The Lost Girls of Johnson's Bayou. Jana DeLeon
Paul stared at her, clearly surprised. “You’ve never been to the house before that night? That’s hard to believe.”
“I never had a reason to go. Knowing what happened that night wasn’t going to change my life now. I don’t expect you to understand.”
Paul stirred his coffee, silent. After a couple of seconds, he spoke. “I understand. The truth of what happened that night must be horrid, or your mind wouldn’t have blocked it all this time. Remembering won’t add any value to your life now, and in fact it may only take away.”
Ginny stared. “You surprise me, Mr. Stanton.”
“Please call me Paul.” He gave her a sad smile. “I know what it’s like to live in the past. Part of you moves forward every day, but you’re not really existing in this point in time. You’re not really living because the part of you clinging to the past weighs you down—steals a part of you so that you can’t be whole.”
Ginny felt the weight of his sadness, and a thought flashed through her mind. “You knew her—the missing girl?”
“Her name is Kathy. She’s my sister.”
“Oh, no!” Ginny reached across the table and placed her hand on Paul’s. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine losing someone so close and never knowing what happened. You think she was at the LeBlanc School? But why didn’t your parents come claim her after the fire?”
“Our parents were killed in a car accident, and we had no other family. We were separated by the foster care system, and I stopped hearing from her sixteen years ago. When I was old enough to insist on tracking her down, I found out that she’d been ‘lost.’”
“How do you lose a child you’re being paid to protect?” The thought horrified Ginny.
“I’d love an answer to that, but her foster parents disappeared, as well. Their identities were fakes, and I’ve never been able to trace them any further.”
Ginny’s mind raced with all the possibilities of what could have happened to his sister, and none of them were good. “What made you think your sister might have been at the LeBlanc School?”
“I didn’t really, before I came here. Any more than I thought I would find her when I looked into a hundred other cases of dead girls who’d never been identified, but then I saw your jewelry…”
Ginny gasped. “The design?”
Paul nodded. “My sister used to draw that design all the time. It was on every school notebook…my mom even helped her paint it on her bedroom wall.”
“You think I saw that design at the LeBlanc School—that your sister drew it somewhere and it stuck in my mind.” Ginny took a deep breath then blew it slowly out. “I wish I could help you, but I swear I don’t remember anything, not even the design. It’s just always been in my mind.”
“But yet, you went into the woods at night. If you really don’t remember and don’t care to, why did you go?”
Ginny lowered her gaze to the tabletop. “You’d think it was crazy,” she said, almost angry with herself that she cared what he thought. She barely knew him. Why should his opinion of her matter?
This time Paul reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “I would never think you’re crazy. Please, talk to me.”
“I feel something. Like something’s out there watching. I look into the woods and I don’t see anything, but it’s almost like it silently calls to me. Like something alive.” She withdrew her hand from his and took a drink of her coffee. “I told you you’d think I was crazy.”
Paul stared at her for a couple of seconds, and Ginny could tell he was contemplating her words. “You’re wrong,” he said finally. “I still don’t think you’re crazy.”
“You don’t have to humor me.”
“I’m not humoring you. I think you’re sensing something. Some people are very intuitive. If things feel different to you now from how they did before, then something has changed. The fact that it’s not immediately visible is disconcerting, but hardly proof that you’re imagining it.”
He frowned. “And besides, you’re forgetting a huge point in your favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Someone broke into your apartment. Someone is watching.”
Ginny crossed her arms across her chest as a chill passed over her. “What do they want?”
“I think if we can figure out the why, we may be able to figure out the who.”
“We…?” Private detective, she reminded herself. “Oh, but I don’t have the money to pay you—”
“I don’t want any money,” he interrupted. “I just want to help.”
Ginny sighed. “You’re hoping I’ll remember something about your sister.”
“I’d be foolish not to hope, but I meant what I said about helping you. Even if your past doesn’t help me at all, I’m not going to leave you to deal with whatever is going on. I’ll help you find the truth, if you’re willing to work with me.”
“What would I have to do?”
“Involve me in your life, for starters. I can’t watch things closely if we’re polite strangers.”
“But how? Everyone knows the only family I have is Madelaine, and I don’t want her to know anything about this at all. She’d worry herself to death, and it might all be nothing.”
Paul nodded. “A family connection wasn’t exactly the kind I had in mind.”
Ginny felt a flush run up her neck and onto her face. “You want me to pretend we have a romantic relationship?” She shook her head. “I don’t think I can do that. I’m not the relationship kind.”
“That makes two of us, but all you have to do is pretend for a bit.”
Ginny’s mind screamed at her to say no. To walk away from the table and pretend she’d never laid eyes on Paul Stanton, but her body had responded to Paul’s suggestion in a completely different way—one that made Ginny’s mind scream even more. “What exactly would I have to do, to pretend, that is?”
“That we met at the café, chatted and enjoyed each other’s company. I already told your mother I was here on vacation. There’s nothing wrong with a little vacation romance.”
“I don’t think anyone will buy that.” Paul, with his toned body, wavy brown hair and supersexy green eyes, was the kind of man who could have anyone. No way would anyone believe he’d chosen her.
Paul looked at her, his confusion clear. “Are you gay?”
“No. I just…I don’t think I’m the kind of girl someone like you would be interested in.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re beautiful.” He stared at her for a minute, then shook his head. “You really don’t know that, do you?”
Ginny looked down at her watch, not saying a word.
He rose from the booth. “I better get out of here and let you get to the festival before your mother starts worrying. I know we still have a lot to talk about, but we can get to it later. I want you to act completely normal. I don’t want anyone to know that you are on to them.”
Ginny nodded, still stunned from Paul’s earlier declaration.
“I’ll drop by the booth when you’re not busy. In the meantime, I’ll be around, watching.” He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “That card has my cell number on it. If you see anything suspicious or get that feeling like you’re being watched, call me immediately.”