So many things went through my mind at that moment. I might have told him I knew he’d said something similar to his grandfather recently because I had the ability to invade his memories and eavesdrop on his past. I might have reminded him that despite his adamant refusal to believe in the unknown, he’d had an encounter with his daughter’s ghost only moments before he’d been shot last fall. I might have confided in him about my gift and my legacy and a growing fear of where all of this might lead us.
I might have told him any number of things that would have irrevocably changed the course of our relationship forever. But the sound of a ringtone interrupted me. Or at the very least, delayed me.
We both glanced at our displays.
“That’s you,” Devlin said, and I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Amelia Gray?” a tentative voice inquired.
“Yes?”
“This is Nelda... Neddy. I got your number from Dr. Shaw. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I thought you’d want to know that he’s been rushed to the hospital. The ambulance just left a little while ago.” She paused. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but he was very pale and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.”
“No, no, I’m glad you called me. What’s the name of the hospital?”
“County General. It’s on Main Street. You can’t miss it.”
“I’m on my way,” I told her.
“What is it?” Devlin asked when I ended the call.
“Dr. Shaw’s been taken to the hospital. I don’t know how bad he is, but Nelda sounded worried. We have to get back to town at once.”
“Of course.” He nodded toward the stereogram I still clutched in my hand. “Should I put that back where we found it?”
I hesitated. “I need to study it through a viewer first.”
He knelt and closed the compartment while I stored the card in my backpack. As we hurried through the cemetery gate, Papa’s warning rang in my ears, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the consequences of breaking yet another of his rules.
Take nothing, leave nothing behind.
*
All the way to the hospital, I kept picturing Dr. Shaw lying prone in a hospital bed, pale, unconscious and hooked up to all manner of wires and tubes. Instead, I found him sitting up in bed in a private room with a single IV connected to the vein in the back of his hand.
“I’m sorry to have worried you,” he said. “I’m still undergoing some tests, but the main culprit seems to be dehydration.”
“That’s nothing to take lightly,” I said. “I’m glad Nelda was there to call an ambulance.”
“Yes, she was quite distressed. Please let her know that I’m fine.”
“I will.”
He leaned back against the pillow and closed his eyes. “Tell me about your morning at the cemetery.”
“I’ll tell you all about that later, but right now you need to rest.”
He nodded weakly. “I am very tired.”
“Then, sleep. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
I found Devlin—phone to ear—pacing in the courtyard off the waiting room. He looked agitated and angry, but a mask descended as soon as he saw me. He put away the phone as I approached. “How is he?”
“The doctors are still running some tests, but they think he’s suffering from dehydration, probably from all the hours in the sun over the past couple of days. He’s not used to the heat. He’s feeling better but still pretty weak. I’d like to stay here with him just to make sure he’s okay.”
Devlin nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. I wish I could stay, too, but something’s come up. I have to get back to Charleston.”
I noticed the worry lines across his brow then and the shadow that darkened his eyes. “Is everything okay?” I asked anxiously.
He glanced away as he seemed to gather his thoughts. “My grandfather has disappeared.”
His calm manner of delivering the news was almost as disturbing as the revelation. “Disappeared? From the hospital?”
“No. He talked his doctor into releasing him yesterday afternoon, and he insisted on going back to the beach house. Apparently, when his assistant went to check on him this morning, he wasn’t in his room. She and the others searched the house and grounds before calling the police.”
“Why didn’t they call you?”
“I doubt I’m high on his contact list.”
“No one has any idea why he left? Or where he might have gone?”
“There was no sign of a struggle and no reason to suspect foul play. The best anyone can tell, he got up this morning, walked out the door without being detected and vanished.”
“What about his car?”
“None of the vehicles are missing, nor was his driver notified. It’s possible he called a taxi or had someone pick him up. It’s also possible this could be another of his manipulations. He hasn’t had much luck getting me to come around to his way of thinking, so he could be trying a different tactic.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“If you knew my grandfather, you wouldn’t ask that question,” Devlin said. “But in any case, I have to go.”
“Of course. You’ll let me know as soon as you hear anything?”
“Yes. And when I come back...” There was a slight hesitation before he said, “We need to talk.”