of his calming words screamed in my head. Not a single, “It"s going to be okay, Sarah” or “We"ll find him, Sarah.” This is bad, really bad, horribly bad, I thought. Sleep didn"t come for either of us, despite the long seventeen hour flight. Landing at Boeing Field at six a.m. the next morning, we rented a car and drove to the dock to wait for the ferry to Bremerton. More silence as we waited for the 7:35 ferry. I finally whispered the only thing that I could say, “If he"s gone Carlos, don"t bring me back. When I lose it, please promise me you won"t bring me back, just let me go. No more pain. I can"t take any more pain. Please?” I turned to look at him. His eyes were squeezed shut with pain written all over his face, but he nodded slightly and kissed the back of my hand. We drove onto the ferry and walked topside, ignoring the stares from folks who thought we were crazy. It was overcast, windy and cold, but that didn"t matter to us. It was nice because it meant we"d be the only ones out on the deck. The one hour ferry ride was followed by the short drive to Matt"s house, enough time for me to push down my panic and the horrible thoughts that were running through my mind. There was no room for any of that right now. We had too much work to do.
We parked in an alley a few miles away and approached the house from the back. Jumping the fence, we landed behind some bushes in the yard then made a quick dash up to the house. Glancing in the living room window, the house looked quiet, too quiet. We watched for at least ten minutes, looking for any signs of Malina. Everything appeared to be deserted, eerily silent. I walked up to the back door and was slightly relieved to find it locked. I quietly inserted my key and we walked silently into the kitchen. Her scent was everywhere and I felt myself instantly go into predator mode. Carlos tapped my shoulder, pointed to me and upstairs, then pointed to himself and downstairs. I nodded and we separated. I made a quick search of his office and the guest room. She hadn"t spent much time in either of these. I couldn"t hold back the hiss when I opened the master bedroom door though. She had been in here, a lot. And, by the looks of it, she had slept in the bed. “That bitch!” I muttered. I turned and ran up to the third floor attic and did a quick search. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I ran back down the stairs, expecting to join Carlos in the basement. But at the bottom of the stairs, something in the living room caught my eye and made me stop dead in my tracks. I didn"t want to, but couldn"t stop my feet from moving closer to the small item hanging on the front of the TV. I reached out to take Matt"s wedding ring in my hand as I read the note taped to the TV. “He won"t be needing this anymore,” it read, “push play and watch.” My hand shook as I turned on the TV and pressed play on the DVD player. I cried out and sank to my knees as the first image I saw on the screen was my son and me– the beautiful son who had been taken from me when he and my first husband, Rob, were killed in a car accident. It was a scene I knew all too well. It was the morning of the last day of his life. Rob had decided to grab the camera and film me helping Scotty get ready– he was going on his first fishing trip with his Dad and he was so proud.
I heard Carlos come up the stairs and stop in the doorway, but I couldn"t move my eyes from the screen. I reached out to the screen as Scotty said to me. “Don"t worry, Mommy, I didn"t forget anything, I promise.”
I mouthed the words I knew so well, as onscreen I said, “I know you didn"t, cause you"re my big boy.”
“I"m going to bring you back a big fish, a really big fish. The biggest fish you"ve ever seen, Mommy.”
“Of course you will, honey,” I said, then I leaned in to kiss him.
I hung my head as the screen went black then snapped it back up when Carlos gasped behind me. I shot backwards from the TV, landing on my butt, as I
We parked in an alley a few miles away and approached the house from the back. Jumping the fence, we landed behind some bushes in the yard then made a quick dash up to the house. Glancing in the living room window, the house looked quiet, too quiet. We watched for at least ten minutes, looking for any signs of Malina. Everything appeared to be deserted, eerily silent. I walked up to the back door and was slightly relieved to find it locked. I quietly inserted my key and we walked silently into the kitchen. Her scent was everywhere and I felt myself instantly go into predator mode. Carlos tapped my shoulder, pointed to me and upstairs, then pointed to himself and downstairs. I nodded and we separated. I made a quick search of his office and the guest room. She hadn"t spent much time in either of these. I couldn"t hold back the hiss when I opened the master bedroom door though. She had been in here, a lot. And, by the looks of it, she had slept in the bed. “That bitch!” I muttered. I turned and ran up to the third floor attic and did a quick search. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I ran back down the stairs, expecting to join Carlos in the basement. But at the bottom of the stairs, something in the living room caught my eye and made me stop dead in my tracks. I didn"t want to, but couldn"t stop my feet from moving closer to the small item hanging on the front of the TV. I reached out to take Matt"s wedding ring in my hand as I read the note taped to the TV. “He won"t be needing this anymore,” it read, “push play and watch.” My hand shook as I turned on the TV and pressed play on the DVD player. I cried out and sank to my knees as the first image I saw on the screen was my son and me– the beautiful son who had been taken from me when he and my first husband, Rob, were killed in a car accident. It was a scene I knew all too well. It was the morning of the last day of his life. Rob had decided to grab the camera and film me helping Scotty get ready– he was going on his first fishing trip with his Dad and he was so proud.
I heard Carlos come up the stairs and stop in the doorway, but I couldn"t move my eyes from the screen. I reached out to the screen as Scotty said to me. “Don"t worry, Mommy, I didn"t forget anything, I promise.”
I mouthed the words I knew so well, as onscreen I said, “I know you didn"t, cause you"re my big boy.”
“I"m going to bring you back a big fish, a really big fish. The biggest fish you"ve ever seen, Mommy.”
“Of course you will, honey,” I said, then I leaned in to kiss him.
I hung my head as the screen went black then snapped it back up when Carlos gasped behind me. I shot backwards from the TV, landing on my butt, as I
Similar Books
