“Alicen,” Derek said patiently, “you know what I told you about those dreams. It’s nice to wish your mother was alive again—God knows I do—but you have to accept the fact that she just isn’t coming back.”
“She’s coming back for me,” Alicen said, opening her eyes to glare into her father’s. “We’re going to be together again.”
Derek wasn’t about to encourage Alicen’s fantasies by arguing with her. Ignoring her bizarre words, he stood up and walked to the porch railing. The azaleas were starting to wither now, but their fragrance was still sweet. Derek watched a flock of birds shoot up from the nearby woods and heard the swing creak behind him as Alicen rocked it.
She didn’t seem upset by any of this, and that bothered him. Had he scolded her so many times for being overly emotional that she was now afraid to let him know her feelings? He didn’t like her having nightmares or pretending to talk with her mother. But he had never meant for her to hide her fears when those fears were justified. He had to make her understand she could trust him.
“Say, Alicen,” he said, turning around, “would you like to go out to dinner with me?”
It worked. Alicen’s dull expression suddenly brightened, and she nodded eagerly. He hadn’t taken her to dinner in years. Derek glanced at his watch; it was still early afternoon.
“Well, it’s too early for dinner yet,” Derek said. “We can go in a few hours.”
The look on his daughter’s face was one of such disappointment that Derek tried to think of a quick remedy. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and said, “I know. We’ll spend the afternoon in the city. Would you like that?”
“Okay,” Alicen said, sounding genuinely eager.
“Then get your shoes and raincoat,” Derek said. “And I’ll meet you down here in fifteen minutes. I just have to let Gary know we’re going out.”
After changing his clothes, Derek walked out into the hall. He heard Alicen talking in her room. Knocking at her door, he asked if she was ready. When she didn’t answer, he pushed the door open a little. Alicen was sitting on the edge of her bed with one foot propped up and her fingers wrapped around her shoelaces. She was not moving and had a frightened look on her face. She seemed to be staring at something. Derek followed her gaze and saw a milky cloud hovering near the window.
“What the hell is that?” he demanded.
“Dad!”
Alicen jumped, pulling her hands away from her shoe. The cloud disintegrated and became a beam of sunlight. Just sunlight, Derek thought. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.
“Sorry if I startled you,” he said, “but you didn’t answer when I knocked at the door. Are you ready yet?”
“Yea,” Alicen said, resuming her tying. She got up at last and pulled her raincoat from the closet. Derek noticed her hands trembling a bit but thought it was because he had startled her.
It was hard to believe the day had gone from brilliantly sunny to gloomy gray. But the air was heavy with moisture, and rain would be welcome. The breeze blowing now made the drive to Manhattan more pleasant, and the Volvo rode smoothly along. Derek turned on the radio and hummed with the music. Alicen rested her head on the window ledge and let the breeze blow her hair back.
“Hey, that’s it for today for the Charlie Grinn show. I’ll be back tomorrow with more hits, old and new.”
An interlude of music led to the news.
“Good afternoon. In Washington today, the president . . .”
Derek looked across the seat at his daughter. She seemed lost in a dream world, her eyes squinted against the wind. He returned his own eyes to the road and said, “Alicen, do you want to talk about the accident?”
“I’ve been talking about it all day,” Alicen said. “That cop Bryan Davis asked so many questions.”
“Talking might make you feel better,” Derek said. “You can’t face your problems until they’re out in the open.”
“I don’t have any problems!” Alicen snapped.
“Don’t use that tone of voice with me,” Derek cautioned.
Alicen clicked her tongue. “Oh, dad! Can’t we just have a nice time tonight without talking about dumb things like that accident?”
“I don’t think it’s so dumb, Alicen,” Derek said. He glanced at her again. “Stop pouting. We won’t talk about the accident if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t,” Alicen said.
They sat in silence for a while longer, listening to the news broadcast. There was a report on the bus accident.
“Here on Long Island, police are baffled over a bus accident involving fifty children from Saint Anne’s school in Belle Bay. The bus, en route to the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport, collided head-on with the fence surrounding the construction site of the Louis Pasteur Hotel. Speed of the bus was clocked at over eighty miles per hour. The mystery? No driver could be found in the wreckage. Described only as a young woman with long blond hair, she is being sought by police for endangering the lives of minors and for the death of Dwight Percy, the children’s teacher. Percy, aged sixty-one, was sitting in the front of the bus at the time of the collision. He had no survivors.
“Miraculously, only four children were seriously injured. A broken arm, nose, and fractured skull were reported. One girl who complained about twisted fingers was treated and released. Police are investigating the incident and request that anyone having information should call . . .”
Derek switched off the radio. “You didn’t tell me about the driver,” he said.
“You didn’t ask,” Alicen replied.
“I shouldn’t have to,” Derek said. “And what do they mean, they couldn’t find her?”
Alicen shrugged, not turning her head from the window.
“She sort of disappeared, I guess.”
“How does anyone ‘sort of disappear’ from a speeding bus?” Derek wanted to know. When Alicen didn’t reply, Derek tapped her impatiently. “Will you please answer me?”
“I don’t know!” Alicen cried. “It happened too fast! Everyone’s asking me so many questions.” She sniffled, fighting tears.
“I’m sorry,” Derek said. “I promised you we wouldn’t talk about the accident, didn’t I?”
From the corner of his eye he saw Alicen nod.
“Then we’ll drop it,” he said. “So, what do you want to do today?”
“I want to see the Central Park Zoo,” Alicen said, cheering up again.
“That’s the girl,” Derek encouraged.
As she tried to forget the accident, Alicen told her father all the things she wanted to see in the city. She didn’t tell him that she dreaded coming home again.
11
Balancing himself with outstretched arms, the policeman named Tim hurried down the steep slope that led from the roadside. Under orders from their captain, he and his partner Rick were investigating the scene of that morning’s bus accident Rick walked up ahead, holding fast to the leashes of a pair of German shepherds. The animals whined and looked about in bewilderment, not picking up a scent. Tim kept his eyes to the ground, looking for footprints, pieces of clothing, or anything to indicate someone had been there. He was becoming as frustrated as the dogs; they had been walking for a mile and had yet to find a thing.
“I don’t know why Davis took the word of some kid,” he said, kicking aside a rusted can.
“I’m telling you,” Rick answered, “that guy named Percy must have been the driver. I don’t know why we’re looking for some woman who doesn’t even exist.”
“Fifty kids can’t all be lying,” Tim pointed out.
“Well, the kid who talked to Davis was,” Rick said. “You can’t tell me a woman jumped from a speeding bus and just got up and walked away.”
“I’m not telling you that,” Tim said quietly.
They moved on in silence, walking further and further from the construction site. The sun was starting to go down now, and the air was growing pleasantly cool. Every once in a while, Tim would look up at the
cars passing on the road, squinting against the brilliance of their lights. He laughed a little to see them slow down at the sight of the police car’s flashing red light. Then he looked down at the ground again.
“It’s six, Tim,” Rick said some time later. “Let’s call it quits.”
“Yeah,” Tim said. “We aren’t going to find anything here.”
Back at the police station, they turned the dogs over to the kennel master, made their report, and went home. Chief Morris contacted Bryan Davis, telling him no body had been found, let alone evidence there had been one at all.
Several miles away, Bryan hung up the receiver and got up from behind his desk. A while ago, he had been looking forward to the end of a long day. But now that his only lead to the driver’s whereabouts was gone, he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until he had some answers. That Miller kid had to know something more. She’d looked so spaced-out that afternoon, and she had been overly adamant that he should believe her story. There had to be more to it.
Was it possible, Bryan thought, that she had been told to bring that story to him? An innocent kid doing someone’s dirty work? Bryan decided the best way to find out would be to talk to her at home. It was only eight o’clock, not too late to make a call on the Miller house. Pulling the folder on the accident from the file, Bryan looked up Alicen’s address in the list of children. His eyebrows went up when he read it.
“Three twenty-eight Starbine Court Road,” he said aloud. ‘What’s that kid doing in the VanBuren house?”
He’d find out soon enough, he thought. Thinking the girl might be more relaxed if he was out of uniform, he changed into jeans and a plaid shirt in the locker room. Then he went out to his car. As he drove through town, he recalled the night he had last been at the VanBurens’ some six months ago. He remembered comforting Melanie after her husband’s accident. Even now, Bryan shuddered to think of it.
“This has nothing to do with what happened last year,” he told himself firmly.
But tonight it was too clearly stamped on his mind. He reluctantly recalled the events that had taken place at the house, when a “maniac” had tried to destroy the VanBuren family. It had been so terrifying, so unbelievable, the things that had happened that snowy November night. And he and the five other cops with him had vowed never to talk about it again.
The main street of Belle Bay was active right now, filled with teen-agers hanging out in front of well-lit stores, young couples shopping, and elderly people out for strolls. Bryan looked up at the trees that lined the street, seeing rich foliage of late spring silhouetted against the moonlit sky. As the stores and people faded out, the homes became more numerous, old Colonials mixed in with modern brick and aluminum-sided houses. Bryan noted the finely trimmed lawns and painted picket fences. People took care of their homes in Belle Bay. That was one reason why he loved this town. He didn’t need any trouble here.
Now the houses thinned out, and Bryan found himself on Houston Street. From here, he could see the huge VanBuren mansion, sitting regally upon a hill. Though only one upstairs light was on, the entire house seemed to glow. Bryan was surprised to feel himself shudder.
No cars passed him on the road as he neared Starbine Court. He swung onto it, driving close to the beach for several hundred yards. He could just barely make out a couple sharing a blanket at the water’s edge. In a few weeks, he thought, it would be beach season.
Just before he reached the hill that led to the mansion, he passed another house, huge and gray. It was empty now, ever since its elderly owner’s death a year earlier. The house made Bryan think of hell, as if one could enter the eternal darkness by stepping behind one of the boarded-up windows.
He shook that ridiculous thought from his mind and drove up the hill. Parking his car in the driveway, he went to the front of the house, climbed the wooden stairs, and rang the bell. Seconds later, the porch was flooded with light. Melanie VanBuren opened the door, dressed in a robe. Recognizing him, she stepped back and smiled a little.
“Captain Davis,” she said pleasantly, running her hand over her just-washed hair. “Come on in.”
“It looks like I’ve come at a bad time,” Bryan said. He saw Gary behind his wife, leaning on crutches. “But I had the idea to ask some questions about the accident.”
“Is this official?” Gary asked, leading the police chief into the living room. “You aren’t in uniform.”
“I thought this was a little less intimidating,” Bryan said. He sat down on the couch, sinking comfortably into the overstuffed cushions. “I’d like to talk with Alicen Miller—I understand she lives with you?”
“Yes, she does,” Melanie said. “But she’s not here right now. She’s out with her father.”
“I thought you asked questions at the school today,” Gary said.
“I did,” Bryan answered. “But I got nowhere.” He thought for a moment, toeing the ball-and-claw feet of the coffee table, then said, “I thought the children would be more comfortable if I spoke to them in their homes, with their parents there beside them. I’m hoping to get more information this way.”
“It’s a good idea,” Melanie said. “But why did you choose to start with Alicen?”
“She came to see me today,” Bryan said.
Gary rocked a bit on his crutches. “Alicen didn’t tell anyone she went out,” he said.
“Well, she came to the station around twelve-thirty,” Bryan reported.
“Oh, that’s impossible,” Melanie said, leaning forward in her chair. “I dropped her off here at noon. She couldn’t have had time to walk back into town!”
“Then she managed to hitch a ride,” Bryan suggested. “But she was there, and she had quite a story to tell me. I want to hear it from her again.”
“A story?” Melanie echoed. “Alicen hardly seems the type to tell stories. She’s a very shy girl.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me,” Bryan answered. He stood up. “Well, if she’s not here, I’ll see her tomorrow. Sorry if I disturbed you.”
Gary called to him before he reached the door. “I thought you wanted to talk to all of the children?”
“Huh?” Bryan answered, turning. “Oh, yeah. I said that, didn’t I?”
“Let me get Gina,” Melanie said. “She’s still up.”
She had left the room before Bryan could protest. Sighing, he returned to the couch and sat down again.
“How did she take the accident?” he asked.
“Not too badly,” Gary answered. “My kids are pretty tough. They’ve been through worse, remember.”
“I remember,” Bryan said quietly. “It just seems wrong that one girl should suffer so much. I mean, after what happened last year. . .”
“We don’t talk about that,” Gary said.
Bryan nodded. “Smart thing.” He shifted on the couch, making himself more comfortable, then indicated Gary’s crutches. “You look like you’re doing well, though,” he said. “Am I right?”
“I do the best I can,” Gary answered. “I’ve been on crutches for a few weeks now. My next challenge is the stairs.”
“You have to go to some clinic for that?”
“No, I’ve got a private therapist,” Gary said. “He—Derek—is Alicen’s father.”
“That explains why she lives with you,” Bryan said.
“You were wondering what another kid is doing in this spooky house, huh?”
“Sort of,” Bryan said. “It surprised me to see she had the same address as Gina. Does her mother live here, too?”
“Alicen’s mother is dead,” he heard Melanie say. He turned and saw her enter the room with Gina, who was dressed in chinos and a T-shirt with a rainbow painted on it. She looked at him with questioning brown eyes, then went to sit on the armchair across from the couch.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hey, there,” Bryan said, smiling. “How’re you?”
“Fine,” Gina said. “Do you want to ask me some questions?”
�
�That’s right,” Bryan answered. “I was hoping you could remember something new.”
Without hesitation, Gina shook her head. “I told you everything this morning.”
“Tell me again,” Bryan said. “And take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Gina brought her legs up under her and folded her hands in her lap. She looked around the room, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember the morning’s events. At last she fixed her gaze on the bronze fireplace screen and started to speak.
“We were supposed to go to the planetarium,” she said. “I wanted to sit in the back, but Alicen said she’d get sick. So we sat right behind the driver.”
“Did you see her?”
“Sure,” Gina said.
Bryan straightened. “You did? What did she look like?”
“Well, I didn’t see her face,” Gina admitted. “I just saw the back of her. I was turned around when she got on. I was talking to Doreen—she’s my friend. Anyway, all I know is that the driver had blond hair.”
“Did she talk to you kids at all?”
“No, she didn’t say anything. We told you that this morning, remember?”
Bryan smiled, nodding, then let her go on.
“We were all talking and fooling around,” Gina continued. “Then one of the boys yelled something, and all of a sudden the bus started going faster and faster. Mr. Percy yelled at everybody to get on the floor. That’s Alicen’s teacher.”
“You did that?”
“I couldn’t!” Gina cried, looking at him with huge eyes. “I was so scared that I couldn’t move at all. I just hung on to Alicen and covered my eyes. You know, like you do when you’re on a scary roller coaster?”
“Calm down, honey,” Gary said.
Bryan said nothing, thinking. It was exactly the same story Alicen had told him, yet . . .
“Gina, did you see the driver fighting with Mr. Percy?”
Gina shook her head. “I didn’t see anything. I didn’t even open my eyes when Mr. Percy—uh, when he knocked me from my seat.”
She turned to gaze back at the fireplace. Melanie went to the chair and sat on the arm, taking her daughter’s hand.
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