Amber’s mom lived in the apartment above the bakery she owned. I rang the bell at the bottom of the stairs and waited. I rang again. Eventually, I heard slow footsteps coming down the stairs.
Helen opened the door, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Her face was tense with worry. She looked me over as if she wasn’t sure what to make of me. I was still wearing the red miniskirt and high heels.
“I’m sorry to wake you, Mrs. Miller,” I said. “I’ve come about your daughter.”
Her face lit up with hope. “They found Amber?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
Her shoulders fell. Then she grabbed my arm, panicked. “They didn’t find her body, did they?”
I shook my head. “I’m not from Search and Rescue, Mrs. Miller.”
“I’m Helen,” she said. “Call me Helen.”
I extended my hand. “I’m Claire Abbott. I work for the Black Lake Times. We talked when you first opened your bakery.”
“Yes, of course. I remember you now.”
“May I come in?” I asked.
She started to close the door. “I can’t talk about Amber right now. I just can’t.”
“I’m not here to talk about Amber for a news story.”
She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“I just want to help find her. May I see Amber’s room? I need a personal item, something that belongs to her.”
Helen’s voice rose in alarm. “You want to snoop around in my daughter’s things?”
“No, I—”
“What do you want?” she cried. “Why are you here?”
“I had a vision,” I told her. “I knew where Amber was, at least at that moment. Matt and I went up to Little Mountain viewpoint to find her, but she was gone.”
Now Helen grew angry. “Why are you doing this to me? Go away!” She slammed the door in my face.
“Mrs. Miller,” I called. “I don’t think Amber is simply lost. I think someone kidnapped her.”
I heard her footsteps pause partway up the stairs.
“She was wearing a charm bracelet,” I called through the door. “One of the charms was a little boat.”
I heard her step back down the stairs. She opened the door. “How could you possibly know that?” She hesitated, then opened the door wide. “Come in,” she said.
I followed her up the stairs and into the apartment, a loft. I could see the doors to the upstairs bedrooms from the open space below. The kitchen and living area were in one room with a very high ceiling. The place smelled of bread from the bakery below.
“You said you need a personal item,” she said.
“Yes, to trigger a vision.”
“You’re some kind of psychic?” she asked.
“No. At least, I don’t think so. I can’t tell the future or anything. I just get these hunches. Earlier when I touched your daughter’s jacket, I saw her. I knew she was at the Little Mountain viewpoint. But, like I said, when we got there she was gone.”
“How do you know she was really there in the first place?”
“I just know,” I said. “I saw her.”
“In your vision.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Look, I know how crazy this sounds,” I said. “But please let me try. I know I can help find your daughter. I just need to hold something that belongs to Amber.”
Helen nodded her head as she thought that over. Her face was pale with grief. “I’m desperate,” she said. “I’ll try anything.” She ushered me to the stairs. “This way,” she said.
I followed her up to Amber’s bedroom, a typical teenager’s room. The walls were painted pink and purple. The same colors were on the bedding. Amber had left her jewelry, makeup and clothes spread all over.
“What do you need?” Helen asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Anything.” Then I remembered what Mom had told me. “Something she wears all the time.”
“She wears this necklace every basketball game.” Helen held up a small silver heart on a chain. “Her dad gave it to her before he died. She says it brings her luck.”
“Perfect,” I said. I took the chain from her and focused on Amber’s dresser mirror. I felt that strange feeling again, as if I was rushing down a waterslide. And there, in that mirror, I saw Amber.
This time she lay on a floor in a 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.
“She’s in a van,” I said.
“What kind of van?” Helen asked.
As soon as she spoke, I lost the vision. “I’m not sure,” I told her. “An older one.” I shook my head. “There was something on the walls. Carpet. But that doesn’t make sense.”
“That makes perfect sense,” said Helen. “Doug drives a van like that, with shag carpet on the inside walls.”
“Doug Conner?” I asked. “Amber’s old boyfriend?”
Helen nodded. “He 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 didn’t want her in that thing. You can understand why.”
I sure did. The kid had a bedroom on wheels. “Amber did break up with Doug though, right?” I asked.
“Yes, a couple of weeks ago. Doug wasn’t very happy about it. He turned up at the bakery, trying to talk to her. I had to tell him to leave.”
“Did you tell Matt about that?” I asked.
“Well, no. It didn’t seem important. Doug didn’t come back after that. Amber said he was behaving himself at school. He left her alone.”
“Do you have any reason to believe he would hurt her?”
“I don’t know. Amber said he pushed her once during their breakup argument. He’s a moody kid. I thought he was depressed. I worried he was taking something.”
“Drugs?”
Helen nodded. “I talked to Amber about that. She thought he sometimes got into his Mom’s pills. I urged her to stay away from him for that reason. Eventually, she listened.”
Helen thought for a moment. “Amber just started seeing Liam Peterson this past Friday,” she said. “I suppose that could have made Doug jealous. I know he was suspicious of Liam’s interest in Amber in the past.”
“Jealous enough to kidnap her?”
Helen put her hand over her mouth. “I don’t know,” she said.
She pointed at the necklace in my hands. “Do you know where they are now?” she asked.
“They were driving down a logging road, through trees. I think they’re still in the Little Mountain wilderness area.”
“Try again,” said Helen. “Maybe you can see more.”
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. “I’m not getting anything,” I said.
Then I remembered what Mom had said—I couldn’t 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 wasn’t crazy. I was anything but relaxed.
“At least we know Amber is in Doug’s van,” Helen said.
“So you believe me?” I asked.
“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know how else you could have known about Amber’s bracelet, or the inside of that van.” She picked up Amber’s necklace and held it out for me to take with me. “Yes, I think I do believe you.”
I sighed with relief. “Okay,” I said. “Now all we’ve got to do is convince Matt.”