Page 22 of Everything She Feared

As Sara resumed driving down the ramp and onto the highway, she reached out, taking Katie’s hand. But Katie only watched the forests rolling by. The drone of the highway was soothing. When Sara gave her hand a tender squeeze and glanced at her, she could feel that Katie was still trembling while staring into the trees.

“It’s okay if you want to talk to me about it, sweetie.”

Katie swallowed, then shifted in her seat, slipping one hand into her front pocket. While driving, Sara saw a metallic flash in Katie’s hand, then the fine chain of a gold necklace.

Katie caressed its tiny gold heart with her thumb.

That’s not Katie’s necklace.

Eyes shifting from the road back to Katie, Sara tried to recall where she’d seen that necklace before.

“That’s so pretty, honey,” Sara said. “Where did you get it?”

“Anna gave it to me.”

“Anna?”

“Yes.”

“You never showed it to me. When did Anna give it to you?”

“Before she fell.”

10

Seattle, Washington

For much ofthe drive Katie held the necklace, often touching the tiny gold heart to her cheek.

As Sara watched, anguish and anxiety pounded at her in waves, stirring old fears. With every mile, she forced herself to focus on getting them home.

But her troubling thoughts raged.

Anna’s death was horrific.

That Katie had been the last to see Anna and now had her necklace only deepened it. Watching the traffic and the suburbs flowing by, Sara wanted to ask Katie more about the necklace, but she held back.

Don’t start anything now. You’re not thinking clearly.

During their drive Sara’s phone pinged with messages and vibrated with calls, but she didn’t respond.I’ll deal with them later.Closer to the city, Katie turned to Sara.

“How long will they keep my phone?”

“I don’t know.”

“I need my phone, Mom.”

Even though Katie was only a kid, Sara had wanted her to have a phone. She got her one for her ninth birthday and had put all the parental controls on it. Being a single, widowed mom, Sara never wanted to be out of touch with her daughter, and knowing she had a phone gave Sara peace of mind.

“Mom, why do they need my phone? It’s my private phone and I want it back.”

“Maybe we can get you a temporary one later, but we won’t worry about that now.”

It wasn’t long before they’d reached their North Seattle neighborhood tucked between Lake City Way and the interstate. A community of hardworking families and well-kept homes shaded by tall trees, it felt like a small town.

Sara had grown up here.

She found a measure of relief when they came to their two-story seashell-gray house. It had belonged to her parents, just like the SUV. Sara got them both after her dad died and after her mom went to a seniors’ home. Her parents’ life insurance and savings went to support her mom’s care, with just enough left so that, with Sara’s job, she and Katie could survive. But lately the cost of her mom’s care was rising to the point where they would soon be unable to afford it.

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