“Your mother is upstairs in the tub,” Casey says.
“Fine. You and the others get out of the house. There’s a…”
“What, miss?”
“There might be a bomb in the guesthouse. I don’t think it’s a bomb, but we have to—”
Casey’s eyes widen. “The guesthouse is yards away, but we should get out of here.”
“That’s what I’m telling you. I have to get my mother.” I hand Jed’s leash to Casey. “Protect him. Please.”
Casey nods as he leaves the house, yelling to the housekeeper.
I run up the stairs. I don’t bother knocking on my mother’s bedroom door or bathroom door. She’s in the tub, lounging in a bubble bath.
“Mom!”
Her eyes pop open. “Katelyn, I’m in the tub.”
“I know. Get out. Dry off and get some clothes on quickly. We need to get out of the house.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There might be a bomb in the guesthouse. I don’t think there is, but—”
She scrambles out of the tub and nearly slips on the floor. “What bomb?”
“Yes, a bomb. Someone delivered a timer to me. I don’t think it’s attached to anything, but the 911 dispatcher told me to get out of the house just in case. They’re sending someone over to check it out.”
“In the guesthouse?”
“Yes, the guesthouse. Come on. Let’s go.”
“The guesthouse is far enough away from the—”
Then a deafening sound.
An explosion.
Oh. My. God.
Oh my God.
OhmyGod.
My mother grabs me. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” My body is numb, as if it’s not my own.
“Who would want to harm you, Katelyn?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
My mind is a haze.
“Katelyn, my God. The guesthouse.”
“I… I… I…”
“Your dog. Where is your dog?”
“My dog… Casey… Casey has the dog.”
“Thank goodness. I know I gave you a lot of flack about him, but I wouldn’t want anything to happen to an animal.”
“Jed. Jed. Jed.”
“Katelyn, snap out of it!” My mother pulls away from me, shakes me.
My clothes are wet now. My mom was wet when she grabbed onto me. She takes a towel and wraps it around herself. “Baby,” she says, “I’m going to get dressed now. Are you all right?”
I don’t reply.
I’m not sure if I’m all right.
Something terrible is happening. Something terrible, terrible, terrible.
Is it because of me? Is it because of that horrid thought I had about my father’s biopsy?
“I’m…”
My mother takes my hand and leads me out of her bathroom and into her bedroom. She helps me sit down on the edge of her bed. “I’m going to get dressed now. Sit there. Sit tight.”
Sirens in the distance. Blaring, blaring, blaring.
My mother puts on panties and a bra. I watch her, though I seem to see through her. Once she’s dressed, she holds out a hand to me. “Baby, come on. The sirens are coming. The police are coming. Probably the fire engines too.”
Fire engines? Of course. There was an explosion. There’s probably a fire.
My suitcase. My personal belongings are in there.
But at least Jed is safe.
Jed…
Suddenly I want my furry companion more than ever. I don’t know where Luke is, but at least I have his dog.
I follow my mother down the stairs to the first floor. Casey and the others have come back inside, and Jed rushes to me.
“Thank God you’re all right,” I say in a monotone.
“Casey,” Mom says, “what’s going on?”
“From what I can see,” Casey says, “there’s a small fire at the guesthouse. The fire engines are—”
The blaring gets so loud I can hardly stand it. Poor Jed is freaking out, running across the living room and back. Sirens must hurt his ears.
“I think they’re here,” Casey says.
“All right. Katelyn, you stay here with Casey. I’m going to go to the guesthouse and see what’s what.”
“Mom, no. Don’t leave me.”
“Someone has to take care of the situation. Your father’s in the hospital. I’m all there is.”
Is this truly my mother? Showing strength like this? My mother who begged me to come home because my father was having a biopsy on a tumor that’s most likely benign?
I see her through new eyes now.
My strength. I need to find my strength once more.
I inhale. “I’m coming with you, Mom.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. And then I swallow the lump in my throat. “I apologize. I’m sorry I went kind of catatonic on you. This probably has something to do with me.”
“Who would want to harm you?”
“Probably a lot of people. Remember, I was held captive on that island for ten years.”
My mom’s jaw drops open. “But Katelyn, that wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, Mom. I know.”
“Why would you have any enemies?”
“The men. I mean, I didn’t know any of their names, but I gave information to the authorities.”
“Those men all deserve to die.”
“They’re not all in prison, Mom.”
She gasps. “They’re not?”
“No,” I say, my mind finally clearing. “In fact, I ran into one. In Manhattan.”
31
LUKE
“So that’s what you’ve got, huh?” Dad says. “Some derelict named Pollack said I was there?”