Fourteen

Fitch answered, and Matt put him on speaker so I could hear.

“Can you come meet me and Oli and our friend?” Matt asked Fitch. “We’re at Osprey Hill.”

“I can’t right now,” Fitch replied, clearly distracted. “I’m in the middle of something and have to finish it.”

“We can come pick you up?” Matt offered.

“Normally I’d say yes,” Fitch said, “but it’s not a good time to come over here.”

“Okay,” Matt said.

“You know, ‘stuff,’?” Fitch said, sounding dejected.

I knew there could be lots of reasons why it wasn’t “a good time.” Was his mother back from her latest trip? Was he trying to spend time with her? Or was it about Abigail?

“Sounds like something is getting to you,” Matt said to Fitch. “What’s going on?”

“It’s no big deal,” Fitch said. “Anyway, is your friend okay?”

“That’s why I’m calling,” Matt said. “We’re worried about her. Why don’t we pick you up? Get you out of there. And we’d feel better if you saw her.”

“Why don’t you take her to the ER?” Fitch asked.

“Long story,” Matt said. “But that’s not going to work.”

“You’ve got me interested,” Fitch said. “Sure, come get me. Just give me half an hour to finish up here. That would be excellent.”

“Okay, see you soon,” Matt said.

Matt and I started walking back toward Iris to wake her up, but she was hurrying toward us from around the maintenance shed. She was wide awake. Her eyes looked so much brighter, and I realized that she had been right, rest was just what she had needed.

“I remember everything!” she said. “Well, almost everything. It came back to me in my sleep. I think it’s thanks to Adalyn and her cat.”

“What do you mean?” Matt asked.

“I live in the Cat Castle,” Iris explained.

“The what?” I asked.

“That’s what it’s called,” Iris explained impatiently. “My parents run a cat sanctuary—they rescue strays from boatyards, city streets. We live in Newport, Rhode Island. Near the waterfront, the docks, and old warehouses.”

Newport. A small city, just about an hour away.

“Tell us more,” I said excitedly. “Anything might help us know who took you, and why.”

“Oh, I know exactly,” she said. And she began to talk.