Page 7 of In Her Mind

“That’s not entirely true, Otto.” Norma’s voice quivered but held an underlying steel. “You know as well as I do, Jason’s got a temper. It’s scared me more than once.”

Jenna’s focus shifted between the couple, noting the crack in their united front. “We’ll need to speak with Jason,” she stated firmly.

“Should be at the shop by now,” Otto replied, though his certainty seemed to falter under Norma’s worried gaze.

Otto’s hand trembled slightly as he dialed the familiar number for his auto repair shop.

“Hey, Rudy,” Otto said into the phone. “Could you put Jason on the line?”

Jenna watched his face tighten with concern at what the voice said in reply.

“Okay, Rudy,” Otto said. “Thanks.”

It was clear to Jenna that Jason hadn’t shown up to work. The room fell still after Otto ended the call, except for the ticking of a wall clock marking the passage of time—time during which Amber remained missing.

“Let me try his cell,” Otto said, more to himself than anyone present, as if willing the outcome to be different this time. He punched in the numbers and waited, his hopeful expression fading into resignation as the call diverted straight to voicemail. “Jason, it’s Otto. Call me back, son. It’s urgent.” The finality in his voice as the message ended betrayed Otto’s growing worry.

Jenna made a mental note of Otto’s visible shift from disbelief to concern. She also observed Norma, whose eyes never left her husband, reflecting a mirroring anxiety that seemed to magnify with each unanswered call.

“Mr. Stevens, could you give us Jason’s address?” Jenna asked, breaking the heavy silence. Otto recited it, and she scribbled the information in her notepad with an economy ofmovement, each stroke purposeful. At their request, he also described her blue SUV and recited its plate number.

“Could you show us a photo of Amber?” Jake asked.

Norma rose from her seat, her movements slow as if weighted down by dread. She reached for a silver-framed picture on the mantle, brushing off dust before handing it to Jenna.

“This was taken a few months ago,” she said.

The photo was a captured moment of radiance—a young woman with a bright smile, full of life. Jenna studied the image, the same haunted feeling from her dream resurfacing. She got a different feeling from this picture than she had from the license photo—a sharper feeling of recognition. There was something eerily familiar about Amber’s features, reminiscent of the dream’s spectral visitor. Jenna was struck by the curve of Amber’s smile, so much like the one that had pleaded with her in the ethereal realm of her dreams. Though Jenna knew better than to leap to conclusions, the resemblance was strong.

Jake leaned in to look at the photo, and Jenna sensed his gaze lingering not only on the image but also on her, searching for any sign of her thoughts. She felt exposed under his scrutiny, knowing her next words could alter the trajectory of their investigation—and their understanding of each other.

“Sheriff?” Jake’s voice, laced with concern, barely registered over the pounding of her heart.

She gave a curt nod, trying to steady her breath, to steady the world that seemed to tilt precariously at the edges. Could this vibrant, smiling girl be the one who had appeared to her, spectral and desperate?

She stood up and replaced the photograph on the mantle with care. A part of her— the analytical, grounded sheriff—clung to the hope that there was another explanation, any explanation other than the one her dream suggested.

“Is everything okay?” Norma’s voice broke through the tense silence.

“Of course,” Jenna lied smoothly. “Deputy Hawkins and I will be on our way now, and we’ll do everything we can to find your daughter.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Jenna’s expression was grim as she drove back toward Trentville.

“Well?” Jake’s question cut through her thoughts. “Did the new photo help? Was it Amber who appeared in your dream?”

Jenna shook her head slightly, her eyes never leaving the road. “I still can’t say for sure. The face in the dream was blurred, but the shape... I just got thisfeeling.Like it’s got to be the same woman.”

Jake’s frustration seeped into his tone. “But didn’t the dream woman give you anything? A clue to her identity?”

Drawing in a slow breath, Jenna raked her memory for any scrap of dialogue from the spectral encounter. Silence filled the car again as seconds ticked by. Finally, Jenna let out a sigh, the lines on her forehead deepening. “No, nothing concrete,” she admitted, a note of defeat sounding in her words.

“Maybe you need to push these spirits harder. Get them to talk,” Jake suggested, a touch of impatience coloring his words.

Jenna’s gaze flickered momentarily to him and back to the road. “It’s not that simple,” she replied. “It’s not like flipping a switch, Jake. My dreams, they don’t bend to my will.”

“Just tell me more about what you remember,” he replied calmly.

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