Puzzle Pieces

Chapter 17

I jumped awake at the sound of my door closing. I looked at the clock and saw that it was seven thirty in the morning. It was probably just my mom checking on me before she left for work. Something she does whenever she works on a Saturday. I was still a bit dazed from my dream. I couldn't believe it. My mom knows him? Or was she just being friendly? I got out of bed and ran downstairs quietly.

"Mom?" I asked, going into the kitchen. The light was off so I turned and looked at where her keys usually hang. Gone. I ran out to the living room and by the time I got outside, her car was on the road driving away. Dang it! I barely missed her. I went back inside and sat on the couch. My dream came back to me. For some reason, thinking that my mom might know him freaks me out entirely. I sat there and hoped Sheriff Silverman found him. Which brought me back to my dream, my mom smiling at him. I’m almost positive she knows him. That can be the only explanation of her coming up to me in the dream like that. I jumped off the couch and headed to Noah's room.

"Noah! Noah! Get up!" I shouted, banging on the door. Seconds later, he opened the door in a worried panic.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" he asked. His voice was deep from sleep, his hair is a mess and he keeps blinking to focus his eyes.

"We need to go to the bank like now," I said, turning and grabbing the keys.

"Why? Is mom-"

"Mom is fine. She barely went to work, but if we don't go to the bank now, he will get away!"

"Annabel, we're not going anywhere until I get dressed," Noah said, turning and heading back into his room.

Right. I looked down and saw I was still in my pink and black skull pajama pants and white spaghetti. I turned and ran up the stairs back to my room to change. Jeans and a t-shirt it is. After I changed, I ran down the stairs and into the living room to wait for Noah. After what feels like an eternity, he walked into the living room.

"Just gonna sit there or are we going to go?" he asked, walking towards the door. I stood up and followed him out the door to his car. Noah unlocked the door and, after we got in, eased onto the street.

"I wonder if we'll be able to make it before the bank closes..." I said, crossing my arms. At that, he turned his head towards me then sped down the street.

By the time we made it to the bank, a couple of patrol units were parked in front of the bank. This is it! We've caught him! I thought as Noah parked. I climbed out of the car and rushed towards the bank. Noah caught up with me and caught my arm in his hand.

"What?" I asked, sounding way more irritated than I felt. Noah didn't flinch though.

"Don't be so anxious, Anna. We don't know what this guy is capable of," he said in a warning tone.

“Noah, the police are here. What can he do?” I asked with a shrug.

He nodded, but we proceeded to walk slowly. Right before we could enter the bank, Sheriff Silverman and the deputies were walking out. No! Don't tell me I'm too late.

"Ms. James, what are you doing here?" Sheriff Silverman asked through narrowed eyes.

"Did you get him? Was he here? In my dream he…" I started, but hesitated when he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at me.

"No. Ms. James, I don't think you know how much trouble you could get in for interfering with an investigation. Especially with a case as delicate as this."

"Excuse me?"

"No employee that fits this description works at this bank. I've shown this picture to almost everyone and they all claim there is no employee that resembles this" he said, handing my sketch back to me.

"But-"

"No buts, Ms. James. I talked to the manager and she claimed to have never seen this man before. I don't like being lied to, but for you to go out of your way and claim something. Well again, you did tell me you dreamed of this, so I guess it was my fault for thinking more than what it is. It's just that, after your father, I didn't want to jump to anything. Anyway, do not attempt to solve this case or talk to any of my deputies about your 'dreams' anymore. If you do, there will be serious consequences, young lady. Do you understand?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I swear. This man could make me feel like I'm five rather than sixteen years old.

"Yes sir," I said, turning on my heel and walking towards Noah's car. Noah followed behind me unsurely. Like he wasn't sure if we should really leave the bank or not. Once we got inside the car, Noah turned to look at me.

“Son of a b***h!” I shouted, making Noah jump.

“Annabel, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life. Just take me to Judith's house," I said, crossing my arms and looking out the window. His reflection showed in the glass like a mirror. It was a slow sideways smile spreading across his lips. Unsure if it was devious or proud, I shrugged my shoulders either way.

When we reached the block, he parked in front of the yellow house I had him stop in front of. We got out of the car and slowly walked towards the front. Right as I was about to knock on the door, I hesitated.

"What?" Noah asked, tilting his head impatiently.

"What if Sheriff Silverman was right? What if it was just a nightmare?"

"Do you think it was?" he asked, annoyed. Rather than answer, I just shook my head. Noah lifted his fist to knock on the screen door, but the inside door opened.

"Can I help you?" a weak female voice said from the other side of the screen door.

"Ms. Judith Sky?" I asked, turning towards the voice.

"Can I help you?" She asked with more wonder in her voice than before.

"My name is Annabel James. I was wondering if we could talk?"

"Go ahead," she hesitated. I turned to Noah, who nudged his head indicating for me to tell her.

"Well, this isn't easy to say, especially when I can't see your face, but Ms. Sky, I know you've seen the person who has Katrina."

"Excuse me?" she asked, horrified.

"It's kind of hard to explain. I just know that I had a dream that let me know you did see the man behind Katrina's k********g. The police don't believe me and so-"

"Who do you think you are? Showing up on my doorstep claiming that I've seen someone? That what? I'm behind it as well? I've already told the police everything I know. If they don't want to believe you, that's not my problem. The fact that you're standing on my porch accusing me of something that could help save Katrina because you had a nightmare is crazy. I love Katrina, just like all my students, as if they're my own children. I would give anything to reunite that little girl with her mother, so don't you dare try to tell me I'm hiding something," She said, stepping out to her porch. Her eyebrows lowered in anger and she put her hands on her hips.

"You do know something though. I know you saw him outside of the school yard the other day. Average sized man dressed in a suit wearing glasses?"

"I can't help you," she said, giving me a look of first shock, then disgust, before turning and walking back into her house, slamming the door behind her.

"Let's go Anna," Noah said, turning to walk back to the car.

"I know you know Ms. Sky! Whether you want to tell me or not, I don’t care, but you should tell the police so we can catch him! I want the same thing you do, but for reasons I couldn't even explain to you!" I shouted to the door, well aware she could've walked away from it.

"Come on Annabel," Noah said, tugging me away from the porch. When we got inside the car, I felt more confused than I ever had before. Dead end. Noah drove away and we sat in silence the whole car ride home. When we pulled up to the house he parked, but we stayed inside the car.

"Annabel, I know you feel like we didn't help, but we did our part. You talked to the police and Ms. Sky. What else can we do?" Noah asked, turning in his seat towards me.

"I don't know, but we really don't have any more options. I just hope that this means my nightmares are over," I said, opening the door.

More than that, if I’m wishing for anything, it’s for Katrina to be found. I climbed out of the car, closing it shut behind me and walked inside the house. I went straight to my room and closed the door behind me. I threw myself on my bed and put an arm over my eyes.

I'm at the Peterson home. It's sometime during the day. The sun was barely going down. As I walked towards the house, I saw the man sneaking to the back. I ran to follow him and heard Katrina's voice. The man stood up straight, hiding behind a bush near the back of the house. Katrina was kicking a soccer ball around. He was just watching her, stalking her like a hungry animal who’s smelled blood. When I looked back at Katrina, I'm in the man's body again. Oh look at her in her soccer uniform. She’s so precious. Her hair tight in a ponytail. I want to rip the hair band out of her hair and watch all the beautiful locks fly in the wind. The man thought, making my stomach turn.

"Katrina, it's time to come inside for dinner," Mrs. Peterson called. I hid deeper into the bush. Damn you woman! You always do this. Soon, I won’t have to worry about you taking her from me. She’s mine and will be all mine. The man thought as he peered into a window.

I jumped awake and shivered with both disgust and fear. That's horrible. Poor Katrina never really had a chance with a perverted man like that. All the more reason I have to find her. I need to find her and quickly! I know that nobody wants to help me, but if I can just find out where he has her or even who the man is, that would help so much. I went downstairs and got a snack, thinking about the breakfast I missed. I could hear Noah in his room on his video game. I thought when he said that he had friends, he meant the people who also play those games.

I popped a hot pocket in the microwave and grabbed a soda from the fridge. My dream ran in a circuit through my mind. So does the day I've had with Sheriff Silverman and Ms. Sky both turning me away. Noah did help me, but what much could we do without the help of Sheriff Silverman? He's the one that needs to make the capture. Unless we find Katrina and we take her to the police saying that we found her wondering around on a street. She can say that she escaped and point out the man that took her. That is such a good idea! The only thing is...we need to find her.

After I ate my snack, I went back upstairs and turned on some music to try and tune out the thoughts of Katrina, the man, and the morning I've had. Another thought comes to my mind. What did Sheriff Silverman mean, "After your father, I didn't want to take any chances"? For some reason, I looked past that statement before, but now it's bugging me. I leaned my head back on my headboard as Lana Del Rey sings about a dark paradise in the background.

I'm on the corner of a street. I know exactly where I am: Sierra Hills High School. A man, the man, walked down the street with his head down. As he walked he looked up and into the school yard and stopped mid step. Something had caught his attention, but what? I ran up careful not to get noticed. I looked at the man and he turned to look in my direction. It dawned on me that he couldn't see me because he went back to looking into the school yard.

When I looked into the school yard, I felt a tug at my heart, so I reached my arms out and grabbed the metal fence. What is this feeling? The man thought to himself. This time it’s different. It’s more, so much more. She’s it. My perfect match: The dark hair, dark eyes, those gorgeous dimples I just want to lick. She has a small body, but all the right curves. I could just have her right here if she’d let me. That’s it. I know it. She’s the one for me. At first I think it's about Katrina, but the one holding my focus at the moment lets me know that it's not her. Instead, it's another small, brown-haired girl with fair skin and dimples. The next girl on his list. It's my friend Mikayla.