Chapter 17 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
Rowan did not sleep that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same image.
A little girl standing at the bottom of a staircase.
Brown hair.
A white dress.
Tears running down her cheeks.
And Rowan holding her hand.
Then someone pulled the girl away.
She woke just before dawn with a sharp gasp.
For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.
Then she remembered the photograph.
Rebecca.
The name was still echoing in her mind.
Wells was asleep beside her, but Rowan quietly slipped out of bed.
She walked downstairs and entered the kitchen.
The house was dark except for the faint blue light coming through the windows.
She made coffee, but she didn't drink it.
Her hands were shaking too badly.
At exactly 6:17 a.m., her phone rang.
Josie.
Rowan stared at the screen.
For a moment, she considered letting it ring.
Then she answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Josie?"
Her sister finally spoke.
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Did you go to the old house?"
Rowan froze.
"How did you know?"
Another silence.
Then Josie whispered:
"Because someone called me last night."
Rowan's grip tightened around the phone.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did they want?"
"They asked if you had found the photograph."
Rowan's heart began pounding.
"You knew about the photograph?"
Josie exhaled shakily.
"I knew there was one."
"That's not what I asked."
"I know."
"Then answer me."
Josie said nothing.
Rowan's voice became colder.
"Josie, did you know about Rebecca?"
Her sister began crying.
That was the answer.
Rowan closed her eyes.
"You knew."
"I was a child."
"You knew."
"I didn't understand what was happening."
"You knew there was another girl."
"I was seven!"
"And I was five!"
The silence that followed was devastating.
Rowan lowered her voice.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then tell me what you remember."
Josie breathed unevenly.
"I remember Mom telling me never to say her name."
"Why?"
"Because she said Rebecca was dangerous."
Rowan almost laughed.
"She was a child."
"I know that now."
"Why did Mom say she was dangerous?"
"I don't know."
"Josie."
"I swear."
Rowan sat down.
"What happened that night?"
Josie whispered:
"She disappeared."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Who took her?"
"I don't know."
"Did Dad know?"
Josie didn't answer.
Rowan's stomach tightened.
"Did Dad know?"
"Yes."
The answer came so quietly that Rowan almost missed it.
"How much?"
"Everything."
Rowan stood.
"You're telling me Dad knew?"
"Mom and Dad fought about her."
"About Rebecca?"
"All the time."
"What did they fight about?"
"I remember Dad saying he wanted to take her away."
"Take her where?"
"Somewhere safe."
Rowan's voice cracked.
"Then why didn't he?"
Josie started crying again.
"Because Mom threatened him."
"With what?"
"I don't know."
"Josie!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
The phone went silent.
Then Josie whispered:
"Meet me tonight."
"Where?"
"The Blue House."
Rowan stared out the window.
"At midnight?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I have something."
"What?"
"A photograph."
Rowan's heart stopped.
"What photograph?"
"The last photograph ever taken of Rebecca."
The call ended.
That evening, Wells found Rowan standing in front of the fireplace.
"You've been staring at that photograph for twenty minutes."
She looked at him.
"Josie remembers."
"About Rebecca?"
Rowan nodded.
"She's meeting me tonight."
Wells immediately understood.
"The Blue House."
"Yes."
"You're not going alone."
"I wasn't planning to."
He walked toward her.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"I found Daniel Cross."
Rowan stared at him.
"What?"
"He's alive."
She felt the room tilt beneath her.
"Where?"
"Boston."
"How?"
"I tracked down the old law firm."
Wells handed her a folder.
Inside was a photograph.
An elderly man with silver hair.
Daniel Cross.
Rowan studied his face.
She knew him.
Not personally.
But from the photograph.
The man beside her mother.
The man who had been there twenty-four years ago.
At the bottom of the file was an address.
Rowan looked at Wells.
"We have to talk to him."
"After Josie."
She nodded.
Then Wells noticed something.
The front door was unlocked.
He hadn't left it that way.
Rowan's face changed.
Someone had entered the house.
They searched every room.
Nothing appeared missing.
Until Rowan returned to the fireplace.
The photograph of Rebecca was gone.
In its place was another note.
Three words.
SHE REMEMBERS YOU.
Rowan's blood ran cold.
At midnight, Rowan and Wells arrived at the Blue House.
The gate was open.
The front door stood slightly ajar.
"Josie?" Rowan called.
No answer.
They stepped inside.
The house smelled of dust and rain.
Then they heard footsteps upstairs.
Rowan looked at Wells.
They climbed slowly.
At the end of the hallway, Josie stood beside the blue bedroom.
Her face was pale.
"You came."
Rowan stared at her.
"Show me."
Josie opened the door.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
The small bed.
The blue wallpaper.
The old wooden closet.
Josie reached into her coat.
She pulled out a photograph.
Then she handed it to Rowan.
Rowan looked down.
Her heart stopped.
It was a photograph of two little girls.
Rowan.
And Rebecca.
They were sitting together on the bed.
Holding hands.
But someone had written something across the bottom.
THE WRONG GIRL WAS SENT AWAY.
Rowan looked up.
"What does that mean?"
Josie's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
Then a sound came from inside the closet.
A soft knock.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
All three women froze.
Wells slowly approached the closet.
Rowan whispered:
"Don't."
But he opened it.
There was nothing inside.
Except a small wooden box.
Rowan opened it.
Inside was a child's bracelet.
Engraved on the silver surface were two names.
ROWAN & REBECCA.
And beneath them was a date.
Tomorrow's date.
Rowan stared at it in horror.
Someone knew they would come.
May you like
Someone had planned this.
And someone wanted them to find the box.
