Page 41 of One Night Years Ago

Natalie nodded at him. “Thank you, Dr. Ford.”

He nodded tersely. Then to the nurse he said, “Call me as soon as the patient wakes up.”

Natalie followed the nurse down the hallway until she stopped at the last room. The nurse opened the door soundlessly and ushered Natalie in. From the doorway, Natalie could see the foot of the bed covered in a light blue sheet. She felt the strongest sense of déjà vu. Once, it’d been her lying on that bed. She shook herself back to the present.

“She didn’t have any identification or personal effects on her?” She wasn’t going to ask about clothes.

The nurse shook her head then stopped herself. “The poor thing was naked. The only thing she was wearing was a thin silver bracelet. We took it off for the X-rays.”

“Where is it now?”

“It should be on the small shelf by the window. I hope you find her family soon, Sheriff. No young woman deserves—”

“Thank you, Amanda,” Natalie said.

The nurse’s pager went off. “I’m off. Call me if you need anything.”

Natalie watched the nurse disappear down the corridor. Eventually, she ran out of excuses.

Do your job.

Natalie took a deep breath and walked into the room. The sight of the girl lying so still on the bed centered her. She couldn’t have been a day older than sixteen.

She’s even younger than Lanie.

Natalie studied the girl’s face, seeing the difference between the left side of her face, swollen beyond recognition from her eye all the way down to her mouth, and the right side, which looked almost normal.

What did he hit you with?

By now Natalie was almost certain the girl wasn’t from Sharp’s Cove. She knew most people in town, and she’d never seen this girl before. She felt a moment of selfish relief that she didn’t know the parents whose lives were about to change forever.

Who are you? Whatever it takes, I’ll find your family.

Natalie walked to the window and picked up the charm bracelet. As the nurse had said, it was a thin silver band. Natalie turned it around. Engraved in the back were two initials. F.R. It could be the girl’s initials or the initials of the person who gifted it to her.

Does your name start with F?

Suddenly the heart rate monitor attached to the girl’s finger began beeping. Natalie was about to reach over and press the call button, when the girl opened her right eye. It was light brown, almost caramel in color. The left one remained shut.

She tried to sit up in bed then collapsed back down. Panic fluttered through her expression.

“You’re okay,” Natalia reassured her. She pressed the button and called the nurse. “You’re at the hospital.”

The girl opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out. “Where … where is he?” she finally whispered, her face crumbling.

“You’re safe now. He’s not going to hurt you anymore. Can you tell me anything about him?”

The heart rate monitor beeped insistently. Natalie knew she wouldn’t be able to ask any more questions.

The girl’s voice was a broken whisper.

“So big … he hurt me … and that dreadful tattoo …”

Natalie felt her breath catch.

“What kind of a tattoo?”

“On his chest. Some kind of an animal.”