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“How did you find her?” I asked, not wanting to hear the story, but it might help me when I came to the murder scene.
“Last night, we received a missing person’s report. Sarah Smith vanished on her way home from the swimming pool at the Community Center. She was eight years old, and she had gone with friends. But when she wasn’t home by dinner, her mother—Casey—called the other mothers.”
Arnie sighed and continued. “When the parents of Sarah’s friends asked their children if Sarah was with them, they admitted that she had insisted on stopping at the store to buy some comic books. She told them she’d catch up, but she never did. None of the kids wanted to get her in trouble with her parents, so they didn’t say anything.”
“Which means there was plenty of time for someone to abduct her before she was noticed missing,” I said.
“Right. She left for the pool around two o’clock, and was supposed to be home by six. The kids left the pool at five-fifteen. Her parents called us at seven. So, there had been an hour and a half in which for her to vanish. Tommy’s Comics & Games closes at six, and he said she left around 5:45. He was the last to see her alive, that we know of.” Arnie pointed out a rock. “Be cautious. You don’t want to turn an ankle.”
“How did you know to look for her here?”
“A jogger out for an early run found her this morning. It’s the serial killer again.” He squinted. “I can’t…when it’s a child, I want to quit and move to a tropical island where I never have to face another murder case again. I want to quit and go play Santa Claus year-round. And on my dark days, I want to go all Batman-vigilante and take out the bad guys without repercussions.”
I didn’t try to tell him he was making a difference. I understood what that dark spot was like, and sometimes, you had no choice except to accept the feelings and work through them.
“Are we close?”
He pointed up ahead. “Around the other side of that big cedar. Are you ready?”
I took a deep breath. “No, I’m never ready for this. But that doesn’t matter, does it? You need my help. I’m here. I’ll do what I can.”
As he held the branches back, I plunged through, fully opening my senses. As I passed the massive cedar, I sensed a spirit near me. I glanced around at the scene. It appeared to be chaos, with the coroner’s team bagging pieces of…I turned away before I could gag. Luckily, I had missed seeing the worst of the savagery, but there was blood everywhere, and I caught sight of a little purse—a popular pony character. The purse hit me in the gut. That, right there, told me everything I needed to know about Sarah. There was a certain type of little girl who loved Precious PonyTail, and she should never, ever, meet the big bad wolf in the woods.
I saw her, over by a huckleberry bush, staring wide-eyed at the workers. She looked my way, and I raised my hand in a little wave. The girl—dressed in a one-piece swimsuit—looked confused, but she ran over to me.
Can you help me? I’ve been trying to find my way home but I don’t know the way.
She sounded so hopeful that my heart dropped. How could I explain to her that she was dead? That she’d never sit in her mother’s lap again, she’d never have dinner with her family again, that she wouldn’t grow up to live her life as it extended out in front of her. At least not in this lifetime.
CHAPTERELEVEN
I triedto suppress my tears. “I need to talk to you. You’re Sarah, right?”
She nodded.Mommy tells me never to talk to strangers, but you seem nice.
“I’m safe. It’s okay to talk to me. Sarah, do you remember going into the comic book shop?”
She scrunched up her face.Yeah, I think I do. It seems like a long time ago, though.
Time worked differently on the spirit realm. After passing through the Veil, time vanished, but in that interim space—that liminal realm in which the dead still walked the earth—time phased in and out. Often, spirits couldn’t tellwhensomething happened, only that ithadhappened.
“And where did you go after the comic book shop?” I motioned to Arnie. “Can you take notes? I’m talking to her spirit now.”
Arnie pulled out a notebook. “You’re sure it’s Sarah?”
“Yes. She remembers going to the comic shop. But she doesn’t know she’s…” I paused. If I said ‘dead’ there was a chance she’d hear me. Spirits didn’t always hear what the living were saying. Some heard what was asked directly of them, others could hear what was going on around them. But I wasn’t sure about Sarah, and I didn’t want her startled until I broke the news to her.
Arnie glanced at me and mouthed the word ‘dead’ and I gave him a nod.
“Right. Watch what you say, please.” I turned back to Sarah. “So, do you remember anybody who stopped to talk to you after you left the comic shop?”
Sarah looked at her hands, then to the side.Why is it so misty? Where am I?
I tried to prompt her again. “Honey, can you focus? I’ll explain everything in a moment, but I need to know if you remember the time after you left the comic shop.”
She met my gaze, and the confusion shifted to fear.I was late. I knew Mom was going to be mad, so I took a shortcut through one of the empty lots.
“Do you remember which street that lot was on?”
