***
The next morning before Kate woke up, Darlene slipped out. It had taken Kate hours to fall back asleep and Darlene estimated it would probably be a long time before she managed to get out of bed. The police station was only a few miles from the Edwards’ home. At this hour, the station was fairly empty. With an annoyed look, the front desk clerk looked up from her paperwork.
“Can I help you?” she asked, although it sounded as if it was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Good morning. My name is Darlene Edwards. I would like to see Detective Jared Corbett. Is he here?” She pushed down the dread of knowing how much Kate would disapprove of what she was doing.
“Do you have an appointment with him?”
“No, but it’s urgent I speak with him. He’ll know what it’s regarding,” she said, trying to sound important.
“Fine. I’ll call down to see if he’s free,” the woman sighed.
Minutes later, Darlene was ushered to a more lively part of the building. Phones were ringing. Men and women were running in and out of the office. Jared noticed her appearance at the door and rushed over to greet her. Darlene had liked him instantly yesterday. Something about him reminded her of her ex-husband when they had first fallen in love years earlier. He seemed very young and it was hard to categorize him as a police detective.
His smile was genuine. “Ms. Edwards, this is unexpected. I made Maggie repeat your name three times to make sure I heard her right.” He led her over to a cubicle with an extra chair pulled up next to it. Removing the files from the chair, Jared gestured for her to sit down.
“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” she said and shot him a shaky smile.
“Of course not.” He paused and met her eyes. “Is everything alright, Ms. Edwards? You look like you’ve slept as much as I have since Cori was taken.”
“Call me Darlene,” she said softly.
“Ok. Are you here about Kate?” he probed.
Darlene’s lower lip trembled and she fought the urge to cry. Her voice was unsure as she began. “Yes and no. Before I tell you about last night, I need to explain a few things.
“Two years ago, I almost lost the most precious thing in the world to me. The doctors gave me little hope that Katie was ever going to wake up. You have no idea what hell is until you’re forced to stand vigil by your child’s bedside and beg God to take your life instead of hers. When she opened her eyes, I realized it was possible to die from sheer happiness. And do you know what she brought back from wherever she spent that week? The gift of knowing where a lost child could be found.
“However, people fear things they can’t explain. I can only speculate at how she felt when she was waking up. The media sensationalized the story and things went from bad to worse. Besides Julie, her friends disappeared overnight. I also imagine Katie sensed her father’s discomfort over her newly-acquired talent.
“I’ve made so many mistakes since then. Things I wish I could take back. I made Katie ashamed and forced her into denial about the whole thing. I also tactfully suggested she finish college at home to hide from the public eye. The entire thing put a strain on my already shaky marriage and my husband left. He lives out of New Jersey now, about an hour away in Pennsylvania. I know Katie feels it was her fault we separated.”
Jared interrupted in a low voice. “You can’t blame yourself. You were only trying to make the best out of an impossible situation.”
She shook her dark curls in disagreement. “I don’t know, but I guess I can’t dwell on the past if I want to make things right. That’s the reason I’m here. My daughter and I have been in perpetual denial for the past two years. She denies she has psychic abilities and I deny that I know she’s lying.”
He swallowed hard and she saw a mixture of emotions play against his face. He obviously wanted Kate’s help, but he didn’t want to cause her family strife. “It must’ve been hard on everyone.”
“You’re kind to let me go on like this. You don’t know what a relief it is to finally say some of these things out loud. The point is, I want Katie to help you find Cori. However, I have to be certain my daughter isn’t going to be hurt in the process. Keeping the secret has taken its toll and she has a lot of defenses in place.”
He gave her a wry smile. “I can see that.”
“Anyway, if I talk to her and she knows I support her, she may be cooperative. Ultimately though, it has to be Katie’s decision if she wants to help. Also, her name must be kept out of everything. A media fiasco is the last thing she needs again.” She hoped her expression conveyed the gravity of the situation and the lengths Darlene would go to protect Kate.
“Do you think she can really help?” he asked hopefully.
“Katie woke up screaming in the middle of the night. She cried that she saw everything that happened to Cori. I did my best to try to convince her it was only a nightmare—but I know she was telling the truth. I’m guessing you aren’t much of a skeptic, otherwise you would have never shown up at our front door…”
He did not let her finish. “Did she give you details? A description of the perp?”
His gray eyes were eager. Darlene knew she could trust this man to protect her daughter. “No, she was still sleeping when I came here. We can arrange for you to come over as long as you agree to my conditions.”
He nodded solemnly. “Her name will be kept completely confidential. If she refuses to help, I walk away without trying to contact her again. Do you think she’ll consider cooperating? She seems sort of….stubborn?”
Darlene gave him a knowing smile. “Don’t judge her by yesterday. She had to grow up very fast after the coma.”
“Actually, after what you told me, I think I understand her much better now. Can we see her now?” he questioned, rising to his feet.
“You’re free? You can leave now?”
“Definitely. I think this is pretty damn important.”