Paranormal II: The Summit Part 12

No one had seen anything.

"So much for canva.s.sing the neighbors," Ben said darkly. His shoulders were stiff with tension and his jaw looked hard.

"It happened really fast, Ben. The neighbors were inside or out in their backyards."

"Yeah, I know."

"It was worth a try."

He nodded wearily.

"We need to talk to the children," she said. "The kids who were playing with Molly that day. I know that's the last thing you want to do, but we have to, Ben."

He clenched his jaw, but nodded. "There were only three of them besides Molly. They were all close to Molly's age and all of them went to the same grammar school. As far as I know, none of them have moved from the area."

"You know where they live?"

"They were all from this neighborhood or close by. I talked to them a number of times after Molly was taken. I kept hoping the kids would think of something that might help us find her, but they were all so little. I'm not sure how much they'll remember this many years later."

"I remember a lot of things from my childhood. Maybe one of them will, too."

"It's worth a try."

They climbed back into his car, drove to the first child's house a few blocks away and parked at the curb. This time of day even the kids in summer school would probably be at home or playing somewhere nearby.

Mrs. Sidwell, the mother of one of the girls in the yard that day, was sympathetic and polite. She warned Ben not to press Emily too hard.

"I don't know how much she remembers, you know? I think mostly she remembers all the excitement afterward with the police and all. And how sad everyone was."

Ben promised he would be careful.

Though the girl was now six years older, Autumn recognized her as one of the children in her dream. Dark-haired and dark-eyed with a dimple in her cheek. Unfortunately, Emily didn't remember anything more than she had told the police at the time of the abduction.

"I'm sorry, Mr. McKenzie," she said. "I was awful little then. I wish I'd been paying more attention."

"We all wish that, Emmie."

The other little girl, Megan Turner, began to cry when Ben asked if she remembered Molly.

"I remember her," the twelve-year-old said, wiping away the wetness on her cheeks. "We were best friends. I never forgot her and I never will."

Ben swallowed hard. "I'll never forget her either," he said softly. "She's right here in my heart." He placed a fist over his heart and Autumn's throat closed up.

Megan put her arms around Ben's neck and gave him a hug and Ben hugged her back so sweetly Autumn had to look away.

Megan moved out of his embrace. She was tall for her age, her light brown hair cut shoulder-length and curled under. "Why are you asking me about Molly after all this time?"

When Ben seemed to grope for words, Autumn answered for him. "We're just trying to tie up some loose ends. We thought you might be able to help in some way."

"I wish I could. But all I remember about that day was a white car going around the corner at the end of the block with Molly inside, then everyone shouting and going crazy."

According to the newspapers, the car was pretty much all that the children had seen. Their descriptions of the man who had taken Molly had been so varied as to render them totally useless.

And Gerald Meeks had been driving a white Toyota at the time he was arrested.

There had been plenty of evidence against him in the other murder cases and there was, of course, his confession to those crimes. Though there was no blood evidence in the car and no DNA except his own, the white car seen during the abduction was one more reason to believe Meeks had murdered little Molly.

They returned to the front of Megan's house, Ben looking so exhausted and grim Autumn suggested they speak to the last child, Robbie Hines, another day.

"We're here," Ben said darkly. "Let's get it done."

When they pulled up in front of Robbie's house, the garage door was open and an old car-nineteen-fifty-something-sat on blocks with the hood open. A redhaired youth leaned into the engine, a grease rag stuffed into the back pocket of a pair of baggy jeans.

He turned at their approach and Autumn saw an older version of the boy who had been in her dream.

"Mr. McKenzie..." Robbie said. "It's nice to see you."

"Hi, Robbie."

Robbie looked a little older than the girls...maybe thirteen now, with short-cropped red hair combed up on the sides and a face full of freckles.

"h.e.l.lo, Robbie." She gave him a smile. "My name is Autumn Sommers. I'm a friend of Ben's. We were hoping you might answer a couple of questions about Molly."

"That was a long time ago," Robbie said, obviously not interested in stirring up the past anymore than Ben was.

"We just want to know if there's anything about that day you might have remembered later, in the years since it happened."

Robbie looked uneasy. "They caught the guy, right? The guy's in prison?"

"He's in prison," Ben said. "We're just trying to tie up a few loose ends."

"He coming up for parole or something?"

Ben flicked Autumn a glance. "Meeks never confessed to killing her, Robbie. We just want to see if we might have missed something...anything at all."

Robbie jerked the rag from his pocket and wiped his greasy hands. "You know, there is something...I mean, I didn't know anything about cars when I was seven, but now...well, cla.s.sic cars are a hobby of mine and my dad's."

"Go on," Ben urged.

"The car I saw that day...back then I didn't know what it was, but now I know it was a Chevy Super Sport. A Chevelle, the one with the big 396 engine. I've seen a dozen of them at car shows over the years. It wasn't fixed up or anything so it just looked like a plain old white car to me back then."

Autumn looked up at Ben. Inside her chest, her pulse was beating faster. Meeks had been driving a Toyota.

"I didn't think it mattered or I would have said something to the cops when I first figured it out. But Molly was...you know...dead. And the guy who killed her was in jail."

"I'm just glad you noticed it," Ben said. "I want you to tell me everything you can about that car."

For the next fifteen minutes, Robbie launched into a dissertation on collectible cars and the Chevy Chevelle in particular. "The day Molly was taken is burned into my brain...everyone crying, and talking to the cops and all the stuff that happened after. I can still close my eyes and see that car. That's how I recognized it when I saw one like it at the car show. A Super Sport like that...it's a real cla.s.sic, worth some money even in poor condition."

Ben squeezed his shoulder. "Thanks, Robbie. You've really been a big help."

Robbie walked beside them out to Ben's Mercedes. "I think of her sometimes, you know. I guess I always will."

Ben nodded. "Yeah."

They climbed into the car and Ben started the engine. Autumn noticed the way his hands gripped the wheel and when she turned she saw that Robbie watched them until the car disappeared out of sight.

"Well, it's a lead," Autumn said into the quiet that had settled inside the car.

"Yes, it is. And if Robbie Hines is right, Gerald Meeks had nothing at all to do with Molly's disappearance."

Autumn's gaze snagged his in the mirror. "Which means my dreams might be real. If they are, Molly could still be alive."

Twelve.

"All right, girlfriend-you are dating the hunk! You have got to tell all!"

Autumn and Terri perched on stools at a tall round table in their usual spot at the back of O'Shaunessy's. It was Tuesday, six o'clock. Terri had just gotten off work, as had most of the patrons chatting noisily in the pub.

"We aren't dating," Autumn told her. "We're working together to find his daughter."

"But you said you went out with him Sat.u.r.day night. The man took you to the Olympic Hotel, for G.o.d's sake."

Autumn had mentioned the evening with Ben and told her friend that she had agreed to give Ben time to get to know her, to hopefully come to trust her. And it seemed to have worked.

She hadn't told Terri that Ben had spent the night. Her friend would never believe that nothing had happened...well, almost nothing. There was, after all, that mind-shattering kiss.

"You're blushing. Oh, my G.o.d-what happened after the benefit? Don't tell me you slept with him!"

"Don't be ridiculous. You know why Ben and I are spending time together. It was your idea for me to talk to him in the first place."

Terri eyed her shrewdly. "You'd tell me, wouldn't you-if you had s.e.x with him?"

"No. But I didn't. All he did was kiss me good night." There, it was out in the open. She hated to lie to her best friend.

Terri's eyes widened. "Well, come on-what was it like? A long, slow, dreamy, kiss, or a hot, burning, tongue-sucking orgy of a kiss?"

The color deepened in Autumn's cheeks. "It was just a kiss, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary." You liar! It was the hottest, wettest, s.e.xiest kiss you've ever had and you will probably never forget it. "Ben isn't my type and in case you haven't read the society pages lately, I am definitely not his. But right now we need each other. There's a chance his daughter is alive and if she is we need to find her."

"You're getting pretty involved in this," Terri said.

"I know I am. But I think Molly's reaching out to me. I can't turn my back on her. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Ben. I dragged him into this. You can't imagine how painful this whole thing is for him. I'm not about to abandon him now."

Terri swirled the swizzle stick through the Cosmo she was drinking. "Just be careful. I have read the papers and we both know the guy is a heartbreaker. You can tell that much just by looking at him."

It was true and it was something Autumn didn't intend to forget.

"So what's the latest with Todd?" she asked, trying for a change of subject.

"Todd is a jerk. I never should have gone out with him."

Sooner or later, they all became jerks, at least in Terri's opinion. Autumn wondered if her friend would ever figure out what she actually wanted in a man. Then again, maybe she and Terri weren't really so different. For one reason or another, neither of them wanted to get into a serious relationship. They just approached the problem in an opposite manner. Terri slept with them and dumped them. Autumn rarely went out at all.

Across the table, Terri glanced up as a lanky, familiar figure walked through the front door of the bar. "Look, here comes Josh." Her blue eyes rounded. "Oh, my G.o.d, the hunk is with him."

Autumn's head jerked toward the men crossing the bar in their direction, one of whom was Ben. "For heaven's sake, stop calling him that," she whispered to Terri.

Josh smiled as they reached the table. "Hey, Autumn...Terri."

"Hi, Josh," Autumn said. Terri smiled briefly at Josh then her predatory gaze fixed on Ben and a lump of ice settled in Autumn's stomach. She worked to keep the smile on her face. "Ben, this is my friend, Terri Markham."

"Nice to meet you, Terri," Ben said casually.

"You, too," said Terri and to Autumn's utter amazement she didn't ooze a single drop of her abundant female charm in Ben's direction.

"I tried to call you on your cell," Ben said, "but you didn't pick up. Then I saw Josh coming out of the gym as I was leaving the office. He thought you might be down here with Terri."

Autumn dug into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. "It's so loud in here I guess I didn't hear it ring." She stuck the phone back into her bag, suddenly realizing that if Ben was looking for her, it must have something to do with Molly.

"What is it? Did you find out something?"

He caught her elbow, urging her up off the stool. "Excuse us a minute, will you?"

"Sure," said Josh, who looked at Terri as if he had just received a gift.

Ben led Autumn out the front door and a little ways down the block. She hadn't realized he was carrying something in his hand until he held out a rolled-up sheet of paper.

"My guys got this for me. Take a look and see what you think."

Autumn carefully unrolled the paper. For several long moments, she just stared. It was the computer-aged photo of Molly. "It looks like her, I mean the way she is now, but..."

"But what?"

"But in my dream, her hair's longer, almost to her waist, and her lips don't seem as full, or maybe it's just that in the dream she isn't smiling, the way she is here." She studied the photo. "And there's something different about her eyes...In my dream, they don't seem as sparkly as they look here."

"She was happy the day the photo was taken. Joanne had bought her a pretty new dress and she was excited to have her picture taken in it."

There was something in his tone that made her look up at him. There was an odd glitter in his eyes and she saw that his jaw looked tight.

"You say she looks different," he said. "But this is the girl in your dreams? You still think it's Molly?"

"It's her, Ben."