Her Sister (Search For Love series) (15 page)

Clare
slipped a tape recorder out of her purse.  "My parents asked me to record
our conversation, if you don't mind.  Is that okay with you?"

Doubts
seemed to flit over Amy's face.  But then she nodded.  "It's okay.  I
understand.   Detective Grove told me why they can't be here.  I'm sorry your
daughter ran away."

Clare
swallowed hard, knowing she had to get on with this.  She switched on the
recorder.

"So
you drove here yourself?" she asked, still unclear about some details.

"I
did.  My parents..."  Amy hesitated, then went on.  "My adoptive
parents wanted to come, too.  But I needed to come here fresh without my
present life weighing me down.  Do you know what I mean?"

Clare
sort of got that.  "You were afraid you might not remember as well if you
had your parents' feelings to content with?"

"Exactly."

"So
did driving here...being here...wake up any memories?"

Amy
looked disappointed when she said, "No.  None.  Not a hint of anything. 
Before I left, I talked to my counselor.  I've had one ever since my parents
adopted me.  She said not to expect anything....just to come into the situation
and experience it."

"You
said you've been seeing a counselor since you've been adopted.  Can I ask why? 
Was it because of the adoption or more?  I'm sorry if I have to ask tough
questions, but that's what I'm here to do."

Amy
shrugged as if this wasn't the most difficult thing she'd had to do...as if
this was a conversation with simply...anyone.  "I know that.  And I
thought this whole thing would affect me more.  But it isn't.  In some ways, I
feel like an observer...just hearing about somebody else.  If I'm Lynnie, I
have no inkling of her.  I have no memory of what happened before I was adopted. 
I didn't even
know
I was kidnapped.  And I don't have any memories of
abuse...if it happened to me.  The doctors think it did.  There were
signs."

Clare
poured powdered cream into her coffee, added a packet of sugar and took a
breath.  Unbidden memories of her and her sister replayed as if they'd happened
yesterday—she and Lynnie playing on swings in the park, she and Lynnie playing
tag in the yard, she and Lynnie sitting on the beach.  The summer they'd moved
into the big house in Pine Hill, her dad had driven them to the beach for an
overnight getaway.  Lynnie had been afraid of the waves at first.  But she'd
finally giggled when the water crept up and tickled her toes.  She and Lynnie
had built sand castles.  And she'd whispered to Lynnie that she wanted to stay
at the beach forever.

Forever.

She
studied Amy and said, "I'm so sorry for whatever happened to you.  I was
the big sister.  I was supposed to watch out for you.  I was supposed to keep
you safe."

Amy
shook her head and her voice was a bit distant as she advised, "Don't do
that to yourself.  I've had enough counseling to know there's no point to it. 
Your guilt doesn't affect me.  Your guilt won't help me and it certainly won't
help you.  Whatever happened, happened, and it's done.  Done, Clare."

Amy's
conclusion made Clare a bit angry.  Losing Lynnie would never be done.  Not for
her parents and not for her.  Couldn't Amy see that?

But
Amy's traumatic amnesia...or whatever it was...had blanked out the bad.

Amy
must have suspected some of what Clare was feeling because she added,
"When I was little, after my parents adopted me,  I did have some
nightmares.  There was a monster with a beard.  But it was just a shadowy
figure.  The more my adopted parents loved me, the more those vague visions
faded.  They altogether disappeared.  I've had a happy life with wonderful
parents.  And I know your life has been affected terribly by what happened, but
I can't take that on as my burden."

Sitting
back in her chair, Clare just stared at Amy.  She couldn't take it on as her
burden?  How righteous that sounded!  How arrogant.  How true.  They sounded
like words coming from a counselor.  And maybe all that counseling had become
Amy's own.  This meeting wasn't anything like Clare expected.  Had she thought
when she saw her sister again, she'd automatically know her?  Talking to this
woman was like talking to a stranger.

An
understanding of what was happening dawned on Clare like a heavy weight.  At
this moment, she realized something her parents were going to have to realize,
too.  Whether this Amy was or wasn't her sister, they'd lost Lynnie...forever.

****

The
Zuni Natural Gem Shop was fascinating.  Like any woman, Amanda appreciated
pretty things, especially natural stones and gems.  From turquoise to agate to
jasper, to garnet and amethyst, this shop had it all.  She and Gillian and Max
stepped inside not knowing what to expect.  But what they found were glass
cases filled with anything a jewelry maker—from the amateur to the
professional—might desire.  They were early, arriving just before the shop
first opened at eleven a.m.  They had been to two other shops without any
success, but the name of this one encouraged Amanda to be hopeful.

There
was a blonde behind the counter.  Amanda surmised she was around college age. 
Her hair was long and straight, her earrings double-beaded hoops that dangled. 
She wore a ring on every finger and her nose was pierced.  Amanda smiled at her
after they entered and the buzzer sounded.  She imagined the security on this
place was state of the art.

 
Amanda and Gillian started ooh-ing and aah-ing over the beads in the cases
while Max wandered about.  As in the other two stores, they had decided to play
this casually.  Amanda knew Max was restraining himself.  He had a tendency to
come on too strong and was holding back now so whoever they approached wouldn't
clam up.

After
Gillian asked to see a strand of picture jasper, the clerk, who had a name tag
that said Ruby, unlocked the case and took out the string with its varied
shades of brown and rust, gold and black.

"These
stones would make a beautiful necklace," Gillian said.

"Yes,
they would.  A necklace of those would go with most anything casual."  She
smiled at the clerk.  "Do you make jewelry?"

"No,
I just wear it," she responded with a small laugh.

"I'm
thinking about buying some special beads for my granddaughter.  She might have
been in recently."  Amanda took out her phone and, like a proud
grandmother, showed the clerk the picture.  "That's Shara.  Isn't she
gorgeous?  She loves turquoise and loves to make jewelry.  So I thought I'd
find her something nice for her birthday."

Amanda
watched for recognition in the clerk's eyes...and she saw it!

"She
was in here yesterday," Ruby offered.  "I worked the
afternoon-to-evening shift.  She didn't buy anything, but her friend did. 
She's in here a lot because she sells her stuff."

"You
know, Shara's told me about her."  Knowing a little about jewelry-making
from clients who came into Yesteryear, she adlibbed, "I think she sells at
the flea market and craft fairs."

Ruby
pointed to a wall where about fifty business cards were pinned. 
"Courtney's card is up there with her cell number.  She takes orders,
too."

As if
the information didn't matter at all, Amanda strolled over to the board.  Her
gaze scanned the cards until they fell on the one—the only one—with the first
name of Courtney.  "I'll add her number to my contact list in my phone and
then I'll have it."  Amanda did it quickly.  Then she suddenly felt a
presence by her side.

Max
leaned close to her.  "You're doing a great job."

"So
are you," she murmured back.  "Low key isn't usually your bag."

"You
were right about how to play this.  Let's see what else we can find out." 
Max dropped his arm around Amanda's shoulders and walked her back to the case. 
"So take your pick.  Buy something for yourself and Shara...and Clare,
too.  Clare's our daughter," he said with a benign smile for Ruby.

"They're
lucky to have parents and grandparents like you.  Mine wouldn't think of buying
me something like this."

Gillian
made small talk with Ruby about her bracelets and rings while Amanda studied
the case.  She chose a strand of green turquoise in oblong shapes, along with a
string of corral.  In another case she found a strand of amethyst while Gillian
selected rose quartz.

Max
looked on as if he was interested...as if he cared, saying off-handedly,
"Shara just met Courtney not so long ago.  She said something about going
over to her place today.  Do you know if she lives around here?"

Ruby
suddenly looked at Max differently.  "Why would you want to know
that?"

He
shrugged.  "You know how it is with kids running in crowds.  We try to
keep a close eye on Shara.  We want to make sure her friends are good for
her."

The
wariness left Ruby's eyes.  "Now you do sound like my parents.  I don't
know Courtney well.  She just comes in here a lot.  She's real nice.  Buys a
lot of silver, too."  Ruby pointed to the sterling beads in cases along
the back of the store.

"I
really should get some of those, too, honey," Amanda said.

Max
groaned.  "I shouldn't have brought it up!"

Ruby
laughed, then she looked up at Max.  "Courtney lives with a couple of
girls.  They're all older than your granddaughter."

He
nodded seriously.  "Yeah, I'm a little concerned about that."

Amanda
admired the way her ex-husband was playing this.  He was showing more finesse
now than he ever had.  She was so proud of him she could burst.

Their
gazes met and she remembered explicitly how they'd made love...how they'd
fallen back in time...how their attraction had seemed new again.

Fifteen
minutes later, they'd taken their purchases and investment in information and
returned to the SUV.  Once inside the vehicle, Gillian said to Amanda,
"Give me the number.  I'll text it to Jake and he can see what he can find
out.  Why don't we have some lunch.  I know you two probably don't want to eat,
but we don't know what's going to happen next, and it's best to be fortified
for whatever comes.  Did you think about what you're going to do if you find
Shara and she doesn't want to go home with you?"

"We'll
convince her that she has to."  His voice was determined and Amanda had
the feeling that he'd pick up Shara and kidnap her if he needed to.  Max
wouldn't let anything bad happen to his granddaughter if he could help it.

A half
hour later, Amanda sat staring at her food at a deli near Old Town.  They'd
come to this part of Albuquerque thinking they could walk around while Jake
investigated...while Amanda waited for Clare's phone call after her meeting
with...Amy.  Waiting.  It seemed as if Amanda had spent her whole life waiting.

She was
trying to chew a slice of pickle when her cell phone beeped.  Max's gaze was
filled with the same anxiety she was feeling as she fished the phone out of her
purse and switched it on.  She couldn't put it on SPEAKER in here, so she just
answered the call.  "How did it go?"

"You
have to talk to her, Mom. I can't do this by myself."

Clare
sounded so upset as if there were a multitude of reasons why.  "Tell me
what happened.  Is she there with you now?"

"Oh,
no.  I left because...  I left because—  Mom, you and Dad have to talk to her. 
She said she was staying the night yet and that was it.  Let me give you her room
number."

Amanda
found a small notebook she kept in her purse and Max handed her a pen as if he
knew what she needed.  Maybe he'd always known what she'd needed but just
didn't understand how to give it.  She jotted down the information Clare gave
her.  Her daughter's voice was less shaky now.

"What
about Shara?" Clare asked.  "Have you found her?"

There
was desperate hope in her voice and Amanda knew that quality all too well.  "We
found someone who's seen her in a bead shop.  We have the cell number of the
woman she's with, and Gillian's partner is getting an address so we have
somewhere to go to.

"I
should fly out there."

"No,
Clare.  Listen to me.  We don't know what Shara is into, and we're afraid it's
nothing good.  There's no point that you're in danger, too.  Just stay there
and wait."

"But
she's my daughter."

"I
know."

Silence
on the other end told Amanda that Clare was thinking about all the times when
all they could to was wait...all the times this heartache had plagued her
parents, never leaving them for a minute.

"Tell
me more about your visit with Amy."

"It
wasn't a visit.  She's so...removed.  She's had tons of counseling and it
shows.  Not that that isn't a good thing.  But I didn't feel any connection.  I
couldn't tell if she was Lynnie.  And, if she is—  I'm not sure she wants
anything to do with us.  I'm so sorry."

"You
have nothing to be sorry about.  I mean it, Clare.  When Dad and I get back to
the hotel, we'll call her.  I don't think it's a good idea to do it when we're
out and about."