Already Gone

– 35 –



“You’re her sister?”

“Not by blood. Her mother and my father were close. Diane came to live with us after her mother died, so we grew up together. As far as I’m concerned she’s my sister, even if she sees it differently.”

“How does she see it?”

Lisa pauses. “Differently.”

We’re both quiet for a while, then I say, “She told me her family was dead.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“She said her father was in the military and she moved from base to base as a kid.”

“That’s true. He was an army physician, and we went where he was assigned.” She smiles. “Did she tell you how many languages she speaks?”

“I didn’t know she spoke any other languages.”

“Four or five, I think. I don’t know if she still knows them, but she did. It was a hobby of hers, that and her art.”

We drive a while longer, and I listen to Lisa tell stories about what Diane was like as a kid. I find myself smiling, as if I’m learning about her for the first time.

Eventually the stories stop, and Lisa turns and doubles back the way we came.

I ask her where we’re going.

“Back to your car.”

“What about Diane?”

“What about her?”

“I need to see her.”

“Good luck,” Lisa says. “No one knows where she is.”

“I thought you were taking me to her.”

“When did I say that? I agreed to tell you what I knew, and I did.”

“But she’s here, she’s in Sedona.”

“How do you know that?”

I pull the photo of Diane out of my pocket and hand it to Lisa. “This was taken here, in town.”

Lisa looks at the photo. “Where did you get this?”

Her voice is cold, and when I don’t answer right away, she asks again, colder.

“There were a couple men waiting for me when I went back to my hotel this afternoon. They gave me the photo, and they told me Diane was still alive.”

Lisa squeezes the steering wheel, tight, and the leather moans under her fingers.

I keep talking, going over everything Briggs told me about the hijacking and about Diane working with my father. I leave nothing out.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“All they want is to find the guy who set it up, and Diane is the only one who knows where he is.”

“And you believe him?”

I start to tell her I do, but the words don’t come, and for the first time I really think about it.

Finally I say, “I have to believe him.”

Lisa makes a dismissive sound then pulls off the road and hits the brakes, hard. I put my hands out and brace myself against the dashboard to keep from sliding down into the footwell.

“Get out,” Lisa says. “Now.”

I start to talk, but Lisa screams over me.

“Out, or I drive to police station and tell them you forced your way into my car.”

“You can’t leave me out here.”

“I should’ve known better.” She shakes her head as she talks, her voice distant. “I will not put myself at risk over this, not over her. I won’t do it.”

“Then tell me where she is. Help me find her.”

“Get out, now!”

I watch her for a moment longer, and then I reach down and open the door. “Where do I go? Where’s my car?”

“Keep walking, follow the signs.”

I step out onto the side of the road.

“Some advice, Jake?”

I nod, wait.

“Leave, tonight,” she says. “Let her go.”

“I can’t do that.”

Lisa turns away, doesn’t speak.

I close the door and watch her drive off. I wait until her tail-lights disappear over the top of the hill, and then I slide my hands into my pockets and start walking.





The road is dark.

I walk for a long time, ducking out of sight whenever I see headlights approaching. There’s usually someplace to hide. When there’s not, all I can do is lower my head and keep moving and hope it’s not a cop.

I think about everything I learned tonight and try to put together a plan. The smart move would be to drive out to the airstrip in Flagstaff and meet with Gabby’s friend, then fly over the border into Nogales and head south, never looking back.

But then what?

If everything Lisa said is true, if Diane is still alive, then I’m not going anywhere until I find her, no matter what the consequences.

I keep walking until the landmarks along the side of the road start to look familiar. Then I see one of the signs for the church up ahead and a white arrow pointing toward a dark road winding into the hills.

I cross over and follow the road until I get to the church parking lot at the top. My car is where I left it at the far end. As I start moving toward it, I feel a loose wave of nausea drip through me.

I have to make a decision.

Stay or go.

If I stay, I’ll have to call Briggs and tell him what happened with Lisa. If I’m lucky, he’ll give me more time to look for Diane. If I’m not lucky…

No.

I push that thought away.

I take the key from my pocket and slide it into the lock. As I open the door, I hear an engine, far off but getting closer.

I look up and see headlights pan across the trees lining the entrance to the parking lot. I duck behind my car. The headlights cover me, and there’s no place to run.

All I can do is wait.

The car gets closer, and I lean over to look. The headlights are round and too high off the ground for a cop car. This should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.

Not tonight.

The car stops in the middle of the parking lot. It’s a pickup, a white pickup.

Lisa’s white pickup.

I sit back on the ground and wait for my heartbeat to slow. When I hear the truck’s door open and footsteps on the gravel, I step out from behind my car.

Lisa is walking toward me, a shadow in the headlights.

I say, “I didn’t think you’d change your mind.”

She stops, and I realize it’s not Lisa.

The low buzz along the back of my neck kicks in again, spreading fast, through my chest and down my arms. I lift one hand to shield my eyes from the lights.

I barely realize I’m shaking.

She’s standing right in front of me, but I still don’t believe it’s true. It’s not until she takes a step closer, and I see her eyes for the first time, that it all comes crashing in.

“Diane?”

She watches me for a moment, then smiles.

“Hi, Jake.”