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There’s a knock at my door, and I look up in fright. I hurriedly stuff the letters back in the box and shove it under my bed.
When I open the door, Kate’s standing there. She grins at me, holding up two cups of coffee, and says, “I was wondering if you want to study together. But if you’d rather take a break, I wouldn’t object to that either.” She winks at me, and I let her in.
I’m glad she’s here. But I’m really not in the mood to do homework. I sit on my bed again and say, “It would be great to just sit and chat for a bit. I can’t concentrate on schoolwork right now.”
Kate sits in the chair at my desk and looks at me inquiringly.
“Why? What happened?”
I take a deep breath, kneel down beside my bed, and bring out the box of letters.
“I read these. They’re from my great aunt.”
Maybe if I talk to someone about all this, I can get a clearerpicture of the situation. And I know I can trust Kate.
I tell her what I’ve found out about Frida so far and about Charles and the mysterious accident.
“But that’s not all,” Kate concludes when I’m finished. “There’s another reason this is so important to you, am I right?”
I nod slowly and tell her about what Mr. Brian said to me when we were in his house.
“I don’t want to turn out like her and put other people at risk. What if he’s right, and my curiosity and the way I approach things winds up endangering everyone? I’m already responsible for Ty’s death.” I fight back the intense feelings of guilt.
Kate is instantly at my side and puts a comforting arm around my shoulder. “Ty’s death was not your fault. You fought so hard to protect me, and I never thanked you for that.” She hugs me tight and continues, “We both miss Ty so much, but he wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. You did everything you could.”
I nod. Part of me knows she’s right, but there’s still this voice in my head saying, if only you were stronger.If only you could take care of yourself and didn’t have to constantly drag other people into things. What if you really are like your great aunt? Headstrong, stubborn, and irresponsible.
Kate lets go of me and regards the letters with curiosity. “So what did Frida write?”
“They’re all addressed to Charles,” I reply.
Kate raises her eyebrows in surprise. “The way you say that makes me think they’re not just about hunter deployments.”
“No, Frida was in love with him,” I explain. “But he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. I guess she never sent him the letters, but I’m sure he must have realized how she felt about him. At some point, he had a girlfriend. Frida didn’t like her and began spying on her. She kept coming up with these absurd accusations and obviously took things way too far. Charles already hinted at something like that to me. Her imagination gotthe better of her, and she began to see everyone and everything as a threat. Apparently, she was like that in other areas of her life too, and it affected her work. At some point, it resulted in this accident. Charles told me he was there when it happened. Apparently, it was right after a deployment, and Frida was tired and overwrought. They were in a park, and I guess that’s where it happened.”
Kate stands up and strides purposefully to the door. I watch her, baffled. She turns around and urges me, “Come on, what are you waiting for? That’s a good clue. Let’s go and take a look.”
I grab my jacket and follow Kate, although I’m not sure what her plan is. “You actually want to go out searching for a park near the school?”
“We don’t need to search for one. Remember? I know the city really well, and I think I know where we should go. It’s worth a try.”
“What do you expect to find there? It was so long ago. I doubt we’re going to find a memorial plaque there about Frida Mitchell’s mental breakdown that sadly cost an innocent bystander their life.”
“Memorial plaque,” Kate repeats with a grin and a shake of her head. “That would definitely be helpful, but if we’re lucky, we won’t even need one. Because you have me.” She winks at me. “I figure it’s time to test out my ability.”
“You think you might have a vision if you go there?”
It’s not a bad idea because it’s true – Kate often sees things when she’s at the actual location of some incident. But I’m also aware of the fact that she’s never consciously tried to harness this ability.
“Whether I like it or not, I have this gift,” says Kate as we leave the school premises. “And yeah, I admit, it scares me. But I’m sure it’s no different for you with your ability. There’s no point in trying to deny it, I realize that now. And in this case, it mightactually be helpful.”
I study Kate’s face, and I’m surprised but proud of her at the same time. “Thanks,” I say, eliciting a warm smile.
Kate leads me down a few winding streets. We have to walk up several of San Francisco’s many steep hills, but then we arrive at our destination. The park is nicely laid out and really expansive. When I see how big it is, my spirits sink. Will we be able to find the spot where the incident happened? Or is it enough for Kate to just get near it? So far, she doesn’t seem to sense anything, but she’s clearly making an effort. She walks beside me, intensely focused, constantly turning around and looking at everything anew. Now and then, she stops, waits, but nothing seems to happen.
At some point, we take a break and sit on a park bench.
“Sorry. I hoped it would work,” she says.
