In the Dark of Night: Book One of the Dark Series

Chapter Twelve

~ Revelations ~

Dara handed her mother a bag of day old bread. They had decided to come to the park and feed the pigeons. Their walk through the park had been filled with silence. Each woman deep in her own thoughts.

"Honey, wait a minute," Carrie said, placing a hand on her daughter. "We have to go back to your place."

"Why? What's wrong?" Dara asked.

"We've been out for hours. What if Dawn called? She'd get your machine again."

"Mama, it's okay," Dara said, rubbing Carrie's hand. "The telephone company is forwarding all my calls to my cell phone. If she calls, we won't miss it."

"Let's sit for a little bit," Carrie suggested.

They looked around and found a bench which overlooked the kiddie playground. There were quite a few children out. Some swung high on the swings. Others took a chance on the slide. Quite a few spun in the exciting turns of the merry-go-round. They laughed and screamed, clearly having the time of their young lives.

"Now, that we're alone, I thought that we could talk," Dara said, quietly to her mother.

"Sure. What's wrong?"

"I want to know why Dawn left. They real reason, and not the story you and Daddy told Alex."

"That wasn't a story. They argued and Dawn ran away. The end," Carrie replied.

"I don't think so. She wouldn't just leave like that. We're not best friends, but I think I know my sister better than that. She wouldn't just run away and not call you or me."

"Well, that's what happened."

"Well...what were they fighting about?" Dara questioned.

"They were fighting!" she said, defensively. "They've always argued. It doesn't matter the topic. You know how they are...like oil and water."

"You weren't there, were you? Does Daddy have you lying for him?"

"Of course not!" Carrie said, emphatically. "I would never lie for him nor anyone else. Especially not, where my child is concerned."

"Well, were you there or not?" Dara asked, impatiently. She was positive her mother was indeed hiding something. Dara wasn't going to stop until she found out what it was.

"Don't take that tone with me, Dara Louise Jensen," Carrie replied.

"My tone? My 17-year-old sister...your daughter...is out there, God knows where, and you're concerned about my tone?" Dara took a breath to calm herself. "Mama, would you please answer the question?" Dara asked, in a calmer voice. "Were you there when she left? Do you know why she left?"

"I was there when she left. I told you that I was," Carrie answered. "But, I don't know why they were fighting or why she left. By the time I came home, the argument was over. Robert was gone, and Dawn was too busy, packing her things. I tried to talk to her, but she was too angry. She said she had to get out and then, she flew out the door. I didn't think she meant permanently."

Carrie began to cry. "I should have insisted we talk it out, but I thought she was coming right back. She always stormed out, but she always came back home, too."

With tears in her eyes, Dara embraced her mother. When her father returned, he had a lot of explaining to do, she promised herself.

*~*~*

"That guy over there says that he knows something about Miss Jensen's sister," the rookie officer said to Alex who was going over his notes in the interrogation room.