Moonstone (34 page)

Kelsey chased after the vial, watching it appear and then disappear as the wave swept it out beyond her reach. Beyond the boulder. Suddenly she was standing in front of the boulder. The water was at her knees and she could see the next wave rolling toward shore. She shook uncontrollably and her legs felt thick as pier posts. She reached for the only handhold she could see.

Vanessa never woke early unless she had to work and then she grumbled about it. Now she was showered and dressed and it wasn’t even eight yet. She brushed a fingertip across Joy’s lips. “I wish I could keep you right here.”

“At the moment, I don’t think I can move.” Joy smiled. She stretched and then rolled onto her side. “You have to leave already?”

“It’s Saturday. She’s got our whole day planned out.” But Vanessa didn’t make any move to leave. The sheet was only pulled up to Joy’s waist, and Vanessa’s gaze had settled on Joy’s breasts. “You’re making it hard to say goodbye.”

Joy didn’t argue. They both knew this had to be the last time. “I’ll leave the key under the mat when I go.”

“Maybe you should keep the key.”

“Leaving once was hard enough. And now…” Joy shook her head. “I’ll toss the sheets in the wash.”

Vanessa turned to leave. She paused in the doorway. “I still love you.”

Joy got out of bed as soon as Vanessa had left. She showered and changed, then ate the French toast that Vanessa had left out for her. Vanessa had set the small table for her complete with a cloth napkin and a glass of orange juice. A card was next to the orange juice. Inside it read:
Can we keep our New Year’s Eve date?

Joy finished the breakfast and did the dishes that were stacked in the sink. Vanessa hated washing dishes. She found a pen and added a few lines to Vanessa’s card, then let herself out the front door. She unwound the apartment key from her set of keys and set it under the mat.

She’d left her cell phone in the car and as soon as she turned it on, she noticed a half dozen missed texts from Kelsey along with a missed call. Without thinking of the time, she immediately dialed Kelsey’s number. Her call went directly to voice mail. She left a quick message and then a text. She counted down the time until she’d be back in Raceda. Six hours was too long to wait to see the person she wanted to spend the day with. Half the day would be gone before she even got there. And Kelsey’s last text weighed on her mind:
Where are you? I’m outside.
She was willing to risk a speeding ticket to shave off a half hour.

Kelsey lived in a subdivision only a few streets away from the high school. Joy circled the street twice. There was no sign of Kelsey’s car, and she hadn’t tried to return any of the messages Joy had left for her. Joy drove home, hoping that Kelsey would be there, but the driveway was empty. There was no sign of her at the marina either. Joy poked around the docks, hoping to see a familiar face but everyone who passed was a stranger. She drove back to Kelsey’s house by way of the swimming pool. Her car wasn’t parked in the pool lot. Joy turned down Kelsey’s street, fighting back the thought of trying to track down Hannah’s address. If Kelsey was with Hannah, she didn’t want to know.

Denise’s car was parked out front of Kelsey’s house. Joy knocked on the door, wondering what Denise and Kelsey’s mom would think about her crisscrossing town searching for someone who was probably only at a gym or taking a drive for the day. But she couldn’t hold back the sinking feeling that something was wrong.

Barb opened the door. She smiled and immediately invited Joy inside. “Kelsey isn’t home at the moment. Was she supposed to be meeting you here? These last-minute barbeque ideas of Denise’s…we’re just getting things ready. You can wait for Kelsey and keep us company in the kitchen.”

“Actually I wasn’t supposed to be meeting her,” Joy admitted. “But she left me several texts last night and I haven’t been able to reach her today. I was just wondering if everything was okay.”

Barb seemed to look directly at Joy for the first time. “She wasn’t at your house last night?”

“I was out of town.”

Denise appeared in the entryway. She smiled at Joy and then glanced at Barb. “Everything okay?”

“What time is it, Dee?” Barb asked.

“Almost three.”

“And I called Kelsey at ten this morning asking her to join us on the boat…She usually texts right back, but I’ve been so busy this morning.” Barb paused. “I didn’t think about the fact that I haven’t heard back from her.”

“Maybe she’s taken her kayak out for the day,” Denise suggested.

Joy shook her head. “I’ve already checked the marina and her car wasn’t there.” It was impossible not to wonder if she was with Hannah. “You know what, it’s no big deal really. I’m sure she’s out enjoying the day. Maybe she’s hiking and out of cell phone range.”

Barb’s expression was hard to read. Maybe she was worried. Or maybe she was holding back from telling Joy that Kelsey was probably with her ex. After everything that had happened, how likely was that?

“Let me go check my phone,” Barb said. “Maybe I missed a call from her.”

Denise waited by the door with Joy. “I’m sure everything’s fine.”

“Yeah, of course. I probably seem crazy coming over here.”

“Not at all.” Denise’s smile seemed forced.

Joy wondered how much Denise knew about Kelsey and Hannah. Barb returned to the entryway with her phone in hand. “No calls, no texts. And I forgot that I texted her late last night about Nate coming home next week. She didn’t reply to that text either. That isn’t like her.” Barb glanced quickly from Denise to Joy. “I’m going to make a few calls. When did you last hear from her?”

“The last text she sent was a little after ten last night.”

“But this isn’t the first time Kelsey has dropped off the radar,” Denise said, resting a hand on Barb’s shoulder.

Barb nodded, but her furrowed brow didn’t soften. Joy wondered what Denise meant exactly. Dropped off the radar figuratively or literally?

Denise continued, “And she’s a thirty-six-year-old adult. Maybe she decided to drive to Portland like she was talking about. Maybe she’s sound asleep in a motel room right now.”

Barb stared right at Joy. Their wordless exchange left Joy more convinced than before. Barb didn’t think that Kelsey was in Portland or hiking out of cell phone range. Something had happened.

“I’m going to make a few calls,” Barb said.

Denise was certain Kelsey would surface by dinner time and the sheriff friend that Barb called agreed. The sheriff did, however, offer to check the hospital, which was no comfort to anyone. No one on the list of friends that Barb called had heard from Kelsey. Joy drove once more to the marina and the pool, the only two places she could think of to check, and then home.

It was crazy to hope that Kelsey would be waiting at her doorstep, but the empty driveway was one more letdown. Joy went inside and changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She’d been wearing the same clothes she’d interviewed in and despite the shower at Vanessa’s place, the worn clothes exaggerated the morning-after feeling. It was nearly dinnertime and she hadn’t eaten since Vanessa’s French toast. She cooked up a bowl of ramen and turned on the television, keeping her cell phone at arm’s reach. No matter how many times she checked, there was no new message from Kelsey.

The rocky cliff offered little shelter from the wind, howling as it whipped whitecaps up along the water. She could hardly look at the water. The blinding sun glittered on the waves and made the throbbing headache unbearable. Fog never came on demand, but she begged for it now—a thick blanket to coat everything and turn the brilliant sunlight into a hazy, softened glow. She held her hand up to her forehead to block the light and squinted to get her bearings on the shoreline. The effort made her suddenly nauseous. She got onto all fours in time to vomit bile and salt water and then collapsed as far from the mess as she could crawl. It was a half mile’s walk to the parking lot, but at high tide she couldn’t make it past the boulders to clear the far side of the cliffs. She searched her pockets but found nothing. Everything that had been carefully tucked away—keys, wallet, phone—was now replaced with bits of seaweed and gritty sand. The pulsing in her temples was impossible to ignore. She closed her eyes.

Somehow, she had survived the night with no memory of anything after she’d started climbing the boulder. Strange dreams played in a recurring loop. First it was John in his fishing boat. He’d appeared in a bright orange life vest and yelled at her for forgetting her sunglasses. She was on the boulder and started to jump into his boat but then a second later John and the boat were gone and it was bare-chested Nate on his surfboard. He called her name and she tried to jump but the board skirted around the base of the boulder and she watched it break into bits over and over again. Then Joy was there in a kayak. She only looked surprised—as if the last thing she’d expected to find was Kelsey perched on a rock at high tide. Kelsey had somehow made it into the kayak but then it was Hannah’s lips she was kissing. Awake or asleep, and no matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t change this part.

Kelsey woke again with the sound of a child’s voice. She searched the beach until she spotted a kid a hundred yards away with a Frisbee. She eyed the waterline. The boulder stuck out of the sand with the water pulled way back and there were more voices. The kid laughed as a dog jumped for the Frisbee.

The spot against the cliff that Kelsey had backed her way into was well concealed from most points on the shore, and she watched now as strangers passed without even glancing in her direction. Her clothes had dried in stiff wrinkles and she knew her hair was a tousled mess. She crawled out from the overhanging cliff and stood up slowly. Every joint ached, but the pain in her shoulder and neck nearly brought her back down on her knees.

The boy with the Frisbee, maybe five or six, pointed to her. His fist bumped up and down while his finger wagged in Kelsey’s direction. The woman walking next to him tried to hurry him past. Their dog was leashed now and he barked and pulled against the leather.

Kelsey let them pass and then started walking again. She shuddered with each step and didn’t make eye contact with the few people she passed. The tide was coming in by the time she made it to the parking lot. The lot was filled and she searched for the red sedan, ignoring the faces that stared at her. She slumped against the rental car, too exhausted to cry.

“You okay?”

People asked ridiculous questions all the time, Kelsey thought. She squinted at the man who was staring down at her, then shook her head.

“This your car?”

Kelsey nodded.

“Look, I think you’re too drunk to drive. You’re not going to try, are you?” The man waited for an answer. Finally he said, “Do you want a cab?”

Agreeing was easier than asking to use his phone. Kelsey tried to smile but the effort hurt too much. She sank down on her knees, cringing as the rocky pavement battered what must be bruised skin. Everything hurt. Kelsey heard the man’s voice calling for the cab. Then he was saying something about a half hour’s wait and then his shoes disappeared.

Apparently the man had told the cabbie to look for a drunk because the bright yellow Prius pulled right up to Kelsey’s feet.

“It’s thirty to get you downtown.”

Kelsey nodded. She wanted to admit that she’d lost her wallet, but instead she took the offered hand and stumbled into the backseat. When he asked, she only said the street name. She couldn’t remember the house number.

As soon as the cab pulled down Joy’s street, Kelsey instantly wished that she’d asked him to take her home instead. “Thirty-seven seventeen Ackland,” Kelsey said.

The cabbie shook his head. “You said Rushmore. I don’t have time to take you anywhere else. I’ve got an airport pickup in twenty minutes.” The driver was clearly annoyed and probably wondering about his fare. “Which house is it?”

“Next block, third townhouse in on the right.” Kelsey paused. “And you’re going to have to wait for me to go inside to get the money.”

The cab driver grunted and then said something about drunks. Kelsey wanted to argue that no hangover was any match for how bad she felt. Suddenly Joy’s townhouse loomed in front of her. She hesitated getting out of the car and the cabbie yelled for her to move it.

Kelsey knocked and the door opened only a moment later. Joy took one look at Kelsey and her mouth dropped open. Before she could say anything, the cabbie honked. Joy glanced from Kelsey to the cab and back again. “Does he need to be paid?”

Kelsey tried to answer, but she felt her legs collapsing under her. Joy reached for Kelsey and half-led, half-carried her into the family room. Once she’d gotten Kelsey settled on the couch, she said, “I’m going to pay the cab and then we’re taking you to a hospital.”

Kelsey shook her head but Joy was gone. When she returned, Kelsey tried to focus her thoughts. Everything was fuzzy and she had trouble forming a sentence. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. I only need Motrin. I’ve got a headache.”

“I don’t think I should give you anything. What are you on?”

“Nothing. I’ve only got a headache.”

Joy touched Kelsey’s cheek. “You’re feverish. Look at me.”

Kelsey closed her eyes, turning her face toward Joy’s hand. She couldn’t look at Joy. Joy was quiet for a long moment. “Please,” Kelsey managed. Her head throbbed.

Joy pulled her hand away and Kelsey sank back against the sofa. Several minutes passed before Joy returned with a glass of something warm and two small red pills. “Take small sips,” she said.

It was sweet tea. Honey and lemon. Kelsey let Joy hold the mug for her and then swallowed the medication Joy handed her. Two little pills. Her eyes watered with the thought of the valium. She couldn’t remember how many she’d swallowed.
How could she have been so stupid?
And now she’d lied to Joy.

“You’re shaking. I really think you should be seen by a doctor.”

“You’re a doctor.”

“Not the same and you know it.”