Page 30 of Last Seen
Chapter Nineteen
Halley
Halley’s dad is happy to see her. His room is fragrant, filled with get-well balloons and cards and flowers, and he’s sitting up in the bed, fresh from a shower and shave. His face is pink from exertion. “ Ave, filia . The docs were just in. They’re going to spring me on Monday.”
“ Salve, Pater . So soon? Aren’t you the star pupil!” She gives him a hug. She needs that comforting touch regardless of how upset she is. And if he’s greeting her in Latin, he really is getting better.
“Yeah. They said it’s healing great, and they started me on some crutches at PT this morning, which were a piece of cake, so I’m going to be able to come home instead of going to an inpatient rehab facility.
” He gestures to the corner, where his shiny new crutches lean against the wheelchair he’s been bound to since the accident.
“Oh, Dad, that’s great news. Everyone heals better at home. But the stairs might be a challenge.”
“Definitely. I’ll probably sleep on the foldout in the living room for the first little bit. Anne can make it all cozy.”
“My rugged ‘let’s sleep on the ground instead of a tent so we can see the stars’ father, looking for cozy . Lord, what has happened?”
“Ha ha. They’ve dialed back the drugs, too. I’m telling you, Hals, I was dreaming some really weird stuff.” He is effervescent this morning; the happy professor is back. She’s glad to see it, though she knows she’s about to upset him. She approaches with caution.
“Since you’re doing so great, I’m going to head out of town for a day or two.”
He sighs. “Yeah, I suppose you need to get back to work. Anne can handle things. She and that beast of mine are best friends, he won’t mind her taking care of him. It was great of you to come, jellybean. I really appreciate it.”
“I’m not going back to DC just yet. Listen. I’ve been doing some research about Cat.”
His eyes narrow and his lips compress, as if the word causes him pain.
“I know. But hear me out. I spoke with some of the people who knew her. A friend. Her ex-husband. And her therapist.” She shudders a little at the idea of the letter in her backpack. Should she show him? Or will that really set him off?
“Halley, you must stop. You can’t open this chapter of our lives. You can’t.”
“Well, I have. It’s not fair to expect me to simply learn this news and go about my life as if nothing has changed.
Everything has changed. And I’m going to finish this.
I’m going to find her. At least find out what happened to her.
The last place she was supposed to be is just a few hours south of here.
I’m going to take a quick run down there and see what they have to say. ”
His demeanor shifts immediately. Unhappy isn’t a strong enough term. He is furious.
“Absolutely not. I forbid you to go.”
She was afraid he was going to react like this. She goes for the logical response.
“I understand your concern, but you can’t forbid me to do anything, Dad.
I’m an adult. This has to happen. I have to know why she did it, and to do that, I have to find out where she is.
Whether she’s alive or not. I just wanted you to tell Anne to stop by and give Ailuros his tuna.
I filled up his bowls, and he’s all set for the day.
Seriously, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be back tomorrow, Saturday at the latest.”
She’s never seen him so fired up. He never yells, but he does now.
“You have no business getting involved. Hire a private investigator if you’re that hell bent on finding that monster.
I’ll pay for it.” He struggles in the bed as if he will get up and physically stop her, and she shakes her head and presses his shoulders back down to the thin, crackly mattress.
Whoever designed hospital beds didn’t have snuggly rest in mind.
“Relax. Okay? I won’t take any chances. It’s a writers’ retreat in a sweet little town that has a huge farm on its land.
It looks like a really nice place. I just want to talk to them.
It will be a quick in and out. I want to get the lay of the land, see what she saw.
It might help me figure out where she is. ”
“Then call them and ask them for pictures.”
“You’re funny.”
“And how does Theo feel about this?”
She blows out a breath. “We’re on a break.”
“You don’t get breaks from your husband, Halley. What the hell is going on? Is that why you were so available to come running?”
“You’re my dad. You got hurt. Of course I was going to come running. That’s not fair.”
“And work is cool with you skipping out?”
“I have some ... Oh, hell, might as well. I got fired, okay? I’ve lost my job, my world’s been turned upside down, and then I find out you’ve been lying to me my whole life.
Now I have one tiny chance at finding out the truth about my past, and you’re telling me not to. I’m sorry. That doesn’t work for me.”
“You got fired?”
She plops into an infuriated pile in his side chair.
“Yes. The board is blaming me for a ransomware attack. I believe it’s in retaliation for a sexual harassment incident.
I am going to have to sue them, and things with Theo have been really rough.
Okay? This is just something I need to do, because if I sit here another minute, I’m going to go mad. ”
His face twists with hurt.
“I don’t mean you. I mean I have nothing to lose right now.”
“You. You could lose yourself. And that would kill me, Halley. For God’s sake, please. Don’t do this.”
“It’s going to be fine. Promise. I love you, Dad. I’ll see you in a couple of days. I’ll bring you back some homegrown zucchini.”
The joke falls flat. He’s so mad his voice is shaking.
“I’ve never known you to act foolishly, Halley Leia James. But that’s what you’re doing. You are flaunting my concerns—my very valid concerns, and I bet your husband’s as well—and putting yourself, and your family, at risk. I will not stand for it.”
All three names, huh? Her temper is starting to flare now, too. But she’s not going to engage. She has every right to her own story, and finding Cat is integral to learning the truth.
“We’ll see. I’ll be back before you get released. Promise.”
She blows him a kiss and leaves the room before he goes apoplectic. He’s broken her trust, and now he doesn’t have a say in what she does. She stifles a pang at his anguished roar—“Halley, please”—and closes the door to his room.
Out at the nurses’ station, she looks for Kater, but she must be in a room. She asks the nurse on duty if she’s seen her.
“No, actually. She hasn’t come in yet this morning. She’s late.”
“We were at Joe’s last night. Playing pool.”
The nurse—her name badge says “Triss”—smiles conspiratorially and stage-whispers, “Might be the margarita flu.”
“It might,” Halley agrees. “We let loose.”
“She usually calls, though. She’s very responsible.”
“I’ll swing by her place on my way out of town, see if I can roust her. Have a good day. Don’t let my dad give you any hell. He’s pretty fired up right now.”
“I won’t. He’s a good guy. You should listen to him.”
Halley frowns. “You were eavesdropping?”
“Not on purpose, y’all were shouting. He’s been pretty stoned, Halley. He talks to us like we’re you sometimes. He’s mentioned your mom. How she died. I’m really sorry. That must be hard.”
Halley shoves her hands into her jeans pockets, protecting, withdrawing. She’s not ready to discuss her mom with strangers. “Thanks. I’m not sure how I feel yet. What else has he said?”
“Nothing much, just that he’s worried about you. Like, really worried.”
“I can take care of myself.”
The nurse smiles. “Of course you can. But he’s your dad. He only wants what’s best for you.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.” Halley flees before the nurse can push it further. She’s getting really tired of everyone trying to protect her. No one can possibly understand how this feels. The terror, the flashbacks, the sorrow. She’s losing everything, and it’s too much.
Leaving the hospital, she’s tempted to call Theo but reminds herself they are separated, and besides, he’s on a plane to Texas and will be out of touch until the case is wrapped.
Being married to someone who gets sent off at a moment’s notice to any number of dangerous places and situations has always been hard for her to swallow.
It was something they talked about in the beginning, before she took the job at NISL, the stable job, instead of one of the alphabet agencies, because she knew their relationship wouldn’t stand the constant fractures of never having a regular schedule.
Never knowing if the other will be home for dinner?
What state, or country, they’re in at any given time?
She has friends who were in these situations—med school and military, two different agencies with separate deployments—and the strain on their relationships was palpable, and eventually, broke them.
If a long-term situation is going to work, eventually, someone has to give up and hold down the fort.
Usually the woman, since she’s in charge of birthing and raising the kids.
And Halley made those decisions happily, not expecting him to give up his career to raise a family.
Of course, then it all backfired on her.
A few missed dinners seems like nothing in comparison to what she did for him.
There it is, that spark of anger at the situation. Don’t forget why you left, Halley. It was about more than the babies. It was about everything you gave up for him, too.
The Jeep is a good road trip car. She puts on some music as she winds down the mountain.
It’s not a complicated drive. Over to I-81, then straight down to the Tennessee border, turn east when she hits Bristol.
Brockville is an hour off the highway, in a valley not unlike the one she’s driving into now at the base of her own mountain.