After being grilled for over a half an hour about why Luke was among the trees in the first place, Addison stuck to the same story. She told them Luke had been running earlier that day and thought he saw something sticking out of the ground. He’d returned with a shovel to investigate. As to how he got smacked over the head with it, Addison pled the Fifth. In truth, she herself was interested in the answer to that one.
Before long an entire crew of people arrived, and Addison was pushed back several yards from the place they were now referring to as a possible crime scene. As far as they were concerned, she’d fulfilled her obligations and was no longer needed. They’d take it from here.
“I wonder what will happen now,” her father said on their way back to the house.
“I have no idea, but I need to get to Luke, see if he’s all right.”
Luke would have to wait a little longer. Waiting inside her house like she owned the place was Addison’s neighbor, Helen, who prodded Addison about what was going on in “her” woods. The police had warned Addison not to say anything to anyone until something could be confirmed, and she intended to keep quiet. She still had some investigating of her own to do. Addison simply told Helen that she wasn’t sure what was going on. All she knew was what the police had told her—they’d received a tip and had come to check it out. She assured Helen there was nothing to worry about.
“Nothing to worry about?” Helen barked. “How can you say that? There’s a whole army of them out there messing up those woods.”
“I’m sure they’re not trying to mess up anything.”
“I don’t understand,” Helen said. “What could possibly be back there?”
Addison glared at her, giving her a look that said, “You know exactly what’s back there.”
Helen appeared to be physically pained that she couldn’t walk to the hole and make further inquiries, but her cane kept her on a short leash. Addison possessed neither the time nor the patience to speak with her any longer.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I have somewhere else I need to be.”
“Who’s going to watch them?” Helen said, her eyes shifting from Addison to the woods.
Addison laughed. “I’m not a babysitter.” On that note, she turned to leave and spotted a woman exiting a blue Honda Accord. She didn’t think much of it until the woman stepped closer. She had a familiar looking face, and when she flashed a strained smile in Addison’s direction, she realized she’d seen her before, in the vision she had when she’d touched Luke in the woods. The woman was the one grinning at her at the beach. She was part of the future. Her future. She had to be. And even though they’d never met, somehow she knew today would be the day they did.