Matt that what I saw was real. âShe was wearing a charm bracelet,â I told him. âOne of the charms was a tiny boat.â
Matt turned back to me, shocked. âWho else were you talking to?â he demanded. âHow did you know she was wearing that bracelet?â
âNo one,â I said. âJim told me Amber was missing. Then I came here and talked to you.â
âThen how could you know about the boat on that bracelet?â He peered at me, angry. âDid you talk to Amberâs mom before you got here?â
âNo. Like I said, I saw it.â
âIn a vision.â
âYes.â
Matt paused a moment, then took my elbow. âCome on.â
He led me outside the bus. I trotted beside him in my high heels as he strode to his pickup truck. âWhere are we going?â I asked him.
âUp to the Little Mountain viewpoint,â he said.
âYou believe me?â
âNo.â
âThen whyâ?â
âThe truth is, we havenât had any luck tracking Amber,â he told me. âThe police dog hasnât picked up her scent. Temperatures are dropping. If we donât find her in the next couple of hours, sheâll freeze to death. Iâll take any lead at this point, no matter how silly it sounds.â
âArenât you taking a team of searchers with you?â I asked.
âI said Iâd check out your story, but Iâm not going to waste our volunteersâ time. Amber was last seen jogging this wilderness trail. Thatâs where weâll focus the search.â He opened the passenger door of his truck for me. âIâll take you up to the viewpoint myself.â
I hesitated before getting in his truck. âThe last thing I want to do is waste your time,â I said.
âYouâve already done that.â Matt got into the truck and lifted his chin at me. âGet in,â he said.
FOUR
A s Matt drove up the logging road, he glanced at my high heels. âYouâre not exactly dressed for this,â he said. When I saw him check out my cleavage, I buttoned my jacket over my white blouse.
Matt turned to face the road ahead of us, embarrassed. âBut you look good,â he added. He lowered his voice. âReally good.â
âThanks, I think,â I said. He looked good too, though I wouldnât tell him that. He had a day-old beard, and it suited him. Then, of course, there was his search-and-rescue jacket. I admit, Iâm a sucker for a guy in uniform.
Iâm sure thatâs the real reason I agreed to go out with Trevor. Thereâs nothing sexier than a man in firefighting gear. Trevor even had his photo in a pinup calendar the fire department sold to raise funds. Dating him made me feel important.
The thing is, Trevor and I had never got past that goodnight kiss. Then again, if I stopped standing him up, we might end up in bed.
Matt and I reached the top of Little Mountain. âStop here,â I told him, pointing at a turnout in the road. âThis is the place.â I could feel it. âI saw Amber by the cliff. I saw the lights of the town below.â
Matt pulled over, and I stepped out onto the gravel road. The forest around us smelled of pine. Snow had begun to fall. We were supposed to get several inches that night, the first real snowfall of the season.
I led Matt down a narrow path through the woods to the edge of the cliff. This was the viewpoint, overlooking the town of Black Lake. Young lovers often parked here. Teens partied here. Every couple of years, some drunk kid stepped off this cliff to his death.
âThis is the place,â I told Matt. Below us, the lights of town glittered around Black Lake as sunset painted the clouds orange. The view was exactly what Iâd seen in my vision, but Amber wasnât there.
âShe was lying right here.â I pointed at the ground where the pine needles were swept to the side.
âSomeoneâor
Carolyn McCray, Elena Gray