There was a buzz, and a nurse came out of the reception room. She looked at Holly, then at the redhead. "Elizabeth?"

The woman stood and followed the nurse through the reception room and the door beyond.

Chapter 30.

Jake jumped up and sat on the window ledge by Aiyana's feet. She was still upset, but at least the tears had stopped.

"Do you think maybe we can start over?"

It relieved him to see her nod.

"Do you have any idea what you are or where you come from? Maybe if we can figure that out, we can figure out if you were sent to help rescue Gabe."

She shrugged.

"Do you remember anything before being here in the hallway?"

She shook her head slowly. "Just a little, but I'm not allowed to talk about that."

"Why?"

"It's unlawful."

"Unlawful-you mean, against the law? Whose law?"

She thought for a second, then said, "G.o.d's law."

He hadn't considered G.o.d in the equation. How odd to think he could be the one sending these children. "It's against G.o.d's law to tell me where you're from?"

"No. It's unlawful for me to tell you what I've seen in heavenly places."

His eyebrows rose. "Okay..."

She thought again, harder this time, then said, "Can we talk about something else? I don't want to get in trouble."

Jake nodded. "All right, so there are some things you can't remember, and other things you're not allowed to talk about. Is that right?"

"Well, I can remember a lot more now, but not everything."

"But you still don't know why you're here."

She shook her head.

"Do you know what you are?"

"Of course I do. I'm a girl."

"I know, but are you a ghost?"

"No. I'm in your head, and..." she thought again, "and also in my mommy's belly."

Jake's mouth dropped open. His mind raced to go over each of his strange encounters with the "ghost" children. Were they the spirits of unborn babies? In the craziest possible way, it actually made sense. It would certainly explain all the pregnant women he'd been seeing. He studied Aiyana; was she the baby his new neighbor was expecting?

"Why are you looking at me that way?"

He gave his head a little shake. "Aren't you a little old to be a baby?"

She thought a moment. "I look as old as I want to look." Suddenly her eyes grew wide. "Oh no."

"What? Did you say something wrong? Did I get you in trouble?"

"No. My mommy's getting too far away. You won't be able to hear my thoughts anymore."

Hear her thoughts? Was that the secret behind all of this? There was no time to process this new information. He pushed off the ledge. "You think we can catch her?"

"I don't know."

Jake lifted her by the armpits and set her on the floor. "Come on, let's try to catch her!"

They ran down the hallway and Jake stabbed the elevator b.u.t.ton. A light yellow number three glowed above the doors. It was on the third floor! "Come on," he said, "we'll take the stairs." He jogged down the hallway, keeping pace so Aiyana could keep up. If the pregnant lady next door was Aiyana's mother, she would be close to the parking lot by now. Would they be able to catch her before she drove away?

He pushed into the stairwell and held the door for Aiyana. Her slight body lost its balance as she came through the opening, but she recovered without falling. It was amazing to see her push off the wall as if she were actually physically with him. There was even the subtle lack of motor coordination he would expect from a child her age. How could she only be a thought in his mind? She was so real!

They raced to the first floor and down the hallway to the right. There was a door that led to the parking lot, but it was only for emergencies. Jake didn't care. He desperately wanted more time to talk to Aiyana. He pushed through the door.

No alarm sounded.

He spoke over his shoulder. "If you can think of anything we can tell your mother that would make her believe I'm not crazy, and that might keep her here till we can..." He glanced back, and slowed to a stop. The hallway was empty.

Aiyana was gone.

Chapter 31.

Holly scratched her wrist nervously as she waited for the nurse to haul her off into her lair. It was a morbid thought, but she couldn't help it. There were so many odd qualities to this government-funded health center with its bullet proof gla.s.s, reinforced steel doors, and surveillance cameras. She felt like she was in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell, like her every move was being carefully monitored.

How odd it seemed that a health clinic, built to help women, should be so fortified and guarded. Every effort had been made to make the room feel plush and inviting, but fear floated in the air. The chum was in the water and the sharks were circling.

Holly had seen it first hand. The sweet middle-aged woman who had done her interview when she was pregnant with Gabe had never once suggested that she keep her baby. In her defense, she never said she should abort it either, but there was an understanding between them. The center wanted to help her make her troubles go away, and her troubles were all connected to the baby she wasn't ready to have.

It could have been her overactive imagination, but Holly never felt comfortable here. Though everything about the clinic was created to make women feel welcome, she always got the sense something was a little off.

"Holly?"

She looked up. A thin nurse who looked Holly's age stood in the doorway to the reception area. She wore an official white lab coat and carried a clipboard. "We're ready for you," she said.

Not sure if her legs would work, Holly stood. This was it. There was no turning back. Whatever agenda the kidnapper had, she was now a cog in the machinery. She didn't know where it would all lead, but if the first step was setting fire to this place, she was okay with that.

She followed the nurse into the reception area where they were buzzed through the door. The corridor beyond was thin, long, and mostly white. They went halfway down, took a left, and went halfway down the next hallway to a room marked examination room A.

"A?" Holly stammered.

The nurse turned around. "I'm sorry?"

"Examination room A?"

"Yes? Do you have a problem with that?"

Holly had to think fast. What problem did she have with that? Why hadn't she come up with a pre-made excuse? Events were moving too quickly; her brain felt like it was wrapped in cellophane.

"My, ah, sister had a really bad experience in room A," she lied, "and I'm already so nervous, would it be okay to use another?"

"I'm sorry to hear about your sister. We have another room down the hall if you'd prefer."

"I would appreciate that so much. I'm sorry to be a pain."

"Oh, you're no pain," she said. "Follow me. We'll take you down to exam room B."

Holly didn't have to fake her emotions; she was relieved to be going to the right room, and relieved that the nurse was so eager to please. They continued down the hall and to the right, then halfway down the next.

"Here we are," said the nurse. She went right into the exam room. Holly studied the foreboding door across the hall-the door she had been tasked to infiltrate. In its center was a black nameplate with white letters. The name on the plate made her heart squeeze in her chest. Gary Carter. Her eyes widened. Was he the killer? If he was, then why would he send a bomb to his own office? And if he wasn't... If he wasn't, then he was at least connected to him in some way? Her throat constricted. Was this a trap? Had she been lured here for something else?

Without realizing it, Holly stepped too near the office door and the device in her purse made the lock beep. Holly leaped back toward the opposite wall. She stood motionless. Did the nurse hear the beep? Holly saw a vision of the nurse dragging her across the hall to make the door beep again, but she forced it from her mind and stepped into the doorway of examination room B.

The nurse stood with her back to Holly. "Come in and have a seat." She flipped through the papers on her clipboard. Either the noise of the papers had covered the sound of the beep, or the nurse was so used to hearing it, she'd tuned it out. Whatever the reason, Holly was relieved.

She sat down on the sterile exam bed; her body took on a rigidity as the tactile feel and sound of the paper brought the haunting memory of her last visit to the surface. It was the single most traumatic moment of her life. She remembered sitting there like a wounded animal, frightened and alone-hoping for someone to remove from her body the object of her suffering, and yet feeling strangely protective of it.

"All right, Holly," the nurse said in a friendly voice, "what is your full name and date of birth?"

Holly cleared her throat. "Holly Anne Paris. June 27, 1992."

"Very good, very good." She flipped a page. "Our records say you've been here before,"

"Yes," she said, "about six years ago." Her voice quivered.

"There is nothing to be nervous about. This is just a routine checkup."

"Okay," she said, gripping her purse harder than she should have.

"Do you want me to take that and put it somewhere safe till you're done?" she said, cheerfully, holding out her hand.

"No thanks..." Holly gripped it harder, and didn't offer a reason, because she didn't have one to give.

The nurse let her hand hover for a moment, then withdrew it and swiveled back to her paperwork. "Everything looks good."

Holly could hardly breathe, and her ribs had started a periodic shiver which was getting harder to conceal.

The office chair squeaked. "Here," said the nurse holding out a johnny. "Put this on and when you're ready, open the door, okay?"

Holly took the folded cloth and set it on her lap.

The nurse gave a friendly smile. "See you in a few minutes."

Holly sat shaking. It wasn't too late to call it off. She could just get up and walk out. And there was no way she would submit herself to a doctor's exam. She hated those exams under normal circ.u.mstances. But to allow herself to be probed by a doctor in such a vulnerable manner at the request of this freak was unimaginable. It would be as if the serial killer himself were the examiner.

Her anger had a dampening effect on her fear, and she squeezed out every bit of it she could. She took the plastic medical gloves from her purse and slid them over her trembling fingers, then placed the johnny on the papered bed and peeked out the door. There were people talking, but the sound was distant and m.u.f.fled. She peeked out further. No one was up the hall. No one was down the hall. This was it. All she had to do was hurl herself to the door and push her way through.

She felt like a diver standing on a high cliff, contemplating whether to obey her fear or rise to the challenge. She closed her eyes and pushed everything away. Sometimes rising to the occasion was a simple matter of disregarding the consequences, and sadly, that was a skill Holly had almost perfected.

She launched herself across the hall, listened for the beep, and pushed through into the dark office beyond.

Chapter 32.

Jake sat on the front steps of The Schoolhouse with his head in his hands and his fingers clutching chunks of his curly brown hair. The stress of the last twenty-four hours had finally caught up with him, and had struck with a vengeance. Every time he felt he was making progress, the solution would dance away, mocking him as it went. If these children had some kind of connection to G.o.d and angels, then why were they taunting him with mysteries? Why not come out and say what they'd been sent to tell him? Why not show him what he was supposed to do? Was he doing something wrong? Was he chasing the wrong child?

No. She was the right one, somehow he felt sure of it. Clearly Aiyana wasn't the one with the answers, but maybe she could lead him to the answers? Her mother said she was going to the hospital...

Jake looked up.

What better place to find these supernatural children than at the maternity ward? He stood. If these children had a connection to something beyond this world, and if this ability to see and talk to them had been given to him to save Gabe, then that was where he needed to be.

But first he needed to check in with Dan to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He pulled his phone out and pressed Dan's number onto the pad.

"Heylo?" said Dan.

"Hey, Dan. Any news on Gabe?"

"Not yet, bud. I'm sorry."

"How's Holly doing?"