The Touch

by Lisa Olsen

  “Why? You knew where I was,” Lexi replied, still focused on the canvas.

  “Yeah, but that was six hours ago, Lex.”

  “It was?” Turning to the ancient clock radio on the shelf behind her, Lexi saw he was right; she’d been too caught up in her work to notice. It wasn’t that unusual of an occurrence when she picked up something new. Her stomach gave a loud rumble, corroborating the time of day. “No wonder I’m so hungry, is there any of that pasta left?”

  “Yeah, tons. What are you working on?” Paul came up behind her to study the work in progress.

  Some artists didn’t like anyone to see their work until it was completed, but Lexi wasn’t one of them. “This,” she stepped back to let him get a better view of it.

  “You just started this today?” he sounded impressed.

  “Yeah, what do you think?”

  “I think it’s amazing, who is she?”

  “I’m not really sure. I saw her when I was at Allie’s house. I think she used to live there a long time ago.”

  “Cool.” Paul moved to the discarded sketches, picking up the one she’d done just before starting on canvas. “I still think you should sell these too, they’re beautiful.”

  “Those? Nah, they’re just rough work to figure out how I want the painting to work,” Lexi shook her head.

  “I don’t care what you say, I think they’re fantastic. Can I have one of them?”

  “Sure, knock yourself out. In fact, feel free to go through the recycle bin for all the cast offs you want,” she grinned.

  “Maybe later,” he grinned back. “Right now, I think we need to get you washed up and some dinner in you before you pass out.”

  Lexi gave an inelegant snort at the notion of passing out, but she gathered up her brushes to set in the sink, her eyes resting on the half finished painting for a moment. “Paul, do you believe in ghosts?”

  “That’s a random segue, where did that come from?” Paul gave her a sidelong glance.

  “The painting reminded me of a weird thing that came up when I was visiting with Chloe. She said there were ghosts in the house.”

  “As in haunting, whooo, scary ghosts in white sheets?” his brows came up a fraction.

  “No, as in little kids; more than one of them. She said one was her friend but the others were mean and liked to play pranks on her. Also that they like to leave things for her under her bed. How creepy is that?”

  “Pretty creepy,” Paul agreed. “What did you say to her?”

  “What could I say? I’ve never seen a ghost before; I have no idea if it’s all her imagination. I stayed with her until she fell asleep and came home. But I did touch one of the things she pulled out from under her bed and that’s when I saw her,” Lexi gestured to the painting.

  “So, she could be a ghost there if she died in the house.”

  “Maybe, but Chloe didn’t say anything about adult ghosts, just children.”

  Paul stared at the painting, a skeptical look on his face. “I dunno, it’s all kinda weird, even for you.”

  Lexi elbowed him in the stomach. “Nice,” she groaned.

  “Come on, you go get cleaned up and I’ll fix you a big plate of pasta, a nice glass of wine and we’ll relax by the fire.”

  That almost sounded like a date, and her thoughts returned unbidden to a certain detective who she could almost picture smiling at her over the top of a glass of wine. Almost. Eh, he was probably a beer guy anyway. Wasn’t it some kind of law that all cops drank beer, ate pizza and hung out with other cops? Recognizing the sour grapes, she forced her attention back to the offer of good food and company from her long time friend. He wasn’t offering a romantic type dinner for two was he? “Isn’t Maddie joining us?”

  A faint smile touched his lips. “Oh yeah, well I meant Maddie too, naturally.”

  “Naturally,” Lexi nodded.

  Taking hold of her elbow, Paul steered her to the door. “Come on, your masterpiece can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Whoever she is,” Lexi murmured, snapping off the lights.

  ***

  The next morning Lexi was back in the garage at work on the painting again, stopping only for a quick bowl of reheated pasta mid-afternoon. Early evening she was interrupted by a light tap at the door.

  “Your sister’s on the phone,” Maddie called through the door. “She sounds kinda freaked out.”

  Guilt flushed through her and Lexi caught up a towel to wipe off her hands. Out in her studio she rarely wore gloves since she was the only person to regularly handle things. “Allie, I’m sorry I didn’t call you yesterday, I didn’t find anything useful at Neil’s office…” she apologized, resting the handset between ear and shoulder.

  “No, that’s not why I’m calling,” Allison’s voice was edged with panic. “Lexi you’ve got to get over here right now, the police are on their way.”

  That brought her up short. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Chloe, she’s disappeared…”

  Chapter Five

  There were more cars in the driveway this time when she got to Allie’s house. In addition to Gabriel’s Towncar, there was a red Dodge Charger and a regular black and white police car next to her sister’s white Volvo. No one stopped her from approaching the front door though, and she let herself in without knocking. “Allie?”

  Almost immediately her path was blocked by a plain clothes policeman, his badge visible on his belt the way Gabriel wore his. Closer to her age, he was good looking with blonde hair and blue eyes. Clean cut, but there was a sarcastic tilt to his smile that one didn’t normally associate with ‘cop’. “Whoa, where did you come from?” he asked, hands up to block her view into the living room.

  “Allie called me, I came right over.”

  “How did you even get in here?” he looked over her shoulder through the sidelight window.

  “Well, it’s not like you guys are running crackerjack security or anything, I just walked right in.” She’d been hoping to see Gabriel, but apparently she had to run the gauntlet before she’d be given admittance.

  His eyes lit upon her gloved hands and widened slightly in response. “Oh, you’re the sister.”

  “I see my reputation precedes me,” she gave a tight smile. Of course Ryan would have mentioned her, why was she even surprised? Idly she wondered what made it into his report… “I’m Lexi, and you are?” she offered her hand, trying to play nice.

  “Detective Tim Cooper.” He took her hand with an appraising smile and Lexi got the feeling he was checking her out more than was strictly necessary. “Well, I guess we can all pack up and go home now, no need for us detectives with you on the case, right?” he smirked.

  Lexi let go of his hand. So, that was how it was gonna be, was it? “Might as well. It’s not like you guys got anywhere when Neil disappeared,” she replied tartly. “Do you mind if I go see my sister now?”

  “Ouch… Ryan was right about you, you’re feisty,” he chuckled, stepping out of the way. “Be my guest.”

  So she was feisty, was she? Again Lexi wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Stepping past the younger detective, she spotted Allison on the couch, twisting a tissue into tiny shreds as she talked to Gabriel quietly. “Allie, I came as quick as I could, how are you holding up?”

  “Oh good, good you’re here,” Allison clung to her in a hug the moment Lexi sat down. “You’ve got to help me find her Lexi; I don’t know what else to do.”

  “I’ll do everything I can,” Lexi promised, barely sparing a nod for Detective Ryan. “How long has she been gone? When’s the last time you saw her?”

  “Hey, who’s running this investigation, you or me?” Gabriel interrupted; a trace of annoyance visible on his face.

  “That all depends, are you guys gonna do something this time?” Lexi retorted, instantly regretting it as soon as the words left her mouth. She wasn’t helping anything by jumping down his throat. “I’m sorry, please go ahead,” she added softly, sitting deeper on th
e couch.

  Detective Cooper took a position against the wall behind Ryan, the look of vague amusement still playing on his features. Something about it irked Lexi. Whether he found her amusing or not, shouldn’t he at least pretend to care that a little girl was missing?

  Gabriel took control of the conversation again, addressing Allison directly. “When did you first notice she was gone?”

  “Well, I was about to start dinner and I wanted to ask her if she wanted spaghetti or mac and cheese, but she didn’t answer when I called up the stairs. That’s when I realized that she’d been really quiet for the past hour and I went up to check on her. Chloe wasn’t in her room, so I thought she was in the bathroom maybe,” Allie’s voice started to quaver. “But she wasn’t there, or outside, or anywhere. I just… I panicked, I started yelling for her but she was gone.”

  Lexi reached for her sister’s hand, giving it a squeeze. It was hard to imagine what that panic must feel like. She was having a hard time sitting still, the urge to get up and look for her either in the house or the surrounding woods was strong, but Lexi forced herself to listen, knowing it wouldn’t do anybody any good if she went running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

  Ryan waited for Allie to recover for a moment before pressing on. “Do you remember what she was wearing?”

  “Uh… yeah. She had on a bright green t-shirt with one of her cartoon characters on it and jeans.”

  “Do you remember which cartoon character it is? Was her hair up or down?”

  “Down I think, yes, down. I don’t know the name of the cartoon, it’s a little robot dog, I could probably find out from one of her DVD’s.”

  “It’s Gir from Invader Zim,” Lexi volunteered. “It’s a robot in a dog suit.”

  “A robot in a dog suit? That’s… odd,” Ryan frowned.

  “Yeah, well it’s an odd show,” she agreed. “I can show you a picture of it later if you want, I think I know which t-shirt she’s talking about.”

  “I know what it looks like,” Cooper volunteered. “You’ll have to excuse the older guy sometimes; he’s a little out of touch.”

  Gabriel didn’t react to the dig, so Lexi ignored it as well. “What kind of mood was she in when you last talked to her? Did she seem bothered about anything? Preoccupied?”

  Allison’s face crumpled for a moment before she pulled herself together. “We ah, actually I yelled at her for not cleaning her room like she was supposed to last night. She was supposed to stay up in her room until it was all finished.”

  “Aw Allie, that has nothing to do with why she’s gone,” Lexi squeezed her hand again, knowing exactly what was running through her sister’s head.

  “Was that a common occurrence between the two of you?”

  “I suppose, I mean you know how kids are. You ask them to do something, they give it a half hearted attempt and you ask them to do it again. It’s a cycle, but it’s not like we fought all the time.”

  Gabriel nodded, moving on. “Has she ever talked about running away before or suicide?”

  “Suicide?” Allison gasped; obviously the thought had never entered her mind.

  “What kind of question is that?” Lexi demanded.

  Ryan’s lips pressed together for a moment and then he tried again in a more conciliatory tone. “I’m not saying she ever has, we just have to cover all the bases. So is that a no then?”

  “Yes, I mean no, she never talked about running away or anything,” Allie replied, sounding more and more withdrawn.

  “What places does she like to hang around at in the neighborhood? Is there a nearby store she likes to go to, or any friend’s houses within walking distance?”

  “No, she’s not allowed to walk anywhere by herself, especially not this close to dark.”

  “Okay, but if she was breaking the rules and snuck out, where do you think she’d go?” he pressed.

  Another shake of the head was given. “Chloe doesn’t have any friends on this road; most of them live a little closer to the school.” Branciforte drive was a long, winding road with houses set among the trees at the end of private driveways; it wasn’t the sort of place where kids played hopscotch in the street together.

  Gabriel made another notation in his notebook. “Again, I’m gonna ask you these questions not because I think they have any specific bearing on this case, but because they need asking,” he prefaced his next question and Lexi gave Allison another supportive pat. “Does Chloe use drugs or alcohol?”

  “She’s only ten years old!” Allison gasped.

  “You’d be surprised how young some kids start,” Lexi gave the detective a small vote of support. It wasn’t that uncommon to run into kids who’d obviously been drinking or getting stoned around the Pacific Garden Mall. “But I don’t think Chloe was ever on anything, and I would know; I’m the cool Aunt, not the mom.”

  “Does she have a boyfriend she might have been having problems with?”

  “Or a girlfriend,” Cooper supplied from his place against the wall, earning him a dirty look from Ryan when Allie blanched again.

  “No, she doesn’t.”

  “She’s never mentioned anyone special to me either, and no problems,” Lexi added.

  “Are there any… family problems that are affecting her lately?” Gabriel asked and Lexi met his gaze, hearing the unspoken question. Did Chloe know her parents were having marital problems or even about the affair?

  “No, nothing.”

  “Nothing at all?” he pressed, but she just shook her head. He went on then, asking if she’d ever run away before, who would she confide in if there was a problem, what type of people she associated with, had there been any suspicious characters in the area, how much did she use the internet? It seemed like the more questions Gabriel asked, the more remote Allison became in her answers, giving only single word responses.

  “Has she been displaying any unusual behaviors or problems lately?” Lexi’s head came up at that; wondering if the talk about ghosts would apply, but again Allison shook her head, no.

  “What do you think happened to her?” he asked finally.

  “I think it’s pretty obvious now where she’s gone, we just have to figure out how to catch up to him and get her back. At least Neil’s still in the area, or was as of a couple of hours ago. That should make it quicker to find him, shouldn’t it?”

  “Yes ma’am, if he’s still driving his own car around here we’ll pick him up sooner or later,” Cooper replied. “I’ve already got a BOLO out on him.”

  “Detective Cooper, why don’t you take Ms. Travers and get a list of all of Chloe’s friends and her usual schedule? And see if you can get an ETA on the photographer, I’d like to get some shots of the house before we lose all the light.”

  “Sure thing,” Tim nodded. “Ms. Travers, do you have those things handy?”

  “I have all of their contact info in my address book, that’s in Neil’s study,” Allie nodded, rising from the couch, looking a little better now that she had something to do. Cooper followed her out, behaving politely for the moment.

  “I’d like to go up to Chloe’s room and take a look around,” Lexi rose, but Ryan called her back.

  “Miss Morgan, if you don’t mind I have a few questions for you as well.”

  A long sigh left her lips, hadn’t he asked enough questions? “Fine. If you don’t mind that I have some for you too,” she relented, sitting back down.

  “I get first dibs on the questions though, I’m the one running this investigation, remember?” He gave her that charming smile that almost made her forget she was annoyed with him.

  Almost.

  “I’m not the one having trouble remembering things,” she muttered.

  “Beg your pardon?” Gabriel asked; a bewildered look on his face.

  “My name is Lexi, or did you forget our little adventure together?” Maybe it was a petty thing to harp on, but every time he called her Miss Morgan, she wanted to scream. Just the day before they’
d been on a first name basis, until she’d told him about her hands.

  “I remember that day perfectly.”

  “And you think I’m nuts.”

  “No, I don’t think you’re nuts…” his head canted to one side as if trying to figure out why she was being so prickly and she gave up in the face of his confusion.

  “Whatever. Look, I just want to find Chloe okay? The sooner we get through your questions the sooner I can go up and look through her things, right?”

  “That’s all I want too,” he replied earnestly. “It’s obvious that Allison wants you to be a part of this investigation, so let’s try to cooperate. That sound good to you?”

  “Yeah,” Lexi replied, slightly mollified by his proposal. After all, he could have ignored her and gone about his business, he didn’t have to include her at all. “Okay, shoot.”

  “I got most of the basics from Allie already, but you know kids don’t always tell their mothers everything.”

  Lexi nodded, “That’s true, but she’s a pretty good kid.”

  “And I’m not saying that she’s not,” his hands came up in a supplicating gesture that brought a faint smile to her lips. “How much do you know about the time she spends on the internet?”

  “The only computer they have in the house is in Neil’s office, she has to ask permission to use it, so it’s pretty limited. She’s not the type to be on there IMing God knows who at all hours of the night.”

  “You seem to know her pretty well, if she was scared or intimidated, what do you think she might likely do? Is she the type to run or hide? Would she stand her ground and fight back?”

  “That’s an interesting question,” Lexi allowed. “She’s a pretty gutsy little girl, but it’s hard to say. Nothing really terrible has ever happened to her before as far as I know. If it really was some predator that took her… I think she might huddle up small and bide her time for a chance to escape if it looked like she couldn’t get away at first. Is that what you think happened to her? Aren’t we overlooking the whole Neil angle?”

  “We’re trying not to overlook any angle right now, Lexi. I agree, it’s probably Neil that’s got her, but it’s still important to cover all the bases. When was the last time you saw her?”