a good friend of hers. We need Katie to remember what happened in order to help the police find her. That’s why that police officer out in the hallway wants to question her.”
“That’s fine. I’m only suggesting that he should proceed with caution. And you better stay in the room, just in case the questioning upsets her. Sometimes, if you force the issue, it can cause a violent reaction.”
“Don’t worry, Doctor. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. I’ll make sure there’s a nurse on standby, just in case it’s too much for her to handle.”
The doctor smiled at Katie before leaving the room. Isla grabbed her daughter’s hand and squeezed. Then Katie nodded bravely, indicating that she was ready to answer his questions, and exactly what she could remember, Isla desperately wanted to know.
KARL
THE GIRL HAD NOTHING OF ANY CONSEQUENCE TO SAY, AND THIS DISSPPOINTED him. It was not that he’d asked the wrong questions or somehow made a bad impression on her. Katie had honestly seemed to have no memory of the event that traumatized her. Isla had explained to him what the doctor had said and how Katie might be repressing memories from the ordeal. It seemed plausible. He’d tried every trick in his limited interviewing repertoire, even providing clues that might trigger her memory, but nothing had worked.
Isla’s presence next to Katie hadn’t helped. It had thrown him off his game, and he realized he couldn’t concentrate with her nearby. She had looked so lovely in the soft light that it had made his Nordic skin blush, although he didn’t think she had seen it in the dimly lit room.
He left the hospital, frustrated and wanting answers, but not without having gained at least some insight. For example, he’d seen the wad of cash that passed between Ray’s hands and his wife’s. What was that all about? He’d overheard the rumors in town about Ray starting a seaweed business. What that seaweed business entailed, he had no idea, but he would find out.
Personally, he’d never had the entrepreneurial knack that many men in this town seemed to possess, even if they’d gotten it by necessity. And everywhere he turned these days, seaweed seemed to be popping up as the healthy alternative to conventional snack foods. He’d even seen noodles made from seaweed at the Whole Foods salad bar when he went down to Portland to visit his sister. And in colorful packages, sold as flavored chips. As for him, he’d never in his life eaten seaweed, apart from the mushy stuff that sometimes floated into his mouth during a long swim in the ocean.
A heavy rain fell on the streets as he exited the hospital. He knew this would put a damper on the search for Willow Briggs. He thought of Julian and wondered why the boy had shown up at the hospital. Was he really friends with Katie? Was he really that concerned about her health? Something told him that the kid was not telling the whole truth. Something didn’t feel right to him about how everything seemed to be playing out.
He drove mindlessly through the streets, asking himself questions about all the children involved, so engrossed in his thoughts he didn’t hear the constant swoosh of wet tires. Was it a coincidence that Dakota James, the other missing rich kid, came from the same side of town? Or that he’d been in the same grade as Julian at Chance Academy? Might be a good idea to see how close the two were, or if they had been friends at all. Could both boys have been interested in Willow?
Then where did Katie fit into all this? Collateral damage in a deadly teen love triangle? He’d seen only photographs of Willow Briggs, and it had taken only a quick glance for him to appreciate the girl’s physical beauty. He remembered staring a little too long at one photograph of her in a string bikini and then, seconds later, feeling tremendous guilt for having gawked at a half-naked teenage girl.
Many people in town thought Dakota James had run away from home. Rumors had spread that he had quarreled often with his mother and had had issues with authority at his previous schools. Like Willow and Julian, Dakota James came from wealth, had been blessed with good genes and a financial portfolio that Karl would never even begin to know.
Only the hard-core volunteers would search in this torrential downpour. Every officer on the force was now mucking about in the woods.