Whispering Pines (Celia's Gifts Book 1)

by Kimberly Diede

  “I examined you myself,” the doctor assured her, “and I couldn’t find any evidence that you suffered any kind of physical trauma at all.”

  Julie seemed to calm down a little at this. “I am so confused.”

  “Mrs. Clements, can I have a word with you please?” asked the doctor.

  “Yes. Julie, your grandparents are here. I’ll send them in so they can sit with you while I talk with the doctor, OK?”

  “God, Grandma and Grandpa came, too? What is going on?”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this, honey. Just relax, I’ll be right back.”

  After sending her folks in to see Julie, Renee met with the doctor in the same family waiting room. She didn’t bother asking the doctor anything, just sat with a questioning look, waiting for her to begin.

  “Temporary loss of memory related to traumatic events is not unusual,” Dr. Roberts began. “It could be that whatever scared her was so upsetting that her mind is holding those particular memories at bay. Sometimes the amnesia only lasts a few hours or a few days. Everyone is different. I will examine her again, but I would be surprised if I found anything we missed last night. She seems to be feeling all right, she’s just confused due to her surroundings. That makes sense, too, because she isn’t remembering whatever it was that scared her so badly. Why don’t you go ask the nurse at the desk to call and let the officers know Julie’s awake, and they can come talk with her. I will probably release her into your care after that.”

  Renee nodded. “What then?”

  “I would like her to see her primary care doctor in a week. I am also going to refer her to someone that specializes in this type of situation. If her memories come back, she may need help dealing with them.”

  “I understand. Thank you for your help, Doctor.”

  But Renee still didn’t understand what was going on, still felt that sense of helplessness. What happened to her daughter? What scared her so badly that she, or someone, summoned the police?

  ***

  Grant drove back to the resort when Julie was released, not crazy about Grace and Jess being alone out there. Starving, George and Lavonne took Renee and Julie out for lunch. Her parents sat at a separate table, knowing Renee needed to talk with Julie in private.

  Once they were seated and had ordered, it was time to talk.

  “Julie, honey, I can’t help but remember our earlier conversation, where you didn’t want to come back to school this fall. I feel so guilty.”

  Julie shook her head adamantly. “Mom, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Whatever did happen to me, it had nothing to do with you.”

  “I don’t know what happened last night,” Renee said, “and I know you don’t remember yet. You might remember at any time. Maybe I was wrong to push you to come back. I don’t see how you can stay here, not knowing what made you so upset last night. Until we have some answers, I think maybe you should come back to the resort with me.”

  “But we’re only one week into school. If I leave now, I’ll get too far behind.”

  “Honey . . . maybe we should see whether or not, under the circumstances, they would still let you withdraw without it impacting your college transcript or making us pay full tuition.”

  “You’re right, Mom. I feel jumpy and scared. I don’t know why, but I do. Since I don’t remember anything, I won’t feel safe here.”

  “Will you feel safe at the resort? It’s been weird there, too.”

  “I know, but I’ll feel safer if I’m with you instead of here on this huge campus with so many strangers. It doesn’t mean I can’t come back later, though. Hopefully we can find out what happened . . . I just don’t want to always be looking over my shoulder.”

  Neither of them ate much of their lunch, but enough to sustain them for the time being.

  ***

  The dean was agreeable to their request for Julie to withdraw for the semester. Of course, he wanted some answers, too. He needed to keep students safe. Rumors were already flying around, since others were there when the police and ambulance responded. The dean was trying to keep a lid on it, but that was hard in today’s world of social media. There was plenty of speculation no matter what he did.

  Renee worried about leaving Zoey without a roommate. Luckily, the other room in their suite had three girls versus the standard two, and housing agreed to let one of the three move in with Zoey. All five of the girls were friends; Zoey wasn’t wild about the idea of a different roommate, but she understood why Julie didn’t want to stay—she was scared, too. Her parents agreed to come visit her for the weekend. Zoey needed some family time, too.

  Julie was subdued as they loaded her clothes and bedding into the back of George’s extended cab pickup. Her girlfriends helped, all of them offering Julie reassurances. She could come see them any time. The poor girl had only been back for a week and was still settling in. But she was only pulling out for the semester; hopefully she could come back after the holidays.

  Renee had called Matt earlier that morning, before Julie woke up. She stepped away to call him again and give him an update.

  “Renee, do you know what happened?” he asked when he picked up after the first ring. “I have to admit, I’ve been going crazy with worry over here.”

  “Hey, Matt, sorry to call so early. I know it’s almost morning for you. No . . . we still don’t know what happened to her. She’s awake, and feeling all right, but she doesn’t remember anything that happened after their study group finished last night. She’s still scared and jittery, but the doctor checked her again before releasing her and confirmed she couldn’t find any signs Julie was physically attacked.”

  “What do the police say?”

  “Not much at this point. Of course, they want me to get in touch with them right away if she does start to remember anything. There’s some uneasiness around campus, not knowing what happened. Don’t say I’m overreacting, but . . . I pulled her out for the semester. I can’t imagine leaving her here when we don’t have answers yet.”

  Matt was quiet for a moment. “No, Renee, I don’t think you are overreacting. I think that was probably a smart move. Something’s happening around you, and that something, whatever it is, seems centered around Julie. Did you tell the police about what’s been going on at the resort?”

  “I did, but they didn’t seem too interested. Didn’t think there could be any possible connection. Actually, they’re being pretty tight-lipped. I couldn’t tell if they knew more than they were letting on or not.”

  “I already called Sheriff Thompson and let him know something had happened to Julie on campus,” Matt told her. “I’ll call him back, maybe he can get some information out of the campus police since he might be considered more local than I would be. I wish that damn sheriff would get off his ass and figure out what’s going on.”

  “I do, too. Maybe it was just a drifter causing problems at the resort, and maybe whoever it was has moved on. Nothing else has happened since. Maybe the incident at school was unrelated. I might believe that . . . if it weren’t for that picture Dad found of Julie in the dresser drawer. I don’t know how to explain that piece of this puzzle.”

  “I can’t either, not yet. But I’ll keep pushing for answers, too. How are you holding up? This is a lot for you to handle on your own. Did you get Robbie settled?”

  “Robbie’s settled. I guess I’m going to keep taking it a day at a time. Thank God for my family. They are my rock. Don’t know what I would do without them. Grant has been helpful, too.”

  “I’m glad he drove you. Is he still with you now?”

  “No, he was anxious to get back to his daughter. I hated to have him waste a whole day here with us. I wasn’t sure yet what we were going to do. I suppose I’ll have to call Robbie and let him know his sister is going back to the resort. I think I’ll give him the abbreviated version. No sense worrying him.”

  “That would probably be all right for now, but I don’t think you should keep this from him,
particularly if you start to get some answers or anything else happens. He won’t appreciate you keeping something like this from him.”

  “I suppose. Hey, how come you always give such good advice?”

  “Because I care, Renee. Remember that. I wish I was closer so I could help more.”

  “I know you care, and I am so thankful you do. Sorry if we caused you a missed night of sleep. I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. Believe me, I’m used to missing sleep once in a while. You better get back to Julie now. Thanks for the update. Keep me posted. Like I said, I’ll call and pester the sheriff again, try to keep the investigation moving. Text me when you’re back at the resort.”

  Once all of Julie’s paperwork was complete, George took them all back to the resort. Despite their protests, he insisted on staying on at the resort for a bit. Even though Grant was at Whispering Pines, George didn’t like the idea of his daughters and granddaughter out in the duplex alone.

  Julie kept busy during the day helping plan retreats, but nights were a challenge. Soon after she got back to the resort, she started having terrible nightmares. They were vague—always a faceless stranger chasing her through the darkness, calling her name. She would jolt awake when hands reached out and grabbed her long ponytail, yanking her back off her feet. Maybe she was starting to remember what actually happened, but she never recognized the voice she heard in her dreams, and she never saw who was chasing her. As promised, Dr. Roberts arranged for Julie to meet weekly with a psychiatrist, but the sessions hadn’t yielded any answers.

  Renee called the campus police every week following Julie’s sessions, but had nothing other than the nightmares to report. She always asked if there had been any further trouble on campus, but if there had been, they weren’t telling her about it.

  ***

  Matt tried to determine whether or not Julie’s boyfriend from the first half of her freshman year had anything to do with their troubles. He couldn’t find much on the kid. He was relatively certain Lincoln didn’t go back to college anywhere after the holidays. The boy had a strained relationship with his parents, so they weren’t able to tell Matt much; Julie’s name hadn’t come up, but that wasn’t too surprising since they seldom talked. Lincoln called his mom a couple of times after the first of the year to tell her he was in Minneapolis, working odd jobs. He said he was thinking about going back to college to study computer science but wasn’t sure when or where he might go. Now it had been months since they had heard from Lincoln, but Matt didn’t get the sense they were particularly worried about their son. He tried to find out what caused the rift between the boy and his parents, but they refused to elaborate. His old college roommate hadn’t known him before they roomed together and hadn’t heard from him since he dropped out. His parents didn’t know any friends he might have stayed in touch with, so that was a dead end. Any jobs he was working must have been under the radar, because there were no tax records of him working anywhere in the past year. If he had a car, it wasn’t registered in his name, and Matt couldn’t find any bank accounts in his name with activity since he had dropped out, either. If his parents hadn’t heard from him at all since he dropped out, Matt might have been concerned something happened to the boy. He knew from experience people didn’t fall off the grid unless it was intentional. His gut told him the boy might be involved.

  He shared his musings with Sheriff Thompson, but since they were only speculation, he didn’t say anything to Renee or Julie about his suspicions. It would probably scare them, and his hunch might be wrong. The sheriff always listened to what Matt had to say when he called, but Thompson never followed up on anything. He finally admitted to Matt he was having trouble keeping up with all of his department’s cases. It wasn’t only a staffing shortage. The sheriff was having a serious health issue and was considering turning in his resignation.

  “Hard to leave, though. I got no one ready to step into my shoes around here. You met two of my deputies—still wet behind the ears, and the rest of them aren’t any better. Say, you aren’t looking for a new job, are you, son?” Sheriff Thompson asked Matt. “I know you run a decent-size crew out there on that island of yours, but you seem awfully interested in what’s happening around here. It’s got me wondering why you are so interested.”

  “Renee Clements is a special friend of mine, as you probably already concluded on your own. I actually have been giving some thought to moving back to the States . . . My dad passed away this summer, made me realize how much I was missing. But yours is an elected position. What happens if you aren’t willing, or able, to complete your term?”

  “Well, if I remember right, I think there is a provision that allows for the county commission to appoint an interim sheriff in the event I’m unable to work through the end of my term. Of course, I suspect anyone I would personally recommend would be given serious consideration. I’ve run this office for thirty years without too much trouble. That’s one of the reasons I’m thinking I should get out before I end up botching things. I don’t want to stay on too far past my prime.”

  Matt pondered how to respond.

  “Tell you what,” he finally suggested, “why don’t we both sleep on it? I’ll call you back in a couple days and let you know if I might consider such a big change. And you can maybe double-check the required procedures if you were to step down,” Matt suggested.

  “You got a deal.”

  “I do appreciate the offer and consideration, Sheriff,” Matt said.

  “Hey, you’d be doing me a favor. You might be my ticket to the beach and warmer weather, someplace where my old ticker could get some much-needed rest.”

  Chapter 57

  Gift of Attention

  Within two weeks, Matt had enough answers about the sheriff position to know he was interested in pursuing it. Thompson could arrange the necessary meetings with the decision-makers, but Matt would need to meet with them in person before they could commence with the process.

  Matt knew he was intrigued about this particular position because it would put him near Renee, but in fairness to her, he didn’t want to make that decision without talking to her first. It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have over the phone. Storm damage at his dad’s old farm also meant his sister could use his help again. Despite the hit to his bank account for another expensive ticket, he arranged for time off from work to fly back. His superiors weren’t too happy with him, given the time he took when his dad died, but Matt insisted. If they ended up firing him, it would make the decision to move back that much easier.

  Renee was excited when Matt asked if he could come back for a visit.

  “Oh, Matt, it would be great to see you again! But are you sure you can get away?”

  “It isn’t a problem. I have work to do with my sister yet on Dad’s farm. Part of the roof ripped off our old barn during a thunderstorm last week . . . straight-line winds. And I want to see if there’s any more I can learn about what happened at your resort and to Julie at school. But this time I didn’t think it would be fair for me to drop in on you unannounced again.”

  “Well, the last time certainly was a fun way to reconnect,” Renee teased, “but this way I can be sure I have time to spend with you, too. We have lots going on. We need to raise our profile at the resort . . . build interest for our retreats. Julie came up with the idea to hold a Halloween open house.”

  “That sounds cool,” Matt said. “Something for kids?”

  “Sure. We’re going to advertise it as a family-friendly stop for parents when they take their kids trick-or-treating. We’ll keep a bonfire going, weather permitting, and open up the lodge so people can see the new facility. We’ll have a station to bob for apples, another for face painting, and, of course, candy and treats. Visitors can tour a cabin or two, as well. We’ll have brochures available advertising upcoming retreats. Maybe try a suggestion box, too, asking people for input on topics that might entice them enough to sign up for a retreat.”

  “You are busy
! Don’t worry, I won’t take you away from any of it. Let me help. I don’t want Grant getting all the credit for helping you get up and running. I want to earn some points, too.”

  “Why, Matt Blatso, are you a tiny bit jealous?”

  “Of course, I am! Why wouldn’t I be? That lucky son of a bitch gets to see you almost every day while I’m thousands of miles away.”

  “Aww, that is so cute.”

  “ ‘Cute,’ my ass. But seriously—I get in on October fifth. I’ll stop and see my sister quick, take care of that business, then rent a car to drive out to see you. I should get there on the seventh. Will that work for you?”

  “Absolutely—and if it doesn’t, I’ll make it work. Did you want to stay here at the duplex on the couch, or in Robbie’s room?”

  “Tell you what—while that’s a great offer, why don’t I rent a room in town? That way we might be able to have a little privacy if we can squeeze in a date night or two.”

  “Even better,” Renee said, feeling herself blushing like a schoolgirl. What was it about this guy that made her feel flustered and on edge? She was going to have to watch herself.

  Days leading up to Matt’s visit passed quickly. Julie still hadn’t remembered anything more than brief flashes of her attack, and it still wasn’t clear if those were true memories or her subconscious plucking from her nightmares. Campus police stopped checking in, probably concluding Julie might never remember what happened. Renee did insist Julie keep going to her weekly sessions with her doctor, in case it would help.

  Julie had a nice reprieve when Ben, one of the three young men that rented the vandalized cabin in late June, called and wanted to drive up to see her one weekend. They had kept in touch; he knew she was having a tough time since pulling out of school. He arrived on a Friday afternoon and planned to stay until Sunday. Renee was delighted when he agreed to stay with them. He would sleep on the couch—that way she could keep an eye on them; Julie wasn’t in any shape to get serious about anyone right now, and it was nice to help them avoid any temptations.