“So what’s going on?” Jacob asked. His tone wasn’t like a cop to a witness, it was one friend to another. He also didn’t have his notepad out—and I knew Jacob was an exacting note taker. I was aware of the weight of my pad in my pocket, square against my side, slightly curved from the way I always leaned it into a ridge in Zigler’s passenger door, but I figured if Jacob wasn’t scribbling, I shouldn’t either. Dreyfuss leaned back, crossed his ankles, and folded his hands in his lap, the picture of relaxation.
Chekotah ran his hand through his stark black hair. A few strands of gray showed at his temples, but only a few. “Karen went first. We didn’t think anything of it at the time, though, so we didn’t know….” He sighed, fidgeted with a pen. “She was unhappy with the program, so we just assumed she’d left. Even if we’d reported her missing, that’s what the police would have thought, too. That’s what they told us when they were here.”
“So you called them, when?”
“After Lisa was gone. She missed her afternoon class, missed dinner. I called her, and her cell was still in her room…and I just had a feeling.” I was maybe a little jealous that Dr. Chekotah had Lisa’s current cell phone number and I didn’t. But I’d need to tuck that emotion away until later and focus on his statement, especially since I wasn’t writing it down.
“It wasn’t an actual premonition—you know I’m no precog. But with Karen taking off without a word to anyone, leaving all her things, and then suddenly Lisa misses a class for the first time, then skips dinner.
It just didn’t seem right.”
Chekotah lapsed into silence, and Jacob said, “Is it possible maybe she met someone? Someone outside PsyTrain?”
“Lisa’s an adult. She can come and go as she pleases.” That sounded a little snippy to me. “When would she even meet a guy? And even if she did, why wouldn’t she wait until after her class to see him? She’s only going to be here for another month. She’s been doing her best to make the most of the training.”
Knowing firsthand how a crisis of faith could derail Lisa if it were strong enough, I wasn’t sure I necessarily agreed with him. I kept that to myself. The thing about his opinions that interested me the most were what they might reveal about him.
“So Director Park resigning,” Jacob said, “is that anything to do with Lisa and the other woman?”
Chekotah threw his arms in the air as if his ancestors might need to help him answer that one. “That. And the non-stop phone calls. And the reporters.”
“What do the reporters want?” Dreyfuss asked. His tone was good.
It made him sound like the type of guy who’d buy you a beer and commiserate with you after a hard day. He’d probably put radioactive tracers in that beer, and then stick a bug on the hem of your jacket while you weren’t looking. But you wouldn’t know it from his voice.
“Is Five Faith active in Chicago? No? Bunch of paranoid anti-Psychs.
The Bishop’s off in L.A. Meeting with the Cardinal to see if the Catholic church can officially deny any ties with them.”
“Are you being threatened?” Jacob said.
“So far, no. They’re more of a nuisance. Protests and wild accusa-tions. But they’re spreading fear, and it won’t surprise me at all when one of their rallies goes too far.”
“Do you think we could get a look at Lisa’s room?” Jacob asked.
“Sure, sure, right this way.”
My insides froze up at the thought finding Lisa right there in the middle of it—and me being the only one able to see her. I did my best to keep my face neutral, but I might have squinted as Chekotah herded us out of his new office. The secretary—Lyle?—didn’t seem to have made any leeway at all with his phone, and was in fact looking at the back as if he was seriously considering just unplugging the damn thing. Despite his frustrations with the phone, he paused to give us a good ogle as we
Chekotah ran his hand through his stark black hair. A few strands of gray showed at his temples, but only a few. “Karen went first. We didn’t think anything of it at the time, though, so we didn’t know….” He sighed, fidgeted with a pen. “She was unhappy with the program, so we just assumed she’d left. Even if we’d reported her missing, that’s what the police would have thought, too. That’s what they told us when they were here.”
“So you called them, when?”
“After Lisa was gone. She missed her afternoon class, missed dinner. I called her, and her cell was still in her room…and I just had a feeling.” I was maybe a little jealous that Dr. Chekotah had Lisa’s current cell phone number and I didn’t. But I’d need to tuck that emotion away until later and focus on his statement, especially since I wasn’t writing it down.
“It wasn’t an actual premonition—you know I’m no precog. But with Karen taking off without a word to anyone, leaving all her things, and then suddenly Lisa misses a class for the first time, then skips dinner.
It just didn’t seem right.”
Chekotah lapsed into silence, and Jacob said, “Is it possible maybe she met someone? Someone outside PsyTrain?”
“Lisa’s an adult. She can come and go as she pleases.” That sounded a little snippy to me. “When would she even meet a guy? And even if she did, why wouldn’t she wait until after her class to see him? She’s only going to be here for another month. She’s been doing her best to make the most of the training.”
Knowing firsthand how a crisis of faith could derail Lisa if it were strong enough, I wasn’t sure I necessarily agreed with him. I kept that to myself. The thing about his opinions that interested me the most were what they might reveal about him.
“So Director Park resigning,” Jacob said, “is that anything to do with Lisa and the other woman?”
Chekotah threw his arms in the air as if his ancestors might need to help him answer that one. “That. And the non-stop phone calls. And the reporters.”
“What do the reporters want?” Dreyfuss asked. His tone was good.
It made him sound like the type of guy who’d buy you a beer and commiserate with you after a hard day. He’d probably put radioactive tracers in that beer, and then stick a bug on the hem of your jacket while you weren’t looking. But you wouldn’t know it from his voice.
“Is Five Faith active in Chicago? No? Bunch of paranoid anti-Psychs.
The Bishop’s off in L.A. Meeting with the Cardinal to see if the Catholic church can officially deny any ties with them.”
“Are you being threatened?” Jacob said.
“So far, no. They’re more of a nuisance. Protests and wild accusa-tions. But they’re spreading fear, and it won’t surprise me at all when one of their rallies goes too far.”
“Do you think we could get a look at Lisa’s room?” Jacob asked.
“Sure, sure, right this way.”
My insides froze up at the thought finding Lisa right there in the middle of it—and me being the only one able to see her. I did my best to keep my face neutral, but I might have squinted as Chekotah herded us out of his new office. The secretary—Lyle?—didn’t seem to have made any leeway at all with his phone, and was in fact looking at the back as if he was seriously considering just unplugging the damn thing. Despite his frustrations with the phone, he paused to give us a good ogle as we
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