The Soulkeepers

Chapter 12: A Girl Worth Fighting For

Chapter 12
A Girl Worth Fighting For

When Jacob woke up, Dr. Silva was in the same chair. He had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but the weather had changed and rain pelted the window in angry bursts. Self-conscious, he ran the back of his hand across his mouth to check for drool. Had she been watching him sleep?

Dr. Silva explained that he was done for the day, but Jacob would be expected to work every Saturday morning. She would be waiting for him in the back of the house a week from today. He agreed, straightened his shirt, and followed her to the door.

Spending a morning with Dr. Silva made Jacob feel like he’d survived skydiving or bungee jumping. What was it she’d said about herself? Something about her father kicking her out of the house when she was young? He couldn’t remember.

Why had he told her all of those things about himself? After all, people had been hounding him to talk since he’d arrived here: Principal Bailey, Uncle John, and even Malini would have loved some info. Why did he pick the one person he feared the most and trusted the least to share his most private thoughts? There was no explanation. Jacob broke out in gooseflesh just thinking about it.

The Laudners’ front door was unlocked and he let himself in. He didn’t mind the rain so much, but he was anxious to put another door between Dr. Silva and himself. Plus, it was cold, Paris cold. In his haste, he almost whacked John, who was standing just inside the door, scowling at a list in his hand.

“Jacob! You’re back. Are you done for the day?” John’s eyes were annoyingly hopeful.

“Yeah, she said we would start next Saturday, so…”

“Probably can’t do much today with the rain and all, huh. So, do you have a few minutes to help me with something?”

“Uh, sure. What is it?”

“Good! I need you to come into town with me. Aunt Carolyn needs some groceries but I have some things to do at the shop. I was hoping you could pick ’em up while I’m working.”

“Sure.” Jacob needed to get his mind off of what had happened with Dr. Silva and he wasn’t excited about hanging out in the house alone with Katrina.

“Let’s take Big Blue.”

Big Blue was a monster of a Chevy with rusted-out wheel wells and robin’s egg blue paint that barely adhered to the metal. The engine was loud and the seats were torn, but John often said, “Still runs great!” Aunt Carolyn refused to ride in it. Jacob guessed that was an added incentive for John to keep it around.

They headed into town on Rural Route One, the uncomfortable silence not overcome by the hum of the engine.

“Have you heard anything about my mom?” he asked.

“Yes and no,” John sighed. “I was trying to find the right time to tell you this. The police have stopped the active investigation. The case is still open but nobody is going out on it anymore.”

“Do you mean they’ve stopped looking for her?” His voice was louder than he’d intended and it filled the small cab.

“I don’t want to upset you, Jacob. The case is still open but they just don’t have any leads. There were no fingerprints and the only blood they found was hers. They are not actively looking because there’s no place left to look … unless more evidence pops up somewhere.”

Jacob had suspected as much. It had been months. But it didn’t make it any easier to hear. “Do you know … can I have what was in her purse? I mean, there were pictures and things in her wallet,” he said, but what he was thinking was that somewhere, near the bottom, there might be a small key: a key that might open up a jewelry box, a box that might hold a clue to her last days. He couldn’t say that to Uncle John though because the box was his mother’s secret, a secret she’d kept even from him, and Jacob would keep it from everyone else, until he knew what it was and if it could help find her.