The Anniversary (46 page)

5

It was like a terrible nightmare. She just wanted to wake up.

6

But she could smell the damp, moldy basement, feel the cords on 7

her wrists. If only he would let her talk! If only she could explain!

8

She rolled her head from side to side, moved it up and down. She 9

tried to talk through the thing in her mouth, but the sounds she 10

made weren’t words.

11

The man was getting up on his knees now, leaning over her.

12

“I’m sorry, Anna,” he said again. He even sounded sad. For a 13

second he sounded like someone she knew, but then that thought 14

was gone.

15

Leaning down toward her, he looped the panty hose around her 16

neck. When he lifted her head, she felt his hand, big and hot and 17

strong.
This isn’t happening,
she told herself.
This isn’t happening.

18

One more loop around Anna’s neck, then he hunkered back. The 19

fabric scratched against Anna’s neck. He slowly pulled it tighter.

20

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6:25 a.m. A numbness had settled over Callie as night gave way 23

to morning. Upstairs, she heard the flow of water. Parillo was tak-24

ing a shower. The state police technician, still manning the 25

phone, was reading a magazine. The crime scene processors had 26

packed up and left. The house was her own again. But the heavy 27

torpor that suffused her body kept her from getting up.

28

“It’s looking worse, isn’t it?” Callie said tonelessly. “With every 29

hour she goes missing, the chances are less that she’s okay.”

30

The technician looked up from his reading. “It’s only been six 31

hours,” he said. “A little less, maybe.” He managed something 32

like a smile, but it didn’t seem convincing.

33

Callie buried her head in her hands. She couldn’t stop the im-34

ages from unrolling in her mind. They multiplied with frighten-35 S

ing speed, the possibilities. She saw Anna raped, molested, 36 R

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terrified, crying for help. Or maybe —
please, God, please, God,
1

no
— maybe she was dead.

2

Footsteps on the stairway. The water upstairs had stopped. Par-3

illo appeared in the kitchen doorway, her short, dark hair still 4

damp. Crossing the room, she touched Callie’s shoulder. “You 5

sure I can’t call anyone? Someone to come and be with you?”

6

Callie shook her head.

7

As Parillo sat down to resume her vigil, a car pulled up outside.

8

Instantly, Callie was on her feet moving toward the door. But it 9

was only Lambert and Knight. Knight was wearing a shirt and tie; 10

he’d dispensed with the undercover garb. Listlessly, Callie fol-11

lowed them into the living room.

12

“Ms. Thayer,” Lambert said, once they’d all sat down. “I know 13

we’ve been through this before. But is there anyone else Anna 14

might have told she was planning to run away?”

15

Seated on the couch across from him, Callie had a sinking feel-16

ing. “You believe Henry’s story,” she said. “You believe she was 17

kidnapped.” She realized that she’d clung to the hope that they’d 18

find it wasn’t true, that just as Lambert had first speculated, Anna 19

was simply hiding.

20

“We’re exploring all the possibilities. But yes, I’m afraid that, 21

as best we can tell, Henry’s telling the truth.”

22

“What did he say about the kidnapper? How did he describe 23

him?”

24

“We have a sketch artist with Henry now, working on a draw-25

ing. He described him as having a bushy beard, but that could be 26

a disguise.”

27

“What about the car? Did Henry get the make or license 28

number?”

29

“He said it was a dark sedan, but that’s about all he remem-30

bered. He wasn’t sure of the color. Maybe dark blue or green.”

31

“Did you ask Henry if
he
told anyone that they were running 32

away?”

33

“He said that he didn’t. He said that they’d sworn to each 34

other not to tell anyone.”

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“So what does that mean?” asked Callie. “If they didn’t tell 2

anyone, does that mean it was a stranger? Someone who just hap-3

pened to be there and saw the kids on the street?”

4

“That’s one possibility,” said Lambert. “Another is that some-5

one was watching.”

6

“Have you talked to Nathan Lacoste?”

7

“We interviewed him early this morning. He let us search his 8

apartment, and we didn’t find anything suspicious. He says he 9

was home alone last night, that he got home around eleven.”

10

“But he doesn’t have an alibi?”

11

“No,” Lambert said. Just as he spoke, his beeper went off. He 12

glanced down. “Excuse me.” He reached for his cell phone and 13

punched in numbers, got someone on the line.

14

Suddenly, Lambert was leaning forward, his whole body rigid.

15

Was it good or bad? She couldn’t tell. Her eyes raked his face.

16

“When? . . . Are you sure? . . . Where is she now?” Lambert 17

looked up from the phone. “They’ve located a young girl who 18

claims to be your daughter. They found her up by the Stop and 19

Shop, alone in the parking lot. She’s a little confused, disori-20

ented. But the photo you gave us seems to match.”

21

“Oh, my God!” Callie choked. She started to laugh hysteri-22

cally, then suddenly she was crying. “Oh, my God,” she said 23

again. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

24

“She’s in a squad car now, on her way to the hospital.”

25

Callie looked at him, alarmed. “The hospital? What’s wrong?”

26

“Nothing’s wrong. She seems fine. But we just want to be sure.

27

A doctor will take a look at her, and then she can go home.”

28

Lambert was on the phone again. “Right. I’m sure she will.” He 29

held out the cell phone to Callie. “They’re going to patch her 30

through now.”

31

“Patch her — you mean, I can talk to her? She’s . . . she’s there 32

now?”

33

Lambert was handing the receiver to her. She clutched it like 34

a lifeline. For a moment, she heard static and then a faint voice.

35 S

“Mommy?”

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“Anna.” She could barely speak. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

1

“I . . . I think so.”

2

Callie couldn’t stop crying.
Anna was safe! Alive!

3

“Mommy? There was this man, and he made me go with him.

4

He picked me up and put me in his car. He took me to a basement.”

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Anna’s voice was eerily calm, like she was telling a story.

6

Tears streamed down Callie’s face. “You’re safe now,” she said.

7

“We need to get you over there,” Lambert whispered to Callie.

8

“Anna? I’m on my way to meet you. I love you,” Callie said.

9

When Callie hung up, she looked at Lambert. “Thank you,”

10

she said. “Thank you.”

11

Everything had changed so quickly, she could hardly take it in.

12

The images that had tormented her were still seared on her brain.

13

Anna’s safe,
she told herself.
Anna’s safe. They’ve found her.
But a 14

part of her wouldn’t believe it until they were face-to-face.

15

As they stood up, getting ready to go, Parillo gave Callie a 16

quick once-over. “Maybe you want to brush your hair? Put on a 17

little makeup?”

18

Callie’s first reaction was impatience. Who cared how she 19

looked? Then she realized that Parillo wasn’t thinking of her.

20

Parillo was thinking of Anna.

21

“I’ll do it in the car,” she said, as she headed to the door.

22

In the powdery reflection of a compact mirror, she seemed to 23

have aged ten years. There were deep violet circles under her 24

eyes, and her skin was a papery gray. Callie dragged a brush 25

through her hair, then tried to put on lipstick, but the car made a 26

sharp turn, throwing her off balance. With a finger, she wiped 27

away a reddish smudge.
Good enough,
she thought.

28

Just five minutes later, they reached the hospital. Pulling 29

around to a back entrance, they clambered out of the car. The air 30

was blue and luminous, smelling of flowers and dew. It was hard 31

to believe that, here outside, the world had gone on unchanged.

32

Callie walked to the end of the sidewalk. Her legs felt rubbery.

33

She stared down the main drag of the parking lot, to the busy 34

street beyond.

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In the steady stream of morning traffic, a police cruiser came 2

into view.

3

“There! I see them. That must be them.” Callie grabbed Par-4

illo’s hand.

5

A light turned red. For an endless moment, the cruiser stopped.

6

When the light turned green, it moved forward. But not fast 7

enough.

8

It seemed to take an eternity for the cruiser finally to reach 9

them. As it turned into the parking lot, Callie was running for-10

ward. The car pulled up, the back door opened, and Anna tum-11

bled out. She looked unbearably small and thin, with wild, 12

unfocused eyes.

13

“Mommy!” she cried plaintively.

14

And flew into Callie’s arms.

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17

He was trying to make sense of it, to figure out what had gone 18

wrong. He’d been so close, almost there, when something had 19

stopped him short.

20

Only time is fair.

21

He still believed that part.

22

So why hadn’t he gone through with it? Why hadn’t he killed 23

Anna?

24

Again, he went over it in his mind, putting the pieces together.

25

She’d been trying to talk to him, he could tell from the sounds 26

she made. He’d struggled to ignore the muffled cries as he calmly 27

spoke to her. He’d needed her to understand why he had to do 28

this. Still, at that point, he’d had no doubt that he would carry 29

through.

30

When he’d finished talking, he’d wrapped the stockings tightly 31

around her throat. Then, looking down, he’d met those huge 32

blue eyes. That was it, he realized now, the instant when every-33

thing changed. He’d wanted to see Laura in her, but he’d just 34

seen a little girl.

35 S

A sudden flash of insight.

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He couldn’t kill a child.

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If only he’d realized this before! So much effort wasted. It made 1

him sick to think of Laura’s relief at having her child back. He 2

who’d hoped to cause her only pain had now brought her joy. His 3

only comfort was in thinking about what he had planned for her.

4

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h

6

Callie awoke in her own bed, Anna asleep in her arms. Light 7

glinted in from beneath drawn shades, the rays of a setting sun.

8

As she listened to Anna’s measured breathing, Callie snuggled 9

closer, inhaling the damp familiar smell of her daughter’s golden 10

skin. The hours they’d spent at the hospital seemed very far away, 11

like something they’d watched on television, not something 12

they’d lived. She’d held Anna in her lap while detectives talked 13

to her. Anna had answered their endless questions in a tone of 14

polite disinterest. No, the man hadn’t hurt her, hadn’t touched 15

her under her clothes. A medical exam confirmed that there was 16

no sign of sexual assault.

17

When Anna started talking about the black stockings, Callie 18

could hardly listen. Slowly, she’d stroked Anna’s hair, trying to 19

reassure her.

20

“He kept saying that my mother’s name was Laura, but I 21

couldn’t say anything. He had something inside my mouth. I 22

couldn’t talk at all. He acted like I was someone else, except that 23

he knew my name. He . . . he said he had to kill me. ’Cause of 24

something Laura did. Oh, yeah, and then he told me he was sorry.

25

I almost forgot that part.”

26

Anna burrowed deeper into Callie’s lap, as if she’d like to crawl 27

inside her.

28

“Did he say exactly what your mother had done?” Lambert’s 29