separated and Kala followed the line of the river as best she could. It was slow going. She looked out over the water every few feet, checking for clothing or dark shapes bobbing in the water. She was crouched down, poking a stick under tree roots in the water to release what turned out to be a plastic bag when Bennett yelled. His voice startled her and one of her feet slid into the water before she caught her balance. She climbed back up the bank and pushed her way through the scrub and bushes to their starting point. Bennett was nowhere in sight.
“Where are you?” she called.
“Just over here.” His voice was closer, sounding like it came from around a short curve in the bank.
She jumped over a fallen log and continued on through scraggly cedars until she saw his head above some bushes, further down the bank. She scrambled down the ridge to where he was kneeling. He reached a hand to steady her, then half turned and pointed to a clump of tree trunks standing in the water. Her breath stopped. “No.”
The hood of a child’s pink raincoat was caught on a branch, bobbing up and down between two cedars. The bad feeling she’d had at the sight of the mitten in the bush was suddenly full blown. Kala looked at Bennett and pulled out her phone.
“Rouleau will have to send out the dive team. Lots of daylight left.”
Bennett stood and looked out over the water while she made the call. When Kala finished speaking with Rouleau, he said, “If the child is in the river, the mother must be too. You figure a murder-suicide?”
“Maybe. Rouleau’s going to meet me back at the house to lead them here. You okay to keep watch?”
“No problem.”
“I’ll try to be quick.”
“I won’t be going anywhere.”
Chapter Seven
Kala pulled into the only empty parking spot in front of Dr. Lyman’s office, a limestone building at the edge of the university campus. She threw the truck into park and quickly got out. Guilt pounded through her as she ran toward the front door. She’d let time get away from her as she stood watching divers plunge into the river searching for the bodies of Violet and possibly Adele Delaney. The search had stretched on without success and now she was a good forty minutes late picking up Dawn. She’d tried calling Dawn’s cell twice before leaving the Delaney property, but maddeningly the calls had gone to voice mail.
The reception area was empty; the woman who answered the phones was not at her desk. Kala scanned the lounge, normally so inviting with pink and purple chairs and pale yellow walls lined with French impressionist prints. Now the vacant space felt like a rebuke. Had Dawn gotten tired of waiting and decided to walk home in the dark? No, it was much too far. Kala forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. Nothing would be gained by imagining the worst. She had to think about this logically. She had to think like an upset thirteen-year-old girl.
Dr. Lyman’s door was closed and Kala suddenly realized that in all probability Dawn was still inside with the counsellor. Dr. Lyman must have taken advantage of Kala’s tardiness to get in some more time with Dawn. Kala crossed the hall to stand in front of Dr. Lyman’s door with her hand raised. She hesitated. What if Dr. Lyman was in with another patient? What if Dawn was long gone? She squared her shoulders. There was only one way to find out. She rapped lightly on the door.
The sound of a woman’s voice and the thump of footsteps carried through the door. It swung open in a sudden motion and Dr. Lyman was standing in front of her, a questioning look in her eyes. “Kala,” she said, a smile lighting up her face as she recognized Dawn’s aunt. She must have seen something in Kala’s face because she immediately asked, “Is everything okay? Stella and I were just going over some accounting since it’s that time of year.” She looked past Kala into the reception area. “Is Dawn waiting outside?”
“I just got here. I haven’t seen her.”
Dr. Lyman looked toward the woman sitting at the desk. “Did Dawn say anything to you about leaving, Stella?”
“No. She said that her aunt was picking her up. I left her alone to come work on these books.”
Dr. Lyman turned back to face Kala. “Oh dear. But she can’t have gotten far. We spent an extra ten minutes in session.”
That meant Dawn had a half hour head start at the most. “Did she seem okay? I’d meant to call you this morning about her mom but the day got away from me.”
“She was a little quiet today, more so than usual. What’s happened with her mother?”
“Sentencing was yesterday. Her boyfriend got ten years and she got five. I was going to tell Dawn this morning at breakfast but we were running late. In fact, I’ve been running late the whole day.”
Dr. Lyman’s eyes searched Kala’s face. She was a kindly woman, early sixties, tall but plump, with soft white hair. Kala had liked her instinctively. Hoped that she would be the lifeline for Dawn, but so far Dawn was just treading water. Dr. Lyman had suggested giving her space, but three months had passed without a breakthrough. Every day that went by made Kala doubt her ability to look after such a troubled child entering the teen years. Dawn was dealing with demons not unlike those she had faced herself not that long ago. Her own past should have given her insight. All it did was make her scared.
“Dawn might have gone to catch a city bus. She’s quite self-sufficient, as we both know.”
Kala started backing away toward the main entrance. “I’ll have to go see if I can track her down. Thanks for everything.” She could barely stop herself from running full tilt out the door.
“Phone me later and we can chat. Perhaps it’s time to have you and Dawn in a session together.”
“I’ll call when I have some time.” Whenever that might be.
Kala hurried outside and scanned the street as she raced toward her truck. No sign of her. The bus stop was a few blocks over. Dawn knew the route because she’d taken it once when Kala had been stuck in a meeting. She hoped Dawn had decided to take the bus again. Surely, she wouldn’t have tried hitchhiking. Images of Ivo Delaney and his missing family were weighing on Kala’s mind. This had to be unrelated. Did Dawn even have bus money?
Why hadn’t she answered her phone?
The shadows were lengthening as the sun began its incremental descent. There was still a lot of light left, but it was paler and had lost the day’s warmth. Kala drove slowly down the streets as she made her way to the bus stop. A woman with a baby stroller was standing next to the route sign. Dawn was nowhere in sight. Kala drove past and continued to scan the sidewalks. Her phone buzzed on the seat next to her and she glanced down, hopeful. Gundersund’s name and number held on the screen as the call went to voice mail. She had no time to talk to him about the case. He’d want to compare notes. She ignored the call and backtracked, taking side streets on the chance that Dawn had taken a different route. Twenty minutes later she pulled over and tried calling Dawn again. After three rings, Dawn’s recorded voice told her to leave a message.
“I sure hope you caught that bus,” Kala muttered, tossing her phone onto the seat. She pulled away from the curb and followed the bus route out of the city toward home, checking for signs of Dawn along the way, but she knew that it was futile the farther she travelled. If Dawn was walking, she wouldn’t have
