It wasn't unusual for there to be no traffic and no people. At this time in the evening on fall nights, inhabitants of Old Centerville Station, just as the inhabitants of most of the small villages and hamlets in the Catskills and similar semirural communities, retreated to the warmth of their homes and gathered around their television sets the way ancient man gathered around campfires. Audra imagined them staring at the flames, hypnotized in almost the same fashion, glad to ignore whatever nocturnal dangers lingered outside their small, protected areas.
Darkness had a way of driving people into themselves, Audra thought. All the stores and businesses in town, except for the all-night convenience store and the self-service gas station, were closed. Even stray dogs and cats found their nooks and crannies and retired early.
Audra never minded the silence, nor did she really mind being alone. Solitude gave her the chance to meditate and pray, offering her the best opportunity to be close to God. She knew that her classmates and others her age, even Colleen, couldn't appreciate what she felt and how deeply fulfilled she was whenever she sensed she had God's attention. These were golden moments, moments when she believed she was most alive and most meaningful.
Being afraid of the dark or of being alone never occurred to her. Her faith was her shield; not only did she feel protected, but also she had a sense of her destiny. Nothing bad could happen to her until or unless God willed it so, and if He did, it wouldn't matter how bright it was outside or how many people she was with, anyway. She truly felt sorry for people who lived in fear, for it meant they had little faith.
She was about half a block from the corner of Highland and Turtle, just between Colleen's home and the Jensens', when the Jensens' dog started to bark madly. She thought that because of the clapping sound of her footsteps she was the cause of it, so she started to walk faster, hoping she would be far enough away from the dog before his barking disturbed people.
But the dog's barking intensified and became shrill. She had to pause to listen, because the animal sounded more like an animal in pain than an animal warning away intruders. As suddenly as the barking had started, it stopped. She continued to listen, but there was nothing more coming from the Jensens'. She imagined Mr. or Mrs. Jensen had come out to quiet the animal and might even have brought it inside.
Just as she started to walk again, she heard someone behind her call out her name distinctly. She turned. Whoever it was who had called her had done so in a loud whisper. At first she thought she might have imagined it, for she saw no one. Then the woman stepped to the border of the shadows so that there was just enough light to wash the mask of darkness from her face.
It took only a few moments for Audra to remember the face, realize who it was. She smiled pleasantly and walked toward her, never once wondering why the woman didn't come farther forward into the light.
In fact, as Audra drew closer, she stepped back into the shadows and drew Audra back into the darkness with her. In moments the silence closed in around them, smothering Audra's screams almost before they began.
The ringing of her telephone jarred Colleen from her deep thoughts. She literally jumped in her seat. She had been working on her school assignments, and for a while that had kept her from thinking about anything unpleasant. When she gazed at her clock, she realized that Teddy should have been there by now. It was getting to the point where she knew he wouldn't come; it would be too late. That had to be him on the phone then, she thought, calling to offer some excuse. She wasn't in a forgiving mood, and although she regretted her belligerent feelings, she answered the phone abruptly, not attempting to disguise her unhappiness. However, the tiny voice on the other end changed her attitude instantly.
"Hello, Colleen? This is Lucy Carson. Is Audra there, please?"
"Audra?" For a moment Colleen wondered if Audra had been with her tonight or last night. That was how confused the question left her. "Audra? Why, no, Mrs. Carson. Audra left." She looked at her clock and tried to remember exactly when. It didn't seem possible. "Nearly two hours ago."
"Oh, dear. Did she say she was going someplace else before coming home?" Audra's mother asked. Colleen could hear the barely subdued note of hysteria.
"No, not that I remember. She's not home?"
"No," Lucy said, her voice so small that she sounded like a little girl. "I'm a little worried now," she explained. "Audra would call before going anywhere else, anyway."
"She didn't mention anyone else," Colleen repeated. "I've been in my room since she left," she added.
"Oh, dear," her mother said again. "I wonder what I should do."
Colleen recalled the time Bernie Hodes had run away from home and his parents called the police. They didn't really begin to look for him until nearly twenty-four hours later. Their experiences with missing teenagers told them that nine out of ten times the teenagers were safe. They had been either neglectful or uncaring when it came to informing their parents. The police tended to categorize all teenagers as one type, so they would react the same way to Audra's mother's call. She knew they would be polite and take down all the information Lucy Carson gave them, but she didn't expect they would search for Audra this soon. Of course, she didn't want to tell Lucy Carson this.
"Maybe she met one of our friends and they asked her to help with something, some schoolwork. Knowing Audra, she would just go and do it," Colleen offered. It was the best she could come up with, but she did want to alleviate Mrs. Carson's fears, as well as her own.
"Yes. Maybe she did," Lucy Carson said skeptically. "It's just that she would call. If you should hear anything…"
"I'll call right away, Mrs. Carson."
"I wonder when I should call the police," she thought aloud. "I don't want to cause a lot of trouble for anyone, but I'm getting very worried."
"Tell you what, Mrs. Carson. I'll take a ride along Audra's route home," Colleen said suddenly. "Maybe I'll catch her walking home from someplace."
"Oh, I hate to bother you so late."
"No, it's all right. It won't take me long. If I don't see her, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Colleen. Bye."
Where could she be? Colleen wondered. It wasn't like Audra not to call her mother. She put on her black-and-gold sweatsuit jacket and hurried downstairs. Harlan came out from the living room to see where she was going.
"It's late. What's up now?" he asked with some annoyance. She still couldn't get used to Harlan being so impatient and intolerant.
"Audra never got home. Her mother's quite worried."
"Really? Well, maybe she stopped by to see someone else."
"I told her that," Colleen said. "But Audra wouldn't do that without calling her mother. It's been nearly two hours since she left here," she added. "I'm going to ride along her route home and see if I can find her."
"Maybe she should just call the police," Harlan said, shaking his head.
"I'll be right back," Colleen said quickly, and left before he could add anything. She got into her car and backed out of the driveway before she put on her headlights. The rays knifed through the darkness. She hadn't noticed when she had looked out of her window earlier, but it had begun to rain. The light drizzle and fog diminished visibility considerably. All sorts of possibilities went through her mind. Audra may have taken a ride with someone, a stranger, when it had begun to rain. She was so trusting a person. Perhaps that was why she never reached home.
"Oh, Audra," she muttered to herself, and suddenly felt very guilty about it all. If she hadn't been short with her, if she had only controlled her emotions, she and Audra would have done their schoolwork, and then, when she saw it was raining outside, she would have driven her directly home.
She drove very slowly, looking from side to side. When she reached the corner of Turtle and Highland, she saw a familiar vehicle just ahead. It made a turn onto Main Street and picked up speed, but before it pulled away, she recognized that it was Teddy's car. What was he doing here? Why hadn't he come to her house?
She had to make a turn and go in the opposite direction to head for Audra's house, so she couldn't pursue him. Once again she drove very slowly, searching the sides of the street, looking for a sign of her innocent friend walking home. She saw nothing. By the time she reached Audra's house, she had a very sick feeling. Instead of going back home and then calling her mother, she pulled into their driveway and went to the front door. Lucy Carson was at it instantly.
"Oh, Colleen," she said. She had her hands pressed against the base of her throat, her short, stubby fingers interwoven. It wasn't until this moment that Colleen realized how childlike and fragile Audra's mother really was. She was able to deal well with other people's problems and tragedies, but when it came to her own, she looked lost, confused. "When I heard the doorbell ring, my heart nearly stopped beating."
"Audra didn't get home since you called me?" Colleen asked, already knowing the answer.
"No."
"She wasn't walking along the way. It's raining now too," Colleen added.
"Oh, come in, come in," Lucy Carson said, stepping back quickly. "I wonder what I should do."
"I think you'll have to call the police now," Colleen said. "Come. I'll talk to them too," she added.
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Carson said, and they went to the phone.
The dispatcher took down all the information as nonchalantly as Colleen had expected he would. She tried stressing the seriousness of the situation by repeating and emphasizing Audra's habits and strong sense of responsibility. The dispatcher must have been impressed because he told her a patrol car would be sent out immediately to do basically what Colleen had done. He promised that the patrolman would stop at the Carson residence and pick up a recent picture of Audra too.
"Well, they're going to do something about it," Colleen said. "There's nothing to do but wait and keep the phone free so Audra can call if she has to."
"Oh, right. Thank you so much, Colleen. You've been a great help."
"It'll all prove to be nothing, and we'll laugh about it later on, I'm sure."
"Hopefully. In the meantime I'll pray."
"Yes. So will I," Colleen said, and realized she meant it. "I won't call you, but please, call me, no matter what time of the night, as soon as you find out something."
"Of course, dear. Thank you," Lucy Carson repeated.
Colleen pressed her fingers against the cross under her sweatshirt and recited her prayer as she drove; as she recited it she pictured Audra standing in her doorway, promising to return the next day with the schoolwork. It brought tears to her eyes. She tried to get hold of herself before she pulled into her own driveway. If there was one thing she didn't want right now, it was to have another emotional breakdown. Harlan would go absolutely mad. He might even send her away, claiming she was becoming a real threat to Dana's well-being. Maybe she was.
It wasn't until she opened the door that she remembered Teddy's car. Where had he been going? Where had he been? It was a night filled with confusion and mystery.
Harlan had just turned off the television set and come out of the living room to go upstairs when she entered the house.
"So?"
"No sign of her, Harlan. Her mother and I called the police, and they're sending out a patrol car to search. It's so unlike her to do something like this."
"Well, what do you think happened?"
"I don't know. I'm just afraid she accepted a ride from someone and… you know."
"Oh, boy." He shook his head. "With all that young girls are being told about going with strangers…"
"Audra's… trusting," Colleen said.
He nodded. "I'm tired," he said. "Going up to bed. I think you had better do the same thing. And whatever you do, whatever you find out, don't tell Dana about this. Not right now," he added, widening his eyes to emphasize just how intense things were.
"I won't. You left a light on in the kitchen," she said.
"Nurse Patio is in there preparing a late snack for Dana."
"Oh?" She shook her head and went up the stairs. He followed slowly.
After she closed her door she thought about Teddy again. She couldn't stand not knowing why he had been near her house, but hadn't come over, especially after indicating he wanted so much to be with her to celebrate the great victory. She decided to call him, half expecting that he wouldn't answer. Perhaps he was still out celebrating with his teammates. But he picked up the phone instantly.
"Hi. Where were you?" she asked quickly.
"What do you mean?"
She explained what had happened with Audra and when she had seen him.
"You're kidding," he said. "I came to your house."
"What?"
"That nurse greeted me at the door and told me you weren't feeling well at all. She told me Audra had just been there but had to leave immediately. You were supposed to be going right to sleep."
"She what? She had no right to do that. Why did you listen to her?"
"Why? I don't know. Your brother wasn't around, and here was this nurse in uniform… I just felt… I don't know. How was I to know she had no right to do that?" he asked with annoyance. He didn't like the way she was blaming it all on him. "You were up in your room and you had been in the hospital…"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that it makes me so mad. Damn her. I'm going to tell my brother about this."
"Maybe she felt she was only doing the right thing," he said.
"It's not that, Teddy. You don't know what's going on here," she said, lowering her voice to a loud whisper. "She's taking over everything. She answers the phone, she turns away Dana's friends, my sister-in-law is getting weaker and weaker but she has Harlan convinced she's not—"
"You sound like you're getting back to the way you were," Teddy said. For a moment she couldn't speak. Her throat closed and her eyes teared. She couldn't swallow, but she took a deep breath.