"I could feel it as soon as he walked into the room." Rachel was drinking from a bottle of water in our shared office. She'd been mostly silent driving home, except to tell me to watch out for cars getting too close. "Then when I shook his hand, it felt—not real."
"Is he in some sort of disguise? An illusion?"
She shuddered. "I don't know. I didn't get any sense of hostility from him. Just . . . curiosity? And he was a little afraid of you."
"Me? I'm harmless."
"But if he's an alien, he probably doesn't want anyone finding out."
"What about Greenhill?"
She shrugged. "I don't think he knows anything. What are you doing?"
I was looking through an old database of child abductions, from the case where I'd met Craig Winters the first time two years ago. I remembered some of the names—first names, anyway, because no one had left a last name. I refreshed the page, looking for more recent abduction stories.
One was a child named Will. In Pittsburgh. Three weeks ago.
"Oh." Rachel sipped her water. "So that's him?"
"Let's see." I started searching.
Yup. William Baldinger had been reported missing by his mother, Marion Tannay, on a Saturday night, Not a big news story, and by Monday, he'd shown up back at home. No more details. But the "BOY MISSING" photo was definitely Will.
I kept clicking. Marion Tannay's LinkedIn page said she was an HR specialist at a small company. But on her Facebook page two weeks she'd posted that she'd gone to a hospital for "exhaustion."
"So what are you thinking?" Rachel crossed her arms.
I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe the aliens turned Will into an alien too? As far as I know that didn't happen to any of the other kids."
"Maybe call the mother?"
"If I could find her." I could ask Greenhill, but I had a feeling he'd stop answering my questions pretty soon, especially if they involved his relatives.
I did a quick search to confirm to he really was related to Marion Tannay—she was apparently his brother's ex-wife. So at least he hadn't been brainwashed by Will.
"So what now?" Rachel finished her water.
"I need a beer." I headed to the kitchen.
I didn't have a plan. Or even any good reason to make a plan. Nessa Brigani's death was a little suspicious, but I had no reasons to think that Will had somehow murdered her in her own bedroom.
Still, if Will—a kid—had been taken over by aliens . . . shouldn't I do something about that?
Aside from sneaking back into Mrs. Brigani's house (breaking and entering) and spying on Greenhill's yard again (invasion of privacy, no matter how pure my motives might be) or trying to jump the fence and scramble into the beam of light before it disappeared (I had no desire to end up on an alien ship again) I couldn't think of anything to do. Not right now, at least.
It was my turn to make dinner. I opened my beer and wished I'd remembered to ask for leftovers last night.
Later that night we were watching Poldark. Actually Rachel was watching Poldark, and I was reading Infinite Jest again. I was nowhere near finishing it, but this time I was determined not to fall asleep.
My phone buzzed at 9:20. I opened my eyes. "Wha—?" Okay, I'd fallen asleep. But I'd been up most of last night. I put the book down. Craig Winters. Great. "Tom Jurgen speaking."
"Jurgen? It's still up there! You have to take me there! Where is he?"
Oh hell. "Hang on, Craig. What are you talking about?"
"I got in touch with some of my friends from Bracken. One of them works for NASA. They're still tracking the same artifact we were in contact with. It's still there! And it's trying to contact us!"
"Okay, slow down." I sat up and grabbed for a beer. "First of all—what are you talking about?"
"They broke us up after you—after everything that happened. Denzinger ended up as a consultant to the Jet Propulsion Lab, and then he got a job at NASA. They don't want to talk about it, but the ship's still up there. In a higher orbit. The Boku!"
That's what they'd called themselves, up in their spaceship. Boku. I bit my lip. I didn't ever want to see them again.
"Tell me where he is. I need to talk to him. See what's he doing—"
"Not a chance. Forget it, Craig. It's over."
Rachel paused the episode to stare at me.
"I can find him on my own. James Greenhill, you said?"
Damn it. "I'm going to have to contact him, Craig. Tell him to watch out for you. That could get you in a lot of trouble." Me, too, for that matter.
"You know what? You ruined my career! I spent years on this—"
"I wasn't the one who sent my daughter up into a spaceship full of aliens!" My voice was rising, and Rachel looked worried. I didn't care. "Do whatever you want to, Craig. Just don't be an idiot."
I hung up. Goddamn it.
Rachel crossed her arms. "What was that?"
"Craig Winters. From that time I got beamed up into the alien spaceship?"
She rolled her eyes. "That asshole."
"Yeah." I rolled up from the couch. I didn't actually have Greenhill's phone number, but I figured I could find it before Craig Winters did. "Give me a minute."
I had it after five minutes. "Hello?"
"Mr. Greenhill? This is Tom Jurgen. We met earlier today?"
"Uh . . . yeah." He sounded groggy. "I just . . . dozed off for a moment. What do you want?"
"You may be contacted by a man named Craig Winters. He's—I met him on another case involving alien contact that sounded similar to, uh, what we saw in your backyard. I don't think he's dangerous, but you should know."
"Wait, what?" I expected him to be furious. But he just sounded sleepy and confused. "There aren't any aliens. Just me and Will."
"Actually—" I stopped myself. He'd never believe me. "I just wanted to give you a head's up on Craig Winters. I don't think he's dangerous, at all. Just—maybe a little obsessed."
"All right." He sighed. "Thanks. I'd better check on Will. Will?" Greenhill hung up.
I put the book on the coffee table. "I'm going to bed."
"One more episode." Rachel gazed at the handsome Captain Poldark on the screen and picked up the remote. "Maybe ten."
In the bedroom I took my shirt off. Then my phone buzzed. Greenhill. Now what?"
"I can't find Will." His voice shook.
What the hell? "Call the police."
"I just did. But—I saw a white light in the backyard."
I was dead tired. And I was pretty sure I couldn't do anything. But I had to know. Damn it. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I pulled my shirt back on.
"Do we have any Red Bull?" I charged through the living room to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator. Maybe a Coke would keep me awake.
"Now what?" Rachel slammed the remote down.
"Will's disappeared. In a flash of light. I have to go."
She rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do?"
I popped the can. "I don't know. I just have to see."
Rachel pulled her shoes on. "Just so long as you don't get beamed up into a spaceship again."
"You don't have to come." I grabbed my jacket.
"Sure I do. Just to make sure you don't do something incredibly stupid." She slung her purse over a shoulder. "Let's roll."
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