Page 26 of Everything She Feared

“I don’t know but I put it my pocket because I didn’t want to lose it and everyone was excited to get their backpacks on and get off the bus, and we were at the back.”

Sara thought for a moment.

“Do the police know you have Anna’s necklace?”

“It’s my necklace, Mom. She gave it to me.”

“Yes, but later, did you tell, or show, the police how Anna gave it to you?”

“No, they never asked me. I kept it my pocket. I didn’t want to lose it.” Katie slapped the water with both hands. “Mom, please, it’s not important anymore.”

“I know, honey, I know.” Sara had another idea. “Maybe I should hold on to it and we should think about giving it back to Anna’s parents?”

“Why?”

“I’m sure Anna’s mom would like to have it.”

“But it’s mine.”

Sara didn’t know what to say. She looked at Katie for a few worried seconds before finally reaching for a towel.

Katie slept in Sara’s bed that night.

In the darkness, Sara was listening to her breathing when suddenly a noise rose from the street.

Plastic scraping against pavement.

Sara went to her window, looked down at her black and blue trash containers on the curb. Tomorrow was collection day. It sounded as if someone had moved them.Weird, no one’s there.In the past, she’d occasionally seen a homeless person sifting through the neighborhood garbage.But no one’s there.

She returned to bed.

Settling back under her sheets, listening to Katie’s breathing, the tragedy, and the dread compounding it, tormented Sara.

While Katie slept, Sara inserted earphones and connected them to her tablet so she could listen to news reports on what had happened. A photo of Anna from one of her social media accounts blossomed on the screen as a report began:

“A Seattle teen died today after falling from a cliff while reportedly taking a selfie on a trail during a group outing in Sparrow Song Park east of the city...”

Dramatic shaky aerial footage showed the tarp near the river, then cut to reaction shots of parents in the parking lot. Sara and Katie were in a few of them, including when they had consoled Anna’s parents. But the reports only named Anna and in most reports Katie’s face was blurred—a few showed Sara’s face, but her head was turned.

“Sources have identified the victim as Anna Catherine Shaw, seventeen, of Seattle. At this stage, her death appears to be a tragic hiking accident. King County detectives are investigating. We’ll update you as more information becomes available...”

Other reports Sara watched and read were similar.

Then she checked other social media, to see some of the things people were saying.

How horrible. My heart goes out to her family.

What a waste. She was so young.

WTF, dying for a dumb picture.

Shutting off her tablet, her stomach in knots, Sara looked at Katie.

This can’t be happening.

The gray-and-white flowers of Sara’s tattoo stirred troubling memories.

All these years, without anyone knowing about us.

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