepherd’s Bay once was.”
“We both know that there’s been a lot of animosity here since these newcomers arrived.”
“There’s also been a lot of good things happening, too.”
“The only reason my shop survives is that this new money has been coming into town. My grandfather would be shocked to know I could charge twenty-five bucks for a men’s haircut.”
“Your grandfather gave me my first haircut when I was a kid. I think my mother paid five bucks.”
Thinking about her grandfather made her sad. “So you think one of the locals committed this crime?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore, or who to believe. The only thing I want to do is keep an open mind throughout this investigation.”