small room. The floor was moving up and down and from side to side. I squinted, trying to make sense of what I saw. There was a seat beyond her.
âSheâs in a van,â I said.
âWhat kind of van?â Helen asked.
As soon as she spoke, I lost the vision. âIâm not sure,â I told her. âAn older one.â I shook my head. âThere was something on the walls. Carpet. But that doesnât make sense.â
âThat makes perfect sense,â said Helen. âDoug drives a van like that, with shag carpet on the inside walls.â
âDoug Conner?â I asked. âAmberâs old boyfriend?â
Helen nodded. âHe fixed up his van like one of those 1970s custom vans. He even has a bed in the back. When they were still dating, I told Amber I didnât want her in that thing. You can understand why.â
I sure did. The kid had a bedroom on wheels. âAmber did break up with Doug though, right?â I asked.
âYes, a couple of weeks ago. Doug wasnât very happy about it. He turned up at the bakery, trying to talk to her. I had to tell him to leave.â
âDid you tell Matt about that?â I asked.
âWell, no. It didnât seem important. Doug didnât come back after that. Amber said he was behaving himself at school. He left her alone.â
âDo you have any reason to believe he would hurt her?â
âI donât know. Amber said he pushed her once during their breakup argument. Heâs a moody kid. I thought he was depressed. I worried he was taking something.â
âDrugs?â
Helen nodded. âI talked to Amber about that. She thought he sometimes got into his Momâs pills. I urged her to stay away from him for that reason. Eventually, she listened.â
Helen thought for a moment. âAmber just started seeing Liam Peterson this past Friday,â she said. âI suppose that could have made Doug jealous. I know he was suspicious of Liamâs interest in Amber in the past.â
âJealous enough to kidnap her?â
Helen put her hand over her mouth. âI donât know,â she said.
She pointed at the necklace in my hands. âDo you know where they are now?â she asked.
âThey were driving down a logging road, through trees. I think theyâre still in the Little Mountain wilderness area.â
âTry again,â said Helen. âMaybe you can see more.â
I squeezed the necklace and willed a vision to come, but I saw nothing. I put the necklace down and tried a comb, a set of earrings, a bracelet. âIâm not getting anything,â I said.
Then I remembered what Mom had saidâI couldnât force myself to have a vision. I could only remote view when I was relaxed. Here I was, standing with a grieving mother and trying to prove I wasnât crazy. I was anything but relaxed.
âAt least we know Amber is in Dougâs van,â Helen said.
âSo you believe me?â I asked.
âMaybe,â she said. âI donât know how else you could have known about Amberâs bracelet, or the inside of that van.â She picked up Amberâs necklace and held it out for me to take with me. âYes, I think I do believe you.â
I sighed with relief. âOkay,â I said. âNow all weâve got to do is convince Matt.â
SEVEN
S now fell hard as Helen and I arrived at the search-and-rescue camp. We jumped out of my car and ran to the bonfire where Matt was talking to a group of searchers.
As I reached Matt, my heels slipped in the snow, and he grabbed me just before I fell. That was the second time Iâd ended up in Mattâs arms that evening. âI told you to stay out of my camp,â he said.
I smiled weakly at the volunteers around us. I saw them whispering to each other and eyeing my short skirt and heels. They were all in full winter gear.
âCan I have a moment?â I asked Matt. âIn
Marc Nager, Clint Nelsen, Franck Nouyrigat