Chapter Twenty Five
Clues
The next day after lunch, Becca decided to go for a walk. She’d tasted a bit of freedom from her restricted movements and confining memory loss when they’d gone to Mrs. K’s the day before. Now, she wanted more of it. Shadows slid over her as puffs of low-lying clouds sailed across the sky on strong currents of wind. The balmy air suggested a possible thunder storm later.
Becca thought of the strange pieces of the photos she’d found in her pocket. She almost felt violated, like some psychopath had been stalking her and using her picture for some sick purpose. She shivered in spite of the warm weather.
With her mind swirling around frightening images, Becca lost track of time and space. When she finally reprimanded herself for letting her thoughts get away from her, she realized she’d walked clear to Ryan’s house. He sat in an old lawn chair; its plastic was stained, and part of one arm was broken off. A small matching table held a large, orange drink with a straw and a cocktail umbrella sticking out the top. Ryan’s feet soaked under a sprinkler that spewed a weak stream of water. GH was curled in the shade under her tree. Becca wondered why Ryan didn’t use nicer things; he could afford it. Of course if he did, he wouldn’t be Ryan.
Becca strode forward, the sound of her steps drawing GH’s attention. The dog jumped up and released a small bark before realizing that a friend, not foe, approached. The poor dog was in a pitiful state; her hair looked as if it had been cut with sheep sheers. Again, Becca wondered why Ryan didn’t just hire a groomer.
“Oh, look at you!” Becca said affectionately as she bent and scratched GH’s back with her fingernails. The dog stilled and stretched her head back in ecstasy. When Becca finished, the dog looked past her and released a strange whimper. When Becca looked over her shoulder, no one was there. She turned back to GH. “Silly mutt!” she said and scratched the dog’s ear.
“Hey, Becca! What brings you to the neighborhood?” Ryan had pulled his feet out of the water and slid them into a pair of leather sandals. He took the few steps toward her and GH. Becca stood and gave Ryan a one-armed hug.
When they parted, Becca answered, “I was just out walking. I needed some fresh air.”
“Well, can’t say I blame you. I’d go crazy with everyone stopping and calling and asking how you’re doing all the time. Hey, if you need a distraction, I could use a ghost hunting partner tonight. Toby bailed on me.”
“Why? He never misses a chance to help you,” Becca said. Worry tapped at her nerves; first, Toby had acted so strange the day before, and now he was skipping ghost hunting?
Ryan shrugged, “Said he had something to do. You know,” he said, looking sly, “I think it’s because he’s going out with that volleyball chick now. The tall one with the Mustang.”
“Tara? He’s going out with Tara?” Becca was dumbfounded for a moment. When she finally blinked, she asked, “When did this happen? Is it something else I’ve forgotten because of the accident?”
“Relax, Becca. They’ve been flirting with each other for a while, but it just became official last night,” Ryan stated before taking a sip of his drink.
Well, that would explain why he never called last night, Becca thought. She relaxed and smiled, thinking of Toby finding a girlfriend. Tara was pretty, and she had a warm personality.
“So, what about tonight, Becca? Want to join me? I think it’s going to storm, which is perfect weather for ghost hunting. The lightning draws the spirits out,” Ryan said eagerly.
“You are so one-track minded!” Becca said, laughing. “I think I’ll pass, Ryan. I’m not ready for that much excitement just yet,” she said in a teasing way. She didn’t believe he’d actually come across any ghosts.
Ryan’s shoulders slumped, his face taking on a dejected look. “Okay, then. I guess when I get the best supernatural evidence ever collected, I’ll just have to take all the credit and fame alone.”
Becca squeezed his shoulder, “You would anyway, Ryan.”
Ryan shook his head as if to deny her words, but then sighed and answered, “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He gave her a sheepish grin.
After chatting with Ryan awhile longer and giving GH another good scratching, Becca walked home. She raided the cupboards when she got there as she’d missed lunch during her walk.
The mail rested on the kitchen table. Chris must’ve stopped in on his break, Becca thought. She’d texted him earlier, telling him she was going for a walk so he wouldn’t worry. Still, she felt bad for having missed lunch with him.
Becca used the fingers sticking out from her cast to spoon Raisin Bran to her mouth while she thumbed through the mail with her right hand. Nothing but junk mail. She flipped through a summer clothing catalogue while she finished eating. As she tossed the magazine aside, an envelope that had been hidden beneath it caught her attention.
The envelope was addressed to her, but no return address could be found anywhere. The post mark over the stamp indicated that the letter had been mailed from Glenville, though. Curious, Becca struggled with the envelope, holding it between the fingers on her cast-hand while she tore the top open with her index fingernail from her other hand. She pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Carefully, she opened the paper against the table top. The paper itself had no writing, but a rectangle of plastic rested inside the folds.
It was a debit card. Becca’s brows scrunched together in confusion. Had she lost her bank card somewhere and someone had been kind enough to mail it back to her? She held the card between her thumb and fingers, reading the information. The card was a Visa, like hers, but the number was all wrong, and a strange name stood out from the plastic: “Kayde Harper”.
The same emotions that assaulted her with the photos the night before rushed through Becca again now. She squeezed the plastic so hard that it nearly cut into her flesh. The guy with the bike in the partial photo--could he be Kayde Harper? Even if he was, why did someone send her his bank card?
Becca raced up to her room and placed the card in her vanity drawer on top of the photos. She shook with emotions she couldn’t even explain. The name seemed so familiar, yet something inside her was afraid to discover who Kayde was. Even more disconcerting was the fact that someone was placing these strange clues for her to find. Someone had to have put the photos in her shorts, and someone had sent this card.
Becca stared at herself in the mirror; her face was as pale as a ghost, causing her injuries to stand out like fresh blood. A single tear ran down her cheek as a familiar tune played quietly at the back of her mind. Fear, comfort, horror, joy, and a jumble of other emotions fought for her attention in her unraveling mind. What is happening to me? she wondered desperately.
A knock on her door nearly made her scream. She slid the door to her vanity shut, wiped the tear from her face, and pinched her cheeks in attempt to return color to her skin. Donning a smile, she opened her bedroom door. Toby stood there, giving her a lop-sided grin.
“Sorry I didn’t come back over last night. I kind of got distracted,” he said.
Becca had to force her mind to focus on his words. She stepped passed him and walked down the dimly-lit hall toward the living room. Maybe if she wasn’t close to the secrets in her vanity, she could think clearly. “It’s okay, Toby. Ryan told me you had an interesting night last night,” she said.
“That big-mouth!” Toby said, smiling. “I should’ve known I couldn’t trust him with a secret. So, what do you think? About me and Tara, I mean?”
Wrapping her arm around Toby’s waist, Becca squeezed and smiled up at him, “I think it’s wonderful, Toby. I’m happy for you!”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. You’re my best friend, I would feel weird if you didn’t like who I was dating,” Toby said.
“Why wouldn’t I like who you were dating? If she’s special to you, then she’s special to me,” Becca answered. “You??
?d do the same for me.”
They sat on the couch, Toby’s face suddenly serious. Becca noticed that he was carrying the same book he’d had the day before. “Are you alright, Toby?” Becca asked. His euphoric mood over Tara seemed to have fled as he stared at the book in his lap.
He turned his head and looked at her. “I don’t think I’m as good a friend to you as you are to me, Becca. I’m sorry for that.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the greatest friend anyone could ask for,” Becca said.
Sighing, Toby scratched at his neck before he shrugged and then pulled a crumpled piece of paper from between the pages of the book he held. “I showed this to you before, but you’ve forgotten. They’re notes I’ve been taking from reading this book and from making some observations of my own. I don’t know exactly why yet, but I think my mother and Terrance think this information is very important. That’s why I was so tense yesterday. I think they want this book and, even more, this paper.”
Becca took the paper, that same strange familiarity as with the photos and card set in as she looked at it. The fact that she’d seen it before probably accounted for that feeling, yet Becca was still uneasy over Toby’s strange accusations about his mother and Terrance.
Letting her eyes trace different symbols and words, Becca tried to make sense of Toby’s scribbling. Music seemed to be the main focus of his notes. A particular word and description caught her attention: “Music Mage”. She read the description, her heart racing again, though she had no idea why this word would cause such a reaction.
Toby’s voice came out quietly, nearly a whisper. “I think there is, or was, a music mage in Glenville, Becca.”
Looking into her friend’s eyes, Becca tried to let what he’d said sink in. And, although she thought she should be laughing and poking his ribs with her elbow at his words, she couldn’t even break a smile. For reasons that eluded her, again, Becca knew Toby was telling the truth.
“Look, Becca, I know you probably think I’m letting my imagination get the best of me again, like when we were little. But this is different. Before you forgot things, I’d shown this to you, and you believed me. We also thought that a ‘Mage Master’ might be in Glenville. That’s the only being that can take a music mage’s music, the only being that can stop a music mage.” Toby’s words were coming out in a whispered rush now. “Whatever is going on with Mom has to do with this,” he tapped the paper with his finger.
After several minutes of attempting to decipher what this was all supposed to mean, Becca pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to cut off a growing headache. This was turning out to be one of the craziest days she could remember. “So, what if there really is a music mage and mage master here? Why do you care so much? Why would your mom care?”
Toby’s eyes gazed into hers sadly for the longest time. “I can’t tell you just yet. I’m hoping some of your memory will return first. It would be a lot easier, you’d understand much better, if you had your memories to back my words.”
“AAAHH!” Becca growled and flopped her head back on the couch. She stared at the ceiling, trying to hold back tears of frustration. “I am so tired of people not telling me things.” She lifted her head and looked at Toby. “What if telling me some of these things would actually help me remember?”
“Or what if my telling you would slow your progress, Becca?” Toby immediately answered. “This is frustrating for me, too. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I can’t help you with your mind-blocks. You have to break those barriers, dig in your subconscious, find out why you’ve blocked these memories.”
“Me? I didn’t block them! I just woke up and they were gone!” Becca answered heatedly.
Toby’s cell phone rang, causing him to jump. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, but didn’t answer. “It’s Mom. You keep that paper somewhere safe. I better go for now. Please, Becca,” he squeezed her hand, “open your mind and try to remember. I’ve heard Mom talking on the phone. Whatever she’s up to, I think it’s going down in a couple nights--maybe even tomorrow night. I’m scared it’s big, and I’m scared of who might get hurt. Stay away from our house for awhile.”
The haunted look in Toby’s eyes unnerved Becca even more. “Why don’t you just call the police?” she asked desperately. If anything happened to Toby, she’d never be able to face another day in this life.
“And tell them what, Becca? Besides, Terrance is the police, and he’s even worse than my mother. I’m going to do some investigating tonight and try to find out what this is all about.” He raised a hand to stop Becca’s unvoiced protests. “I’ll be super careful, don’t worry. I’ll tell you what I find out tomorrow.”
After attempting to talk Toby out of doing anything crazy, Becca gave him a long, tight hug. He returned her embrace with as much force, as if they were both afraid they’d never see each other again.
Later that night, Becca sat in her bed, staring to the side at her vanity drawer. A soft breeze carried the warm summer air into her bedroom. The hint of rain touched her sense of smell as she reflected on the day. How did what Toby told her, the paper, the bank card, and the photos connect? She was certain they did somehow, but the more she concentrated on it, the more slippery the answer became. Chris’ advice about not trying so hard resounded in her mind. She briefly wondered what Toby was doing at that moment.
Sighing heavily, Becca switched off her lamp and slid into her covers. She tossed and turned for at least an hour. A soothing sound, a song, caressed her weary mind. Ripples of beautiful energy washed over her skin and she was soon fast asleep.
Becca was completely absorbed in a vivid dream--the kind that happens during the first gray light of morning, before the sun peeks over the horizon. She dreamed of her love, his sun-kissed, messy brown hair shining as brilliantly as his mischievous smile. She could smell the leather of his black jacket as he wrapped his arms around her. Amazingly bright green eyes looked into hers. He laughed a heart-melting laugh as they danced to the sweet spell of an intoxicating song that swirled around them, drawing them closer together.
The man’s face sobered and he looked at Becca with an intensity that made her heart forget its purpose. He touched her heated face with fingertips as cool and soft as a spring breeze. She stood still, mesmerized as he traced her cheek, her jaw line, and then trailed his fingers to her lips. He lightly traced her mouth, his feathery touch tickling her. She smiled and sighed, but then the feeling vanished.
A sudden deep sadness enveloped her as the man leaned close to her ear. She closed her eyes as his caressing voice whispered…
Becca jolted awake, and for the very brief moment before she lurched to a sitting position, thought she saw the man’s face leaning close to her. Cool air washed over her as she cocked her head to the side and held her breath, listening. She thought she’d actually heard someone speak her name.
A damp breeze whispered softly through her open window, followed by the flash of lightening from a distant cloud. Becca jerked her head toward the window, gasping. . Releasing her breath, she plopped back to her pillow. “Dream whisper,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes. “Just another dream whisper.”
The enchanting music and the face of the man from her dream quickly dissolved from her memory as she drifted back to sleep to the sound of softly falling rain.