Page 96 of Chasing Dreams
Was she just wishing so hard that she saw what she wanted? No. No, everything had been verified. This was Maggie’s son. And he would be here within the hour.
“Can you tell us anything more?” she asked shakily.
“As a matter of fact I can. We’ve taken the Missouri couple into custody. They’re Dave and Pauline Gilbert.”
“That’s right,” Shaine interrupted. “I’d forgotten all about it, but I heard her say that name. In my dream she told Jack that Dave left because Jack was a bad boy.”
“Dave left because she was a drunk.” Ken went on to explain. “We’ve questioned family and neighbors. It seems Pauline has had a drinking problem since before anyone can remember. Their marriage was on the rocks about two years ago, and she went to a clinic and dried out.
“That’s when they started looking for a baby. After being denied a child through the agencies, they obviously found a corrupt way to get one. Apparently it was a last-ditch effort on Pauline’s part to save the marriage. They told everyone they’d adopted this little boy they called Brandon.”
“He must be so confused,” Shaine said, thinking of the year the child had been away. But there was more she had to know. “Was he abused?”
“No. He’s been examined, and there’s no sign of abuse. He’s well-nourished and physically healthy. Dave must have seen to that.”
“Thank God.”
“Of course, buying a child wasn’t enough to save the marriage. Dave moved out and filed for divorce about two weeks ago. Last week Pauline started drinking again.”
It sounded like a story on one of those prime-time news shows. Shaine would no doubt be approached for her input on a movie of the week. She stared at Ken. “Will the media hear about this?”
“I’m sure they will eventually. We’ve kept a tight lid on it, but as soon as our men are out of the homes we’ve been guarding, the story will be out, and the press will follow a trail straight to you. We’ll do our best to keep it quiet as long as we can, but I can’t make you any promises.”
“I know. I’ll deal with that when the time comes.” She sat with her chin in her hand, her elbow on the table, piecing together all this information with her dreams. A waitress refilled Austin and Ken’s cups, and for the first time she noticed the coffee in front of her.
“So the dreams I had about Jack, the really bad ones, those events haven’t happened yet.”
“I don’t believe they have,” Austin confirmed. “Everything you saw about Jack, Amy Cutter, the other children, that was all in the future. Some of those sightings, like the woman picking up Amy Cutter from the daycare, were in the near future. That could have happened the same day. Others, like the dreams of Jack and Daisy, were in the more distant future. Your visions of the woman at the cemetery and the man at the piano could be either, because they’re such normal everyday events.”
Austin gave her a look she couldn’t read. “One of the reasons I had to get away from this,” he said, “was because I couldn’t change anything I’d seen. I saw so much horrible stuff in the past.”
“I know that,” she assured him. “I’ve seen what it does to you, and I understand now.”
“But you changed things, Shaine. Because of you, all these children are being returned to their parents and their homes.”
“Not just because of me. You helped.”
“I helped, but it was your intuition that led us in the first place.”
“My motivation was selfish.”
“You two make a great team,” Ken inserted, reminding Shaine he’d been listening to their exchange. “Think you might want to do a little part-time work with me after this is over?”
She met Austin’s eyes and knew his thoughts because she knew him so well. He’d only done this for her. She’d shown him hope in this case, but he’d extended himself as far as he was able.
“No.” Austin gave Ken a serious look. “I’m out of that life for good.”
“Yeah, well, I knew that, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. You?” he asked, turning to Shaine.
“I don’t think so,” she answered with a shake of her head. There were still many more nuances of the gift she could learn from Austin, among them the ability to turn it on and off at will. She had questions for him, but this was neither the time nor the place.
Their conversation had momentarily steered her thoughts away from the plane they awaited, but once again, she found herself looking at the time on her phone.
The plane ended up being twenty minutes late. Austin and Ken sat in the molded plastic chairs in the waiting area, but Shaine paced before the floor-to-ceiling glass, watching, praying.
At long last a plane landed and taxied to the terminal. The men in jumpsuits took forever to stretch the ramp out and secure it. Immediately inside the doorway stood two security guards, one on each side where the passengers were coming into the terminal.
Shaine waited at the front of a small crowd. Austin and Ken stood to her right. She met Austin’s eyes, and he gave her a smile of encouragement. A million butterflies danced in her stomach.
