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A resounding “yes” came from the group.
Cullen cautiously lifted the top of the trunk. There was a folded blanket that smelled worse than the trunk. The odor came right through their masks.
“Whoa!” Luna exclaimed. “It’s amazing it’s not in cinders.”
Cullen gently removed the blanket and placed it on the floor. Luna began to unfold it. Wrapped within the blanket was an old diary. The edges of the pages had turned brown. It, too, had a lock. “Cul, take a look at this. See if you can unlock it.” As she was about to hand it to him, she got another flash. Someone was running.
“What?” Cullen asked.
“Another flicker. People running.” Luna shook her head in an effort to clear it. She turned the secret book over to her brother. Another fold in the blanket revealed a small wooden box about ten inches long by twelve inches wide and five inches deep. She lifted the lid. It contained ticket stubs, a flyer, and fake coins. The kind you would use at an amusement park. Just like the vision she had experienced. She sat on the floor and scrutinized each piece. “Wow. This is someone’s history.”
“But whose?” Cullen was leaning over Luna’s shoulder at this point.
Luna placed the items back in the box. It would be a tricky process to make any sense out of it. And the diary? That would require some time. It looked as if this was going to be a bigger project then Cullen had imagined. Not that he would try to figure out the puzzle of ownership, but now his sister was going to be immersed in it. He knew all too well that Luna would make every effort to piece it together. She was unstoppable.
Cullen checked the rest of the trunk. “Well, I feel like Geraldo Rivera when he opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone. All the hype and only dust.”
“Well, now you just wait a darn second, mister,” Luna objected. “We have the remnants of someone’s life here. And I’m willing to betthatsomeone has something to do with whoever wrote that letter. That seems rather apparent to me. No?”
Chi-Chi offered support. “Luna has a very good point. Perhaps the owner was hoping you would find something. They implied that in the letter, correct?”
“Correct,” Cullen answered. “But it doesn’t necessarily seem to have any value.”
“Ah,” Chi-Chi replied. “People have value. I am in agreement with your sister. This person who sent this to you is looking for someone.”
“But I am not in the missing persons business,” Cullen protested.
“That is true. But you know someone who is. And your sister knows things. Even when she doesn’t know what she knows.” Chi-Chi gave a little chuckle.
“OK. But how would the person who sent this know we have connections with people who look for missing people?” Cullen asked.
“Now,thatis a good question,” Ellie replied.
“But Chris works with missing children,” Luna pointed out.
“Yes, but he has access to vast amounts of information.” Chi-Chi shrugged. “It might be a coincidence.” She looked at Luna. “What do you think?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences.” Luna stared blankly at the trunk. “But that doesn’t mean it was intentional either.”
Ellie looked perplexed. “I don’t understand. What do you mean it wasn’t intentional?”
“I mean the person who sent it was hoping Cullen could get it open and return the contents, so that same person could use whateverwefind to find whotheyare looking for. It just so happens we know someone in the business of finding people.” Luna looked at Ellie. “Am I making sense now?”
“So you don’t think the sender knows about Gaines or your particular talents?” Ellie asked.
“Not necessarily. But for whatever reason, the universe brought all of this, and us, together. It’s called synchronicity. Simultaneous events with meaningful connections. And, together, we are going to figure it out.” Luna placed her hands on her hips, signaling she was on a mission, and that was that.
Chapter Four
Present day
Tori sat in her car for a good long while and hadn’t yet started the engine. She jumped when a woman knocked on the driver’s-side window. “You OK?” It was the nurse from Tori’s doctor’s office.
“Yeah. I mean yes. I’m good. Thank you.” She tilted her head slightly just enough to be convincing, without revealing her tear-stained face.
“You sure?” the nurse pressed. “You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine. Really.” She gave a slight wave and switched on the ignition, signaling she was fine. As she backed out of the parking space, the nurse continued to watch. Tori had a sinking feeling that the nurse had reservations about how “good” Tori was really feeling.
