Chapter Thirty
Ellie was pleased at how easy it had been to have Hector in the house. She had felt no anxiety or panic once she let him in. Their conversation was congenial and friendly. Not that she would have expected anything less, but it was a new experience for both of them. She was feeling emotionally stronger and decided to call Zach to share her progress.
When she explained to the therapist that she had invited someone into her space and had coffee, he was thoroughly pleased at Ellie’s progress. “Do you think you’ll do it again?” Zach asked Ellie.
“Yes. I want to invite Colleen, Jackson’s mom, over for tea. She must have invited me a dozen times, and I always felt I had to decline.”
“How are the nightmares?”
“I’ve only had one lately.”
“What do you think brought it on?”
Ellie sighed. “My friend Kara got in touch to tell me that Rick called her husband looking for a loan.”
“What did he say?”
“According to Kara, Rick wanted $5,000 to invest in a start-up company. But get this, he wanted it sent via PayPal.”
“That’s an odd way to get capital for an investment,” Zach noted.
“Exactly.”
“When was the last time anyone heard from Rick?”
Ellie paused. “It was around the time I was in the hospital.”
“And no one has heard from him until this recent phone call?”
“Not anyone I know of.” Ellie wasn’t aware of any contact.
“So, after two years, he calls your friend’s husband to ask for a loan?” He waited, but it was clearly a rhetorical question. “Doesn’t that strike you as odd?” That one was not rhetorical.
“Of course it does. I think that’s why I had a nightmare.”
“Do you think he’s trying to locate you?” her therapist asked. The thought gave Ellie the chills.
“As far as I know, he hasn’t contacted my mother, who would be the obvious choice if that’s what he was doing. And from what Kara told me, he didn’t ask about me.”
“How does that make you feel?” The typical therapist question.
“Honestly, I haven’t given it any thought until now.” Ellie wasn’t lying.
“So, your friend tells you that your former boyfriend called her husband, asking for money, and didn’t check to see how you were?”
“That pretty much sums it up,” Ellie said, matter-of-factly.
“And you’re all right with that?”
“I suppose. But I did have a nightmare that night.”
“Do you remember any of it?”
“The only part I remember is that I was falling down a dark hole. Then I woke up in a sweat.”
“Do you think you’re falling down a dark hole?”
Ellie snickered. “Am I not living in one?”
“That’s up to you, Ellie. You made a lot of progress by inviting Hector into the house. You also let Jackson into your yard. Clearly, you’re beginning to allow more people into your life.”
“Yes. It’s the rest of it I still can’t sort out.”
“Remember what I’ve said, ‘Baby steps.’ But this was a pretty good leap for you. Do you think you’ll follow through with inviting Colleen?” Zach asked.
“Yes. We’ve had several conversations on the phone. She is easy to talk to, and I think she needs a friend.”
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
“She is going through a messy divorce and child-custody dispute. The police were here a couple of weeks ago, and they arrested her husband for domestic violence.”
“That does sound like a bad situation,” the therapist acknowledged.
“Sometimes I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that sort of thing.”
“Which part?” he prodded.
“Having to compromise for another person, especially if that person has issues.”
“Good point.” Zach paused before he asked the next question. “Are you still feeling anxious?”
“Not as much as I used to. Getting to know Colleen, even if it’s over the phone, and having Hector help me have made me feel much more secure.”
“But Hector will be leaving for college in the fall. Have you thought about what you’re going to do when he’s gone?”
Ellie chuckled. “Baby steps. Remember?”
The therapist also laughed. “I think you’re doing well, Ellie. Please keep me informed of your progress, or any issues you may have.”
“Thanks, Doc. I certainly will. Take care.”
“You do the same.”
The call ended with Ellie feeling more lighthearted than she had in a long while. She knew she had made progress, and it felt good to be able to share that with someone. Someone who knew about the fears, even if she, herself, didn’t know exactly what she was afraid of. After the call, Ellie wrote a note to Colleen:
Hi, Colleen,
It’s been way overdue, but would you like to have tea or coffee with me sometime this week? Perhaps one afternoon when Jackson is playing with Buddy? You can see them in action. Let me know. Kind regards, Ellie
She clipped a note to it for Hector:
Please deliver to Colleen. Thanks.
Ellie finished up with the latest of her distressed online customers. She had three more hours on the clock. Finally, at midnight, she logged off and went to bed. It had been a draining evening. But in a good way.
Somewhere around 2:30 in the morning, she shot upright in her bed. She had had a nightmare similar to the previous one, with her spiraling down a dark whirlpool. But this time there was something different. She could see Rick’s face at the top of the whirlpool. Her hand was reaching out for him to rescue her, but Rick just turned and walked away, leaving her to be swept into the abyss. There was something familiar and haunting about that image. She knew she couldn’t call Kara at that hour, so she scribbled down the bits and pieces she could remember from the nightmare while it was still fresh in her mind. She was trembling and had a fuzzy sensation in her head. It was almost like the buzzing of a mosquito. Was it simply from the nightmare, or was the nightmare a clue to what had happened to her?
Ellie threw the covers back and got out of bed. Buddy gave her an odd look but remained in his nice warm spot. Percy did the same. “I guess I’m on my own, huh, guys.”
Ellie made herself a cup of tea and went up to the loft. She powered up her PC and pulled up a search engine.
Ellie wondered why she’d not done anything like this before, dozens of times. In the end, she simply chalked it up to pure laziness. Laziness—and fear of what she might find. Well, that was then and this was now.
She found the website of the most likely newspaper in New York City to report on falls resulting in hospital stays and typed in the date the incident took place, hoping there would be something in its archives that would give her a clue. If there was nothing there, she would look at the archives of other newspapers.
She scrolled through the pages and stopped short at an article with the headline:
WOMAN FOUND IN BROWNSTONE STAIRWELL
She read the text of the article:
A woman in her early thirties was found unconscious and bleeding at the bottom of the front steps of a brownstone in Greenwich Village last night. A resident spotted the woman and immediately called 911. She was taken to a nearby hospital with traumatic brain injuries. The identity of the woman is not yet known. Police are asking anyone who has information to please contact 311.
She read the article several times. Could that have been her? She closed her eyes, straining to remember. She and Rick often stopped for a bite to eat at a restaurant in the village. She searched the article again for an exact location of the brownstone, but no address was given. Perhaps she could get a copy of the police report. That was something she could do from her own computer. It was public information.
Ellie went to the police-blotter pages and scrolled through dozens of incident reports from that evening. There were arrests for drunk and disorderly, distribution of a controlled substance, loitering, harassment, shooting, purse snatching, breaking and entering, armed robbery . . . the list went on and on. Then she found what she was looking for among reports on a series of muggings. As she combed the report, a chill went up her spine.
12:45 A.M.
Location: 349 West 11th Street
Victim: White female/age 30+/-
Name: Missing identification
Description: Mugging—Subject was found at base of the front steps of a brownstone, unconscious. Head wound either by blunt object or due to fall. Purse and contents not on scene.
EMS arrived and took subject to Lenox Health. No witnesses.
It was right around the corner from the Pasteria, a place where she and Rick used to hang out.
She read and reread what little information there was. A strange buzz went through her head again. She started to get dizzy. She had to fight the sensation. She knew she was getting closer to the truth. Why hadn’t anyone told her? She looked at the clock. It was almost 4:00 A.M. She reached for the phone designated for her mother and Kara. Ellie could not possibly wait until dawn. Two years had been long enough.
“Mother. Don’t panic. I’m OK. But I had to speak with you now.”
Ellie’s mother was groggy. “Oh dear, what is it? What is going on at this time in the morning? Or whatever time it is where you are?”
“I had another nightmare. About the incident. Rick was in it. He was standing over me while I was falling into an abyss. I reached out to him, and he let me fall.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Mother?”
“I’m here, honey. It’s just that no one has heard from him since he skipped town.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Ellie answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Rick called Christian and asked him for $5,000.”
“After all this time? What on earth for?”
“He claims it’s for some sort of start-up company. He wanted Chris to put the money in a PayPal account.”
“Isn’t that a bit odd?”
“Of course it’s odd.”
“What did Christian say?”
“He said he would discuss it with Kara. That’s how I found out. Kara called me the other day. She told Christian that she would kick his butt if he did what Rick asked.”
“Sounds like Kara.” Her mother chuckled. “I don’t suppose he asked about you?”
“Of course not. Why should he? He didn’t seem to care when I was in the hospital.” Ellie felt her stress growing.
“Do they know where he is?”
“He said he was traveling.”
“Yes, like he traveled right out of here the morning you were admitted to the hospital.”
“Mother, I think I have an idea of what happened that night.” Ellie was resolute.
“I don’t understand.” Her mother had waited for over two years. Why now?
“Let me explain.” Ellie took a deep breath. “My nightmare. This was the second time I was being swallowed into a dark hole, but this time Rick was in it. When I woke up, I had a strange buzzing in my head.”
“Honey, you know you have to be careful of those recurring migraines.”
“Luckily, I’ve had very few over the past several months. I’m OK now.”
“That’s good news, dear,” her mother cooed.
“Here’s the thing. I went online and searched the newspapers for the date of the incident. I found a small article in the Daily News about a woman who was found unconscious at the bottom of the front steps of a brownstone.”
More silence from the other end.
“Mother?”
“Yes, yes. I heard you.”
“Then I went to the police blotter to try to get more information. Mother? Was that me?” Ellie cringed, waiting for a response.
Her mother took a deep gulp before answering. “Yes.”
“And no one told me?” Ellie was getting agitated.
“You couldn’t remember what happened. The doctors said you would in time and that we should not push you.”
“Instead, you made me wonder for two years?” Ellie was pacing now.
“It was a severe trauma, honey. No one wanted to do anything that would upset you.” Her mother sounded tearful.
“Mom? Rick was there when I fell.”
“What?” Her mother was stunned by her remark.
“That’s why he disappeared,” Ellie said blankly.
“But your purse. It was missing.”
“We were having an argument on the street.” Ellie felt like she was in a trance. “He was really angry and grabbed me by the shoulders. When I tried to push him away, I lost my footing and fell backward. He grabbed the strap of my purse, to keep me from falling, and it broke.” Ellie was in a sweat. “He must have taken off with it to make what happened look like a mugging.”
“But why didn’t he stay to help you?” Ellie’s mother was irate.
“Because he never takes responsibility for anything. He probably thought no one would believe that it was an accident.”
“Do you think it was an accident?” her mother asked suspiciously. “Your memory isn’t that good. Perhaps this is what you want to remember—an accident.”
“Mother, I can’t think of any reason why Rick would purposely push me down a flight of stairs.”
“Because he’s an obnoxious, selfish, nasty piece of work, that’s why.”
“But to what end? What would be in it for him? Rick never did anything that was not in his own interest.” Ellie was perplexed.
“Maybe he didn’t feel like waiting around for the police and having to answer questions. Why do you think he fled town?” Her mother was resolute.
“That is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.” Then it occurred to Ellie that her mother might be right and that Rick would be looking for her to finish the job that had begun that night. “Gosh, do you think that’s why he called Christian? To try to find me?” Ellie tried to control her panic. “But he didn’t ask about me.”
“No, but he asked for money. Maybe he’s going to pay someone to find you.” Her mom took a deep breath. “It’s a good thing you’re working on a government contract out of the country, so it will be difficult to locate you.”
Ellie resisted the urge to tell her mother the truth. She wasn’t out of the country. Then a horrible thought came to mind. If Rick was trying to find her, she needed to do something about it. About him. She didn’t want to cause her mother any more concern. “Right.” That’s when she decided she would do a deep dive into finding Rick. Before he found her.
“Mom? I know you worry about me, but I cannot tell you how relieved I am that I can finally remember the gist of what happened that night and that I didn’t have some sort of mental breakdown.”
Although she thought she might have one momentarily.
“Libby, I am so happy to hear it.”
Yes, her real name was Elizabeth Gannon. That much she did know and always had.