Free Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham

alive, but she does think I’ll find out what happened to her, whether she got this far or not.”
    “You know, there’s a possibility that…that she wanted to disappear.”
    “There’s always that possibility. But…” He left off speaking and shrugged. “What I was saying to Roberta before? I’ve found that to be true. Whether it’s instinct, extrasensory perception or what, I don’t know. But when a mother feels her child is dead, she’s almost always right.”
    She stared at him, obviously bothered by his words. “That’s horrible.”
    “Of course it is,” he agreed. “Any death is sad.”
    “No, I mean your attitude. How are you going to find her if you don’t believe it’s possible that she’s alive? You need to…believe,” she told him.
    “I need to do everything in my power—whether she’s alive or dead—that’s what matters,” he said.
    She shook her head in disgust.
    “All right,” he said, “you tell me. What about the local girl? What’s your feeling about her? Did she just run away? Is she trying to punish her parents? What do you believe?”
    She kept shaking her head, pulling ahead of him a little. “No. But things…happen. Maybe she’s hurt somewhere. And that’s why it matters that people move quickly.”
    “Jennie disappeared a year ago,” he reminded her.
    “Maybe she has amnesia. Stranger things have happened,” she assured him.
    “I will find her. Alive or dead, I will find out what happened to her,” he said flatly.
    She fell silent for a few seconds, then, changing the subject, said, “You met Will Perkins this morning.”
    “Yes. Why?”
    “He’s my cousin.”
    “Cool.”
    She was walking very quickly now, as if she were uncomfortable with him. “There’s the restaurant,” she said.
    Avenida Menendez fronted the water. From where they stood, he could see the massive fortification of Ft. Marion, gleaming in the moonlight in all its historic glory. Horse-drawn carriages lined the opposite side of the street. Groups of tourists were walking around, some couples holding hands or arm in arm. There were several hotels nearby, and numerous restaurants. The downtown historic area was small, the streets busy withcar traffic along with all the pedestrians. He saw tables in front of a café and bar. The neon sign, adorned with palm fronds and plastic alligators, advertised Hunky Harry’s.
    She preceded him, winding her way through the outside tables and walking straight to a table at the rear. He eyed the single empty chair as he recognized Will, Caroline and the other two docents from the museum, Renee Otten and Barry Travis.
    “Hey!” Will saw him and stood, grinning. “Nice that you came along.” He set an arm around Sarah’s shoulders, drawing her against him to give her a rub on the head. They were obviously close. They resembled one another, too, with the same shade of hair and eyes, so much alike, yet Will was as completely masculine as Sarah was feminine.
    “Sarah invited me along. I hope that’s all right,” Caleb said, after greeting everyone.
    “It’s great!” Renee said enthusiastically.
    “I’m impressed you got Sarah here. I thought for sure she’d blow us off tonight,” Caroline said.
    “Here we go, another chair,” Barry offered, pulling one over from another table.
    “Thanks,” Caleb said, taking the seat.
    Everyone started talking at once, stepping on each other’s words, and he tried to keep up the chatter until a waitress came and took their orders. He opted for the fish of the day and wondered why the others all gave him funny looks.
    As soon as the waitress left, the conversation turned to the skeletons in Sarah’s house.
    “How long do you think it will take them to remove them all?” Renee asked.
    “It can take months—years, even—at some sites,” Barry said glumly.
    Sarah glared at him.
    “Sorry,” Barry said.
    “You don’t have to let it take months,” Caleb said to Sarah.
    They all stared at him. “You