Chapter 3
3
P ari sat in front of her bedroom window on her wooden bench and stared numbly at the buildings in the distance. She wiped her nose as the first tear fell. Again. She’d spent the last two days searching for Raina and Halden, calling every hospital in New York. None of them had any record of a Halden Kolbeck. When she called the original hospital at Uncle Al’s advice, and asked if they could find Halden, the woman on the phone at least confirmed he’d been moved to another hospital. But didn’t say which one.
So, Pari started a frantic search, then searched some more. She thought she might go out of her mind making so many phone calls. Pari even got Uncle Al and Uncle Leo to help.
The three came up with nothing.
Pari jumped when a car peeled out in the street below and pulled her legs up and hugged them. Her chest felt empty, and her heart ached. She’d lost her new friends in a blink of an eye. Would she ever see them again?
She turned her head and rested it on her knees. What troubled her the most was the fact neither Raina nor Halden called to tell her where they were or if they were okay. She wanted to help; didn’t they know that?
Pari changed positions again, her chin on her knees, and stared straight ahead. She let the tears well up, slide down her cheeks, and didn’t care. She hurt, and part of her felt as if this was somehow her fault. But what tore her heart out was the fact she could do nothing about it.
How could she help Raina and Halden when she had no idea where they were or how to find them? If Raina was discharged, then where in the world was she?
She squeezed her eyes shut as more tears fell. She hated feeling helpless, but she hated the hollow feeling in her chest even more. She didn’t understand it and wasn’t going to try. The only thing she could think of was, Dr. Merrill was right. She’d been so lonely after Ariel and Todd moved to California that she needed to make some new friends.
But when it came down to it, she was shy and socially awkward and got stressed out trying to talk to people. Raina and Halden were different somehow. In a way they seemed as lost as she was most of the time.
Pari wiped her eyes, blew her nose on a paper towel and left the bench. She might as well go to bed. She had to open tomorrow, and Uncle Al wanted her to clean and polish some new pieces he bought at an estate sale he went to yesterday. She didn’t even know what the pieces were.
Twenty minutes later Pari lay in bed, her throat still thick with emotion, and hoped she could sleep. She’d been so wound up trying to find Raina and Halden, she’d slept fitfully the last couple of nights and hadn’t eaten much either.
She’d gone through Raina and Halden’s things after work today, looking for any clue that would tell her where they might have gone. But there was nothing. Then again, she might not recognize something as being a clue even if it was one.
“Dang it!” Pari tossed back the covers, got out of bed, and paced before the window. She stopped near the bench, sinking to her knees, as fresh tears fell. “What is wrong with me?” She hugged herself as her shoulders shook with silent sobs. “I didn’t even know them that long.”
She let herself cry it out. Whatever this was would have to stop eventually, right?
And it did, after about an hour. Pari was so exhausted she lay on the carpet, too tired to crawl back into bed.
When she woke up to the sound of her alarm going off, she didn’t know where she was for a moment. Then she remembered her marathon pity party and climbed to her feet.
She shut off the alarm and looked out the window for a moment or two, her mind a blank. She supposed she needed the emotional release last night and wasn’t going to berate herself for having a good cry. This was more than Raina and Halden’s disappearance. This was Jeffrey, his group of bullying friends, her lack of confidence she tried to cover up and so many other things. She was a train wreck of a person and knew it.
Pari took a shower, pushing everything deep down inside like she always did. She had to function, get through work so she could spend the rest of the afternoon looking for Raina and Halden, but she was running out of places to search. She could always start calling hospitals on Long Island. She hadn’t tried any of those yet.
After her shower, she ate and left for the shop. When she arrived, she went to the back room and found the pieces Uncle Al was talking about. A beautiful silver coffee set with matching cups and a matching serving tray.
Pari got to work and tried not to think about her search for Raina and Halden. In truth, she didn’t want to think about anything.
She heard the bell above the door ring, set down the creamer she was cleaning, and went to the front of the shop. “Good morning, how can I…” she stopped up short when she saw Jeffrey waltzing her way.
“Hey baby,” he said smoothly. He looked around. “No Uncle Al here with you?”
She froze. “Get out.”
He gave her a slow, lazy smile. “So, where’s your new friend?” He pointed at his jaw. “He knocked half my teeth loose last week. Did he tell you that?”
She narrowed her eyes at him and took a threatening step forward. Jeffry was stocky and strong. But Halden had taught him a lesson, and it fueled her boldness. “And he’ll knock them out if you don’t leave.”
Jeffrey’s eyes darted around the room, as if Halden might be hiding somewhere. “Don’t see him.”
“Jeffrey,” she said on a sigh. “Just leave.”
His eyes raked over her. “I’ll leave. After all, I wouldn’t want your new boyfriend beating me up again.” He smiled.
Pari’s chest tightened. Oh no, not now…
He watched her a moment. “What’s the matter, Pari. You look…” he cocked his head. “… scared.”
“Leave,” she croaked out.
“Sure, baby. Anything you say. Best be careful, working here all by yourself. You never know who might come through that door.” He made a show of looking around, then fixed his eyes on her and smiled.
She stood stock still, but only because she couldn’t move, and stared him down.
His smile in place, he backed up, eyes still fixed on her, and slipped out the door.
Her shoulders slumped even as her heart hammered in her chest. Did he know Halden was gone? Had Uncle Al told him? But wouldn’t Uncle Al have said something to her if he had?
She looked at her hands. They were shaking. She went behind the counter and gripped the edge. She couldn’t let that jerk Jeffrey get to her.
Pari drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then took another, repeating her deep breathing to calm herself down. When she had a handle on her nerves, she returned to the back room and picked up the creamer.
She concentrated on her job, sold a few of the shop’s more expensive pieces to some tourists, and soon Uncle Al arrived. “How’d we do? Sell anything?”
“Yes, three hundred dollars’ worth. And I finished cleaning the new pieces.”
“Great, thanks. There’s an estate sale in Greenport tomorrow I want to go to. Think you can handle a full day?” He went behind the counter and looked at the transactions she’d recorded.
Pari hesitated, she wanted to keep looking for Raina and Halden, but she could always make calls between customers. “Sure.”
“That’s my girl.” He nodded at the door. “Now get out of here. I know you want to look for your friends.”
She smiled and nodded. “I do.”
He gave her a solemn nod as she went into the office for her bag and left the shop.
She hurried toward home, thinking of what other areas she could search. Should she search hospitals in Jersey? It was a thought, but first she’d call a few on Long Island.
The sound of running feet behind her caught her attention. Probably a bunch of teenagers. She looked over her shoulder as she sidestepped to get out of the way and almost tripped over her own feet. “Jeffery!”
He grabbed her by the arm. “Miss me?”
She tried to yank her arm out of his grasp, but he wouldn’t let go. Jeffrey’s friend Thomas grabbed her other arm. “Hey, Pari.” He looked her up and down and scrubbed his hand over her head. “Nice haircut.”
“Get off me!”
Jeffery wrapped an arm around her. “Now why would he do that?” He pinned her to his side and kept walking.
They were approaching the subway shuttle bridge near her place. They’d be out of sight while going under it, unless there was anyone up the street. Right now, she didn’t have time to look. Brad, Jeffrey’s other friend, pulled her from Jeffrey and shoved her. “Hey Pari.” He moved behind her, and she elbowed him in the gut.
Brad let go an “umphf,” and Pari almost smiled at the sound. But there was no point, as all she really did was tick him off.
“Now that wasn’t very nice,” Carl, one more of Jeffery’s friends appeared and smirked. He got in front of her, walking backwards. They were almost under the bridge. If she yelled loud enough, it would draw attention to them. “Back off, Carl!”
He laughed. “I don’t know, Jeff. You got your hands full with this one.”
Jeffrey sneered. “We’re gonna have our hands full of all kinds of things once we get her upstairs.”
Her eyes went wide.
Jeffrey shoved her at Brad. He in turn pushed her toward Thomas, who forced her back to Jeffrey.
“Knock it off you jerks!” She punched Jeffrey as hard as she could. It might be her only chance.
He cursed and grabbed her arm. “You’re going to regret that.”
Okay, that didn’t work. She sucked in a breath to scream, but Thomas clamped a hand over her mouth. “Bad girl. We mustn’t scream for help.”
“Let’s hurry up and get her inside,” Jeffrey said. “I get her first.”
They crowded around her and started moving. She was surrounded, hidden from view, and didn’t know what she could do to free herself.
Pari began to struggle with everything she had when there came a vicious roar, like from a wild animal. Jeffery and the others came to a sudden stop and started to spread out to see better. Thomas still had a hold of her when there came another animal sound. This one a low, guttural growl. Was the creature right in front of them?! Pari couldn’t tell; Brad and Carl were blocking her view.
Before she could blink, Jeffrey was flying through the air and disappeared into a yard, two doors down! What was happening?
Suddenly Carl and Brad were heading for the ground as something smacked both Pari and Thomas, and they went down. Thomas let go of her when they landed and scrambled to his feet. A group of men— big men —were fighting not feet away. She scooted backward, got to her feet and raced away. None of Jeffrey’s friends followed. She didn’t blame them. She heard snarling and the sound of fists striking flesh. The fight behind her was serious, and she wasn’t about to stick around.
Pari ran for her building’s front door, fumbled with the keys, and managed to get the building’s front door unlocked. As soon as she did, she unlocked the vestibule door that let her into the building and raced for the staircase. Neither of her uncles were home, or she’d take refuge with one of them.
Pari flew up all four flights of stairs, her lungs burning by the time she reached the top. She dropped her keys twice trying to unlock her door, and when she got it open, she slammed it behind her, locking and chaining it for good measure. She grabbed at her chest, breathing hard as she leaned against the door. If she didn’t get a grip, she’d throw up.
Pari went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face to help her calm down. To think Jeffrey and his friends were going to…
She covered her face with her hands and willed herself not to cry. “Calm down, I have to calm down.” She took a few deep breaths then left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen.
She’d just entered her living room when she stopped up short.
“Hello, Pari.”
She froze, just like she always did. A well-dressed man sat in her favorite chair, one of her books in his hands, as if he’d been reading it. “Wh-wh-who are you?”
“Name’s Oswald. But that doesn’t matter.” The man stood. He looked to be in his early forties, was a little chubby, and had dark hair and dark eyes. “What does matter is that he wants you .” He grinned. “Acquiring you is going to make my boss real happy.”
She shook her head in confusion. “What?”
Before she could say or do anything else, someone grabbed her from behind and jabbed something into her neck. “Ow!” Oh no! Had he just given her some kind of shot?!
Pari made to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. She struggled a few seconds before she was slowly sinking to the floor, her captor’s arm still around her waist. She caught sight of the well-dressed man as he watched her. Then there was only blackness.