It’s okay. Try the other ear.
She took a calming breath, then moved her right arm in the same fashion, breathing a sigh of relief when the tip of her finger made contact with something hard. She pulled the coin from her ear, taking her time, careful not to drop it as she transferred it from her left hand to her right. It felt about the size of a nickel.
The wood was damp. Could she dig her way out of the box?
She used the coin to poke and dig at the wood near her right hip. After a few minutes, she felt a tiny divot. Making a hole could take days, she realized. How long could she survive inside this box?
As she scraped and dug, she thought about Mom and Dad and how they’d all been arguing about school right before she’d gotten in the car and taken off. She didn’t want to go to college. At the very least, she wanted to take a year off. But they wouldn’t budge. Why did she always have to be so stubborn? It felt as if she’d been fighting with her parents since the day she was born. She couldn’t even remember what they fought about most of the time. If she could find a way out of this, if she could escape the madman, if she could get back to her parents and her siblings and their chaotic lives, she would never argue with them again.
See it. Imagine it. Make it happen.
In her mind’s eye, she imagined making a hole big enough to dig her way out. She watched herself climb out of the box. The sun shone in her eyes and warmed her back. She imagined her legs moving and her arms pumping as she ran from this place.
She could do this.
Coin against wood.
Scraping, scraping, scraping.
EIGHTEEN
In the morning Jessie called the hospital to check on Parker Koontz. According to a nurse on the fifth floor, his condition had not changed. Although she wouldn’t elaborate further, she was adamant that his current condition would have prevented him from making a phone call.
Next on the list was a visit to the coffee shop on Sixteenth Street where Adelind Rain had said she’d met a barista by the name of Fiona Hampton. According to Adelind, Fiona had also been stalked by Parker Koontz.
Jessie hopped into the car and started the engine, hoping Fiona would be willing to talk to her. So far her research had proven everything David Roche had said about Parker Koontz was true. He was a well-respected, hardworking attorney who volunteered his free time to worthy causes.
So why the hell had the man shot blanks at her?
He had a clean record, and nothing she could find so far indicated he might be suicidal.
After finding a parking spot on the street, Jessie got out and walked a half block to the coffee shop, glad to see it wasn’t too busy. She ordered a large coffee and grabbed a granola bar to go with it. As the man behind the counter poured her coffee, she asked him if Fiona Hampton worked there.
“Here she comes now.” He gestured behind her.
Jessie looked over her shoulder. The woman coming through the door caught more than a few people’s attention as she removed the scarf from her head, revealing a shock of white hair that matched her skin.
“Hey, Reid,” Fiona said before connecting gazes with Jessie. “What? Haven’t you ever met an albino before?”
“Chill,” Reid said. “The lady was just asking about you.”
“Oh.” She looked Jessie over. “Sorry.”
“Not a problem. I was hoping you would answer a few questions about a man named Parker Koontz,” Jessie said as she dropped her change into the tip jar.
Fiona sighed. “Sure. I guess. I’m early,” she said. “I can spare a few minutes.”
Jessie slipped the granola bar into her purse and then grabbed her coffee from the counter.
After Fiona put her things in the back room, she led Jessie to a table. “So, what’s going on? Did that creep go after you, too?”
“No. I’m here because Adelind Rain told me you were once stalked by Parker Koontz.”
“Ah. I see. Is she okay?”
“She quit her job and moved away.”
Fiona whistled through her teeth.
“So it’s true that he stalked you?”
“Yep. That guy is one sick puppy.” She pointed a finger at Jessie. “Hey, wait a minute. I thought I recognized you. Are you the one who shot him at the park?”
“Unfortunately, yes. What I need to know is whether or not you ever called the police during the time Koontz was disturbing you.”
Fiona nodded. “Dozens of times, but he always disappeared before they could get to wherever I happened to be.”
“Did you ever file a report?”
“No. I guess I should have. I would call the police, they would come, the creep would disappear, and life would go on until the next time I saw him.”
“It must have been frustrating.”
“You have no idea. Longest two weeks of my life.”
“Bottom line,” Jessie said, “is that criminal charges have been filed against me. If I have to go to court, which is likely, any chance you would be willing to tell a judge what you just told me?”
“I’d be happy to help in any way I can. But you should know that whoever is going after you in court could try to use my albinism against me.”
“How so?”
“A lot of people with albinism are considered legally blind. Vision problems resulting from abnormal development of the retina.”
“But what about you? Can you see?”
Fiona’s smile was infectious. “Like an eagle.”
After they exchanged contact information, Fiona stood and said, “I better get to work. It’s getting busy.”
Jessie came to her feet. They shook hands. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. Having a creep like Parker Koontz follow me around day and night and not being able to do a damn thing about it was a nightmare. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
After leaving the coffee shop, Jessie headed straight for Arlo Gatley’s house in Woodland. Feeling hopeful about her talk with Fiona, she prayed Fiona’s and Adelind’s testimony would be enough.
Twenty-five minutes later she pulled up to the curb outside Arlo Gatley’s house on the outskirts of Woodland, about twenty miles northwest of Sacramento.
Arlo greeted her at the door and invited her inside. The dark circles around his eyes had faded a bit. His hair was combed back with gel, and he looked better than he had twenty-four hours ago. Except for the drop of blood on his thumb on his right hand. She felt queasy. He saw her looking and shoved his hand into his pocket.
The house was one story, the inside painted a muted green with white crown molding, hardwood floors, and lots of built-in shelving filled with assorted knickknacks.
“Would you like to see Zee’s room?” he asked. She knew he had an important job to do at the tech company he worked for because he’d told her as much. When she’d called last night to let him know she wanted to come by and take a look around, he’d told her she’d have to come early.
“Your daughter’s room would be a good place to start,” Jessie said. She followed him down a narrow hallway. Walls on both sides were covered with an eclectic group of pictures. The frames were made of wood, shells, paper—all different sizes—and most of them were tilted at odd angles. Mostly school pictures, and a few of Arlo and his daughter when she was younger.
Jessie stopped to take a better look at his daughter. In almost every photo, Zee had a strange look on her face. Lost? Worried? It was hard to tell.
Arlo stood at the door at the end of the hallway, his arms crossed. Gone was the desperate and accommodating man of yesterday. Today Arlo appeared impatient and agitated.
Jessie peered into the laundry room as she passed by. Everything in the home appeared neat, nothing out of the ordinary. That was, until she walked into Zee’s room.