The Lifeguard Read online

  “Well, whoever it was,” Kelsey said softly, “she sure didn’t drown way up here.”

  Chapter 8

  THE LIFEGUARD LEANED HIS head against the wall, trembling.

  It was strange, he thought, how sometimes now he couldn’t even remember what he’d done…how sometimes in the morning now he’d have to leave the house very early to make sure if he had had some dream or if it had all been real…

  This last one had really scared him.

  He’d picked her out special—a runaway with no real family who cared about her, no friends, no one to miss her or report her gone—and he’d been so careful, so careful to do it right, do it fast…

  And they had found her—Donna and Kelsey had found her, even while he was racing to get back there because he’d finally remembered…and they found her before he could do anything about it…

  He didn’t understand how he could have forgotten and left her there.

  He had really known then, what it was like to be afraid.

  But he wasn’t afraid now.

  Now he was safe because she was here with him, hidden where no one would ever find any of them again.

  The lifeguard wasn’t trembling anymore.

  He was laughing.

  Chapter 9

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE giving up.”

  “She’s gone, Justin. Why can’t you accept it?”

  Kelsey could hear them arguing even before she got to the door. Sighing, she sat down on the porch step and stared out through the trees, to the empty beach visible through the branches. It had been a long, long day, and she felt drained.

  “You’re so damn unfeeling. You’re just letting her go.”

  “Look, they’ve turned the whole island upside down. They’ve used dogs and nets and boats and helicopters. What do you think, that I’m not upset? That I don’t care? That I don’t lay awake nights trying to think of one more thing we haven’t thought of? You think I don’t worry about Dad? I’m more worried than you’ll ever know, Justin—than you could ever dream! And not just about Beth—”

  Kelsey’s mind jostled back to the present. The voices inside the house had gotten louder, and she squirmed uncomfortably, feeling like an eavesdropper but not knowing where else to go.

  “About what, then? What’s going on with you anyway?”

  “Look…Justin…” Neale’s voice grew calmer, struggling for patience. His silhouette glided by the window. “Look…I know this is hard…the not knowing. And we might never know. I mean…we have to be prepared for that.”

  “Beth was such a good swimmer.”

  “Okay, Justin, Beth was a great swimmer! Beth could have been the best swimmer in the world—that still doesn’t mean she could have saved herself.”

  “Why not? What are you saying?”

  The silence stretched out, endless minutes, but Kelsey could feel the pain, the tension.

  “I’m saying,” Neale said finally, quietly, “that no one will ever see her alive again.”

  “And…there’s nothing else we can do?” Justin faltered.

  A pause, then, “Nothing.”

  “So…this is it.”

  Kelsey leaned over, resting her forehead on her knees. She heard the screen door creak open behind her, heard bare feet, caught the expressionless glance of Neale as he went by without speaking. She watched as he disappeared through the trees, then turned expectantly as Justin came out onto the porch. He stared at her several seconds, then smiled sadly. “You don’t have to stay out here. It’s your house, too.”

  “I didn’t want to intrude,” she said, making room for him on the step beside her.

  He sat down and offered her the Pepsi he was holding, taking a sip when she shook her head. “No intrusion. I’m just trying to drown my sorrows.” He winced. “Wow…poor choice of words.” Kelsey smiled, but Justin added, “He’s not telling me something.”

  “Neale?” She looked up, surprised.

  Justin nodded, set the can down in the grass. “There’s something on his mind he’s not saying. Not that we’re all that close, as you’ve probably guessed by now—but I can tell he’s keeping something back.”

  “What do you think it is?”

  “I think…” Justin cast her a sidelong glance, “it has something to do with the way Beth died.”

  Kelsey stared at him, unsure of how much to ask. At last she said, “What could he know about it?”

  Justin lowered his eyes, took a deep breath. “He says she’s dead. He’s sure of it.” His eyes raised slowly, blue and clear and plaintive, drawing hers with their desperation. “How can he be so sure? How can he be so positive she’s dead unless he knows something the rest of us don’t know?”

  There was something about the way he said it, the way his voice went suddenly hollow—Kelsey felt an unexpected shudder and gazed at him, unsettled. There was fear in his voice, she suddenly realized—fear—unmistakable and real and cold—and as their eyes held, she heard him speak again, as from a long way off.

  “You don’t know Neale,” he whispered. “Nobody knows Neale…nobody…”

  “Justin!”

  Kelsey jumped as Eric came around the corner of the cottage, and Justin got to his feet.

  “Over here, Dad—”

  “Where’s Neale?” Eric looked from one of them to the other.

  “On the beach somewhere; I don’t know.” Justin made a vague gesture as Eric stared.

  “Well, go find him, will you? We need to talk, and I want both of you here.” Eric hesitated. I’m sorry Kelsey. I’m really sorry you had to be here for all this.”

  She opened her mouth to reassure him, but Justin took her arm and pulled her to her feet. “It’s okay, he can’t hear you anyway. Look, why don’t you go on in? You’ll have the whole place to yourself for a while.”

  Despite her troubled curiosity over their discussion, she nodded and watched him go off through the trees. A shower and a nap would feel wonderful after everything that had happened today—but first she would call Jenny and tell her about Beth’s note. She still felt guilty keeping it to herself if it really did mean something. But if it didn’t—if it was only going to cause more worry and heartbreak—but that body on the cliff…we didn’t imagine that…and all that talk about girls disappearing…

  Kelsey went into the kitchen and found the phone. As she waited for the call to go through, her fingers groped through her pocket and closed around the paper Justin had given her that morning with his private number on it. Kelsey counted the rings—four—seven—and was just about to give up when the familiar voice answered.

  “Jen! It’s me! I—”

  “Kelsey!” A shriek, and then static, while Jenny rambled on about things Kelsey couldn’t quite hear.

  “Jen, be quiet for a minute, will you? I have something important to tell you—”

  “A matter of life and death?”

  Kelsey’s stomach fluttered. “Could be. Look, Jen—”

  “Kelsey, my dad’s having a fit out there—we’re just leaving for the cabin and—”

  “You’ve got to listen to me! There’s this note—”

  “Kelsey, I can hardly hear you! What are you on, a twelve-party line? There’s this echo—”

  “No, it’s a private number—Jen—”

  “In a minute, Dad! He’s really yelling—Kelsey, can I call you when we get back?”

  “But that’ll be two weeks! Jen, listen to me, please!” Kelsey’s voice rose. “There’s this note, the girl I’m staying with thinks someone’s going to kill her—thought someone was going to kill her, and—”

  “You’re not making any sense. I—Dad! I said in a minute! It’s Kelsey—”

  “Only she’s missing now—Jen, can you hear me? She’s missing and she might be dead, and I hid the note in my robe and I don’t know if I should show it to anyone—”

  “What? There’s that echo, I can hardly hear you, you sound like you’re in a tunnel or something—”

&nbs
p; “Jen—Jen—please—”

  “Okay, I’m coming! Kelsey, he’s ready to kill me—you know how he gets. Look, I’ll call you when I get back.”

  “But Jen, it’s an unlisted number and—Jen!” Kelsey wailed as the connection broke, first one click, then another. She stared down at the phone, then slammed it back into place and leaned her forehead against the wall. Now what? Jenny hadn’t heard a word she’d said, and she was no better off than she’d been before. Sighing, she dragged herself, up the stairs and into the bedroom.

  She locked the connecting door between the boys’ room and the bathroom and began to undress. The shower felt wonderful, soothing her sore muscles. She hadn’t realized just how keyed up she’d been. Rinsing shampoo from her hair, she turned her face up, letting the drops dance across her cheeks, massaging the pain behind her eyelids.

  She reached up and shut off the faucet.

  And heard something moving in her room.

  Naked and dripping, Kelsey stood there, too terrified to move. Silence hung around her, even more horrible than the sound had been. Whatever—whoever—it was, knew that she had heard. Knew that she was in here right now. Listening. Alone.

  Kelsey’s heart lodged in her throat, making her feel sick. The silence was crushing her, the awful silence punctuated now by the thud of her racing pulse, her blood pounding ice through her veins.

  Kelsey, I think someone is going to kill me…

  Her hands were shaking so badly, she could hardly control them. Curling her fingers around the edge of the shower curtain, she tried to pull it back without making any noise. The faucet dripped slowly into the tub, loud plops that echoed like gunshots. There was no sound at all from her bedroom.

  Explanations tumbled through her head like leaves in a windstorm. Maybe Neale had come back, looking for Justin, unaware that Justin was out looking for him. Or Justin had knocked and she hadn’t heard, and he’d come in trying to find her. Or Mom…or Eric…or nobody…maybe I imagined it…it was the plumbing or something outside or just the house settling and there’s absolutely nothing out there…

  Groping, her hands found the towel, and she wrapped it around herself, inching cautiously toward the door. She couldn’t hear anything now on the other side—nothing to suggest that anything might be wrong…

  Swallowing over the sharp tang of fear, Kelsey shakily called into her bedroom, “Justin, is that you?”

  Silence answered her, deep and endless. Slowly…slowly…she cracked open the door.

  The room was just as she’d left it. With a sigh of relief, Kelsey moved out into the middle of the floor, her eyes scanning every surface. Her purse—right there on the desk where she’d left it—her sandals, kicked back under the hem of the bedspread… She smiled to herself and bent down to pick up her robe—it must have slid off the end of the bed when she’d tossed it from the closet. Her knees were still shaking, and she suddenly realized how chilly she felt. She slipped out of the towel and into the robe, easing herself down on the edge of Beth’s bed, stretching her legs out in front of her, toes pointed into the rug.

  The cold shock of water went through her instantly—the spongy feel of wet fabric against her skin—

  She jerked her feet back with a cry and stared in horror at the braided rug between the beds… The rug was soaked with separate little puddles…wet spots the size of feet…and lying there, coiled like some dead snake, was a slimy tangle of seaweed in a damp smear of sand…

  Kelsey jumped up onto the bed, hugging her robe tight around her, her lips forming cries for help that no one could hear…

  Someone had been in her room.

  And maybe…even now…that someone was still in the house.

  Chapter 10

  KELSEY HADN’T EXPECTED IT to be so dark. Now as she jerked her clothes on and raced out of the house, she was shocked at the heavy curtain of dusk which greeted her.

  Night was rolling in fast with the fog, blurring the outlines of the trees, blotting out the beach but not the persistent sound of the ocean. As Kelsey hurried across the yard she could hear the water off behind her, its roar like mocking laughter—look at Kelsey run!—look at Kelsey run! She covered her ears and concentrated instead on reaching the pale glow of lights in Eric’s kitchen windows.

  She started up the back steps and stretched out her arm for the door.

  She never saw the hand come out of the darkness. Not until the gnarled old fingers clamped around her wrist and jerked her backward.

  “You won’t scream, girl, ’cause I been waiting for you…” The voice was liquidy, thick with age and phlegm. “I been waiting for you all this time—”

  “Let me go!” Kelsey shoved at him, but only succeeded in losing her balance. She heard him chuckle as she went down.

  “I been waiting to tell you a thing or two, so you best listen to old Isaac, you hear me? You best have a care, girl; I see what goes on. And I know things, too, don’t think I don’t. Just like you know things. You’re a smart girl. Like that other one was smart. Only now she’s dead.” He threw back his head and cackled. From the jaundiced light of the windows, Kelsey could see his yellow teeth and the drool on his bristly chin. “You’ll hear it soon…the voice of the dead…it always comes before the squall…”

  “Get away from me or I’ll scream—I mean it!” She scrambled to her knees, crying out as the porch light suddenly burst on, the door flinging open.

  “Have a care!” Isaac hissed, and in the split second it took Kelsey to stand up, he was gone.

  “What’s going on out here? You all right?”

  Kelsey grabbed for the person beside her before she even realized it was Neale. He was squinting off into the dark, searching the shadows.

  “That horrible old man—he—”

  “Who? Isaac?”

  “He’s following me!”

  Neale gave her a strange look, shaking his head. “He wasn’t following you—he was using the phone.”

  “What?”

  “He came to the door a while ago and asked to use our phone—look, I don’t have time for your paranoia right now. There’s an emergency on the beach and I’ve gotta get down there.” He brushed past her, and Kelsey’s voice followed him, fearfully.

  “What’s happened?”

  Neale stopped…turned to face her. “A drowning. We…someone has to go look at the body…”

  Kelsey felt suddenly weak. She sank down onto the steps, her head in her hands, as Neale disappeared through the trees. Oh, please…don’t let it be Beth…

  It seemed like he was gone forever. Kelsey sat there, too sick at heart to go inside, knowing everyone would be in there, waiting and afraid. Only when she heard Neale running across the yard again could she finally force herself through the door, unable to take the news alone.

  They were all there—Eric and Mom, Justin and Skip—all staring with strangely resolved faces.

  “It wasn’t her,” Neale said. “It was a boating accident—some girl tangled in the anchor line…but it wasn’t Beth.”

  Eric covered his face, his voice choked. “No more. I can’t take any more of this…”

  “Dad,” Justin whispered, but Eric looked up, shaking his head.

  “No…no more. We can’t go on like this. We have to stop.”

  Kelsey stole a look at Justin and looked away again; she couldn’t bear the anguish on his face.

  “We will…of course…keep hoping. Always…hoping. But it’s time to get on with our lives, son.” Eric took Justin’s hand. “We have to go on. Beth would want us to,”

  Kelsey saw the room blurring around her. She was aware of movement, chairs scraping the floor, feet shuffling, doors opening and closing—but it wasn’t until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she focused in again.

  “You’re coming with us, aren’t you?” Skip asked.

  Kelsey twisted in her chair and looked up at him. “Skip,” she said slowly, “I think someone was just in my room.”

  “A lover!” he grinned
. “Good for you, Kelsey, smuggling someone in here right under our noses, you little—”

  “Skip, I’m serious.” Kelsey stared at him, her face drawn. “I couldn’t say anything in front of Eric, but—”

  “Hey, you’re really serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes I’m serious. I heard something in my room—and when I came out of the shower, there were footprints on the bedroom rug—”

  “What’s going on?” Justin came up, leaned on the back of Kelsey’s chair as he bent down to listen. “What about your room?”

  Before Kelsey could answer, Skip pulled on Justin’s arm and headed for the door. “Come on—Kelsey thinks someone was just in her room—”

  “What?” Justin looked stunned, glancing back at her as Skip pulled him through the door. Kelsey turned around and saw Neale watching her. A second later he, too, followed the others out the door. Kelsey got up to go with them but as she came out into the yard, she heard Justin’s voice, clear and authoritative.

  “Kelsey, you stay there. We’ll be back.”

  She shouldn’t have said anything—yet, she had heard something—she couldn’t have imagined it—not after finding the wet footprints on the rug… Kelsey looked around nervously and leaned back against the door. She wished they would hurry.

  They were coming back now; she could hear them laughing softly and mumbling to each other as they made their way through the shadows across the yard. No doubt Skip was telling them about her and Donna’s grisly discovery that day, and now the boys were finding everything immensely funny. She knew by their faces that they hadn’t found anything—but she stood her ground firmly, meeting their looks straight on.

  “Kelsey—”

  “I know. You didn’t find anything.”

  “Hey, relax, it was probably just that body you and Donna met on the cliff today!” Skip gave her a playful hug, but she stiffened and pulled away, seeing those wide, lifeless eyes again in the grass.

  “I don’t care what you say, Skip—I heard something just now. And how do you explain those footprints?”