Chapter 13
Norman finallyrexhaled in relief and said, “Send me your location. I’ll come get you right away!”
A man’s voice crackled over the line. “Are you her husband? I found this phone while I was fishing down by Boralith River, but there’s no sign of any woman around here.”
“By the river?” Norman’s stomach dropped, “Stay pot. I’m on my way!”
He tore out of the villa and raced to his ca
Seth flung open the car door and slid into the passenger seat, his face etched with cancer.
“Mr. Walsh, you don’t think juliet jumped into the river after coming back to life, do you? I mean, after what that serial killer did to her… You know how she feels about cleanliness. She’d never be able to the with something like that.”
“Enough!” Norman barked, pushing down the knot of tear in his chest. “Juliet’s strong. She wouldn’t just give up like that! Call the police now. Tell them to search the riverbank. That aller could be close by!”
It wasn’t long before the police had the area around Boralith River cordoned off
Norman pressed the man fishing by the river again, asking if he’d seen jubet.
The man shook his head. “Honestly, I haven’t seen her. Did your wife take her own life on impulse after a fight with you?”
“She wouldn’t die!” Norman’s voice cracked as he wiped the waterweed clinging to Juliet’s phone with a tissue, his eyes red and puffy. “Juliet must be too hurt to wake up yet. When she comes around, she’ll call me. I know she will!”
“Juliet has to be alive! Seth chimed in “Tomorrow’s our mom’s death anniversary. Juliet never missed it. Every year, she’d write Mom a letter ahead of time, give Lenny a bath and a good brushing, and take Mom’s favorite lies to her grave. She wouldn’t skip it. She’ll show up today. She has to!”
Norman’s chest clenched with guilt. In their eight years of marriage, he’d never visited the grave of Juliet’s mother, Claire Hewett, to pay his respects.
He’d even snapped at Juliet more than a few times for insisting on keeping Lenny, completely overlooking that the cat had been Juliet’s last connection to Claire.
And on the day Lenny had been hit by a car, Norman had forced Juliet to apologize after she’d accidentally hurt Iris. The next day, he’d even broken his promise to go with her to bury Lenny.
Every memory out like a knife, leaving him struggling to breathe.
Norman fought down the ache in his chest, his voice hoarse as he said, “Seth, I’ll go with you and Juliet to visit Claire’s grave tomorrow.”
They waited all day, from sunrise to sunset, but Juliet never showed up. Norman stood at the villa’s doorway, his heart racing as he scanned the horizon.
Setis approached, his voice edged with frustration. “Where’s Juliet? She’s the only one who remembers what kind of lilies Mom loved. I can’t even begin to guess.”
“Her injuries must have been severe et
enough to leave her unconscious, even after she was reborn,” Norman murmured, thinking it over.
“All of you, check every hospital and clinic in Belcrest. We have to find Mrs. Walsh, and fast! And get the word out–anyone who can give us information about her location will be rewarded half a million dollars!”
