B07D56N64C (F)

by Katlyn Duncan

  Ideas flew through her mind, and she could barely hold a smile.

  Today wasn’t the day to get in his way again. She’d give him some time to figure out the case while she worked on her own ideas.

  Missy texted Rose a little after nine o’clock that night, wanting to stop over. She was surprised to hear from her friend since The Siren stayed open later during the seasonal months. The longer hours were just a part of living in a place like The Burrow. But they had extra staff over the summer months so that Missy didn’t go too insane.

  In a way, Rose looked forward to this season more than she normally did. There would be a lot of distractions to keep her mind off Pearl and Reen. While she didn’t worry about Reen much, her sister crawled into her thoughts again, especially after Pearl mentioned her by name, well at least her full name. Syrene was a name that Mom had read in one of her fantasy novels years before she gave birth to Reen, and she’d said the name always stuck. As a child, Rose had asked about the title of the book since she’d wanted to get it for Reen as a birthday present, but Mom had forgotten, and Rose’s search ended empty-handed.

  Reen had always been her nickname, at least from the time she started to talk. She never got the S’s right, and Mom and Dad thought it was adorable enough to stick.

  Which was why Rose thought it was odd that Mom referred to Reen in that way when her memory had briefly resurfaced. She must have been digging into some deeper memories, at least twenty years, to get to that name.

  By the time Missy arrived at Rose’s apartment, Rose had a bottle of wine breathing on the kitchen table.

  ‘How many more days until tourist season ends?’ Missy asked as she grabbed an empty wineglass.

  Rose snorted. ‘Do you want me to answer that?’

  ‘No.’ Missy lifted the baseball cap off her head and tossed it onto the table. She grabbed the elastic at the end of her ponytail and pulled, releasing her wavy blonde hair. ‘God, that feels good.’

  ‘Let’s sit on the balcony tonight,’ Rose said, grabbing the bottle, and heading into the living room.

  The ‘balcony’ fit no more than two chairs and the smallest of tables, though it was big enough for a comfortable evening with her best friend.

  ‘You want to talk about it?’ Rose asked while filling the two glasses.

  ‘Not really,’ Missy said, taking a long sip. ‘It’s the same old bullshit. Oh, did I tell you that Brody is picking up extra shifts at Karl’s place?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Exactly,’ Missy said, shaking her head.

  ‘What does that mean for you? Do you need to find an extra cook?’

  Missy shrugged. ‘He says he can pull it off without sacrificing. Apparently, he bought a boat.’

  ‘A boat?’

  ‘I think he’s trying to impress some girl.’

  ‘Who?’ Brody hadn’t dated a girl in town since Reen. Rose tried not to think about that too much.

  ‘Who knows. Some tourist. This season is his hunting ground. I’ve stopped learning their names.’

  ‘Well, he better not screw you over. I might have to kick his ass.’

  ‘You’ll have to get in line,’ Missy said, polishing off the rest of the wine in her glass. She poured a second one while Rose had barely sipped from her first. It was a good thing she had a decent stock in her small pantry.

  ‘Anyway,’ Missy said, settling back in her chair, and lifting her feet to rest on the railing. ‘How was your day off?’

  This was her chance to bare it all for her best friend. She needed her help, and Missy valued honesty above everything else. ‘So, remember that girl I saw jump off the pier?’

  Missy turned in her seat to face Rose. ‘Shit. How are you dealing with all of that?’

  ‘I’m okay,’ Rose said quickly.

  ‘Do you need to talk to someone?’

  Rose sighed. ‘No.’ She wasn’t ever going back to therapy again, not after the sessions she’d had after her father died. They were too much, too soon, and had made her issues worse.

  ‘You did something didn’t you?’ The way Missy’s eyebrows drew together alerted Rose that she better tell her everything or else she was going to get a set of rapid-fire questions and lose control of the conversation.

  ‘Nothing bad. Since it happened, I’ve had this urge to know more about her. I asked about her around town. No one else remembered or saw her, well, except for me.’

  ‘That’s a little odd.’

  ‘I know, right? Things – people – don’t go undiscovered in this place.’

  ‘I’m guessing that’s not where your story ends?’

  Rose sat up straighter, feeling a wash of tingles ripple up her arms. ‘I went back to the pier and found a pair of shoes.’

  ‘Hers?’

  ‘I think she left them there. Shane wants to look into it further.’

  ‘Shane? The new cop?’

  The darkness around them covered the flush in Rose’s cheeks. Missy had been trying to set Rose up for a while, and any mention of someone attractive and around her age provoked a line of questioning that she didn’t have time for tonight.

  ‘Yes, the new cop. He saw me asking around and confronted me about interfering.’

  ‘Are you interfering?’

  ‘That’s not the point.’

  ‘Isn’t it?’

  ‘So, back to the shoes,’ Rose said.

  ‘What about the shoes? Didn’t you say she left them there?’

  ‘They were mine.’

  Missy placed her glass down on the table and leaned forward. ‘Explain.’

  ‘Remember when we were fifteen and we thought we wanted to go into fashion design? And we bought those white canvas shoes and those rhinestones?’

  ‘Those shoes?’ Missy groaned. ‘Oh God, they were awful. Well, mine were. I tossed them as soon as they didn’t fit anymore. Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be. I shoved mine in the back of my closet for years.’

  ‘What does that have to do with the pier?’

  ‘The rose shoes, well, they were at the pier.’

  ‘You’re shitting me. How?’

  ‘First of all, Shane is staying at my old place –’

  ‘We’re going to come back to that in a minute.’

  Rose eyed her friend. ‘I figured that. But he thinks she broke in and took them.’

  ‘Why?’

  Rose shrugged. ‘When I tried to ask about it, he clammed up. He drove me back to my car and left me there.’

  ‘Well, he probably wanted to check it out. You can’t fault him for that.’

  Rose reached for the bottle, filling both glasses. The effects of the wine relaxed her shoulders, but her plan still rolled around in her head.

  ‘I know,’ Rose said. ‘Which is why I wanted to celebrate his arrival.’

  Missy raised an eyebrow.

  Noting Missy’s interest, Rose lifted a finger to her friend. ‘Not romantically.’

  Missy put up a hand. ‘I said nothing.’

  ‘I know what you’re thinking.’

  ‘What are you thinking? You must already have a plan.’

  ‘I want him to like it here,’ she said. ‘Connect with the locals. I was thinking a sort of welcoming party.’

  ‘You want to throw him a party?’

  ‘It is a tradition. I don’t know why Patrick hasn’t done it already.’ Patrick was usually in charge of such things. Maybe with his retirement, he hadn’t had the time?

  Though, Rose had a feeling that if Shane had any idea that Patrick wanted to plan a party for him, he would have squashed the idea the second it came from the chief’s mouth.

  ‘I thought we could do it at The Siren,’ Rose said.

  ‘If I weren’t your best friend, I’d say you were using me.’

  ‘You’re helping me. Big difference.’

  Missy swirled her glass and the small amount of burgundy liquid inside. ‘It’s not a bad idea. But…’

  ‘But what?’

  �
�This isn’t a charity,’ she said. ‘Cash bar and I can provide some appetizers, but if people want to order food, that’s on them.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

  ‘All right, done. Can you round up some interest? Maybe call Patrick and see how he’s done it in the past?’

  A mental to-do list formed in Rose’s mind, fueled by the excitement of getting Missy on board.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, Rose moved around her apartment at a snail’s pace. Even though she had a little twinge in her head from the two bottles of wine she and Missy shared, that wasn’t what kept her awake for most of the night. The girl’s face and the watery depths filled her dreams. She woke in a sweat for the second night in a row. She hoped that finding the girl would end the cycle or else she saw a bleak and sleepless future.

  Missy scheduled Rose to work the evening shift at The Siren. After closing, she and Missy were going to put together the final preparations for Shane’s welcoming party.

  When Rose had called into the precinct that morning, it barely took two minutes to convince Patrick to get on board with the plan.

  ‘He’s a stellar officer, but he needs to realize we’re not anything like the City,’ Patrick had said.

  ‘You always plan the best parties. I was hoping for some advice.’ A little flattery never hurt.

  ‘Well, I’m happy to oblige.’

  She was going to miss him once he retired. There was no pretense when it came to Patrick; he was what he showed to the world. Rose took copious notes about the places that he’d used around town for various soirees.

  ‘Are you going to let him know about the party, or should I?’

  ‘I’ll let him know,’ Patrick said. ‘But I don’t have much time for the details. I’m sure you can handle them.’

  She clicked the top of her pen over and over as her nerves grew. There was a lot to carry out in little time, but when the town came together, miracles happened. She’d seen it firsthand several years ago when a storm destroyed little Sally Drewe’s outdoor birthday party. But everyone came together and celebrated in the crowded hall under St. Cecilia’s Church. People had scraped the crepe decorations off the nearby houses and buildings for weeks. This situation wasn’t a disaster, but the coming together part always happened on its own.

  By eleven, she’d checked most of the items off her list. She was earlier than she expected and could spend more time with Pearl before heading to work around two.

  After opening the windows and feeling the delicious warm air circulating through her apartment, she took her time getting ready.

  While showering, she thought of Shane and imagined the look on his face when he saw how much effort she and the other townies went through to welcome him. He’d thank her by including her in the case about the long-haired girl. At least, that was her goal. She’d get there eventually, and after the perfect ice-breaker, she’d be one step closer.

  The weekend was supposed to be unseasonably warm, which was perfectly fine with Rose. Since it was a little later in the morning, she wanted to take Pearl onto the grounds to sit and chat. Hopefully, Pearl would have shaken loose some memory of Rose in the short time they were apart. Or at the very least, the ocean might help.

  Tina greeted her at the desk. ‘Good morning, Rose. How are you today?’

  ‘Great,’ she said. ‘Are you coming to The Siren tomorrow?’

  ‘I wouldn’t miss it. I’ve heard a lot of things about the new chief, and I want to make my own observations.’

  In the time between speaking to Patrick and arriving at the Whinding House, he must have worked his network and spread the news about the party.

  ‘He’s nice,’ Rose said. She wasn’t lying as she’d seen a good part of him. He had a thick shell, but Rose was ready with a chisel and hammer. The party would be her first crack.

  ‘I look forward to it,’ Tina said. ‘It will be nice to see everyone. I’ve barely left this desk for weeks. It would be good to have more help around here.’

  ‘Do you need people?’ Rose asked. ‘I don’t have much experience, but I could volunteer some hours?’

  Tina smiled. ‘While that sounds nice, you have plenty on your plate right now. But I’ll keep you in mind.’

  ‘Don’t hesitate to ask.’ Rose signed the logbook and then headed over to the doors. The familiar click of the lock spiked something inside of her.

  Today is going to be a good day for Pearl. She knew it, deep down in her bones.

  Peering into Pearl’s room, she saw both sets of sheets were rumpled and the beds empty. Either a current resident had moved in with Pearl, or they’d admitted another person. Curiosity pulled her into the main room.

  Katrina, one of the older nurses, nodded at Rose as she wheeled Bruce over to the window. Today she had a purple stripe of hair streaked down her short ponytail. Her granddaughter had enrolled at a local cosmetology school and enjoyed using her as a test subject for her future hair stylist career. ‘Pearl is with the garden group today.’

  ‘How is she?’ Rose asked.

  It had been a sliding scale over the last year; Rose would have been happy if Pearl smiled or even knew her name.

  ‘The sunshine and fresh air will be good for her,’ Katrina said.

  It wasn’t much of an answer, but no one had answers in a place like this. Rose shoved away the thinly veiled negative comment to the back of her mind and headed over to the metal doors at the end of the hallway. Pressing the same code from the other door, she pushed through.

  The sunshine warmed her face, and she inhaled slowly. What was on Pearl’s mind when she came outside? Did she think she was back at their home by the ocean? Or did she think she was at her childhood home? Or a completely made-up place? Wherever her mind told her she was, Rose hoped that she was happy.

  A dozen or so residents milled around the gardens. Most of them were unaccompanied, so she knew that they were from the main house.

  Rose spotted Jessie in the mix. Once Jessie saw her, she waved her over. ‘Rose. I’m so happy to see you,’ Jessie said as an unfamiliar woman tugged at Jessie’s sleeve. ‘One moment, Mrs. Gillette.’

  That must be the new resident sharing a room with Pearl. But she didn’t see Pearl anywhere in the small group huddled near the back of the gardens near the fence.

  Jessie lifted on her toes, glancing at each of the residents. ‘Pearl was right here a minute ago.’

  A stinging ache rippled through Rose’s chest as she sucked in a breath. She whipped around, not seeing Pearl anywhere.

  Jessie came to her side and frantically chewed on her lower lip.

  ‘Where is she?’ Rose choked out.

  ‘She was right here.’

  That wasn’t the response Rose wanted.

  Jessie rushed over to another CNA and spoke close to the woman’s ear. The woman’s eyes widened, and she grabbed her phone, dialing a number on the screen.

  ‘Where is Pearl?’ Rose asked again.

  ‘Rose, we’re –’

  Rose barely heard the rest of what Jessie had to say. A whooshing sound filled her ears, and a sour taste flooded her mouth. The only thing saving her sanity was the fence around the property. Pearl couldn’t have gotten far. Where was she?

  Her gaze fell on the chain-linked fence near the chairs they’d sat on the other day. Rose knew she was getting closer but could barely feel her legs. It was as if someone had attached invisible threads to her limbs and was moving her faster and faster like a dancing marionette. The bottom part of the fence curled upward, the sharp edges no longer caressing the grass, but lifting toward the sky.

  ‘Over here!’ someone called. Rose could have sworn she said it. Or maybe she thought it. All she knew was that there was someone on the beach in the distance. Someone with long, gray hair whipping around her.

  Rose’s entire body seized, and the world disappeared. Darkness filled her vision, tunneling on her mother so close to the water.

  Rose cupped her
hands around her mouth and called out for Pearl.

  Before the last syllable rang in her ears, she ducked under the fence. One of the links caught on her shirt and ripped as she pushed through the small escape route that somehow Pearl had found in whatever time the nurses weren’t watching her.

  There was a slight drop from the grassy area to the thin slice of beach before the ocean. Rose was surprised that Pearl was still standing after getting down there.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off her Mom. Pearl’s feet were in the surf and getting closer to the water by the second. She could barely walk down the hallway without aid; she wouldn’t be able to swim. The surf would take her right under – God, Rose couldn’t even think about that.

  ‘Stop!’ she cried out, but the word cut off in her throat.

  The entire world blurred around her as Pearl came into focus. The closer she got, the more Rose’s heart throbbed in her chest. The earlier energy that moved her forward disappeared in seconds.

  The girl’s face flickered in her mind as the water washed over her again, dulling her senses.

  She slammed into the present. ‘Come over here, Pearl,’ Rose shouted over the waves. Her feet sunk into the sand, but it was better than the sea swallowing her up.

  Pearl turned to face Rose. A smile painted her lips, and her eyes were wide and no longer glossy.

  Streaks of tears rolled down Rose’s cheeks. ‘Mom, please.’

  Pearl turned back to the ocean and started toward it. The water reached over her ankles.

  Rose choked out a sob. ‘Mom.’

  Two people rushed past her in a blur, grabbing on to Pearl’s arms and leading her away from the water.

  Rose whooshed out a breath as she struggled to keep her stomach from losing it all over the beach.