Forget to Remember

around other vehicles. She also wished they could go faster. They slowed down while passing through several cities, the last one being Durham. Ivan said it wouldn’t help if he were stopped by a cop or had an accident.
    Several times during the drive, when they passed another speeding car, Carol shone a flashlight in the window, aiming at the hair of the driver, trying not to blind him, trying not to antagonize him. She hadn’t seen anybody with hair resembling Michael’s.
    As they drove along the dirt road that led to the farm, they didn’t see any sign of life. The gate in the deer fence around the farmhouse was closed. Ivan pushed the button and it opened, agonizingly slowly. Carol chafed at the wait and looked around.
    “Nobody’s guarding the fence.”
    Where were the guards? Where were the police? They drove through the gate and slowly among the trees. It was like being inside a painting of a night scene. Everything was still. The trees stood like statues. They approached the original house on the property. It was in bad repair, and the dark made it look haunted with its unpainted board frame and broken windows. Maybe it was haunted.
    The driveway split just before the old house. Ordinarily, Carol went to the left on the stretch that led to the garage. The problem with that route was the garage was on the side of the house. They would have reduced visibility after they got out of the Jeep. Carol told Ivan to go to the right, which he did. The trees and garden prevented them from getting close to the house in this direction.
    Ivan stopped the car with its headlights pointed toward the house on high beam, enhancing the brightness of the outside lights shining from the house. The trees between them and the house cast shadows, however, and there were still plenty of places to hide.
    They sat in the car and surveyed the scene. Even with the windows open the only sound they heard was distant traffic noise from the Interstate. Ivan produced a gun from somewhere on his person. “Call the house and see if you can get anybody to answer. Tell them we’re coming in and to turn off the lights.”
    Carol entered the number, apprehensive, wondering whether she wanted to know the answer to the question of whether Mrs. Horton and Audrey were all right.
    Audrey answered on the fourth ring.
    “Audrey, it’s Carol.”
    “Is that your car out there with its lights on? We’re frightened out of our minds.”
    “Sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”
    “Except for being scared. Bob is here with us.”
    “Who’s Bob?”
    “He’s one of the security guards.”
    “You haven’t seen Michael?”
    “We haven’t seen anybody.”
    “I’m here with a detective named Ivan. We’re coming in. Turn off the all the lights and tell Bob not to shoot.”
    They turned off the lights of the Jeep. The house lights went out. It was almost pitch black in the trees. They got out of the car and walked slowly and carefully through the dark with Ivan in front, trying not to stumble on the uneven ground. He kept his gun at the ready. Carol carried the flashlight but didn’t turn it on. They trampled on some of the flowers, but that couldn’t be helped.
    They could hear Butch barking as they approached the house. Audrey opened the front door when Carol tapped on the glass. They ducked inside as she closed and locked it. Butch nuzzled Carol. Carol quickly introduced Audrey to Ivan. A flashlight illuminated them from under the stairs. The guard was crouched there with his gun visible.
    Carol asked Audrey where Mrs. Horton was. They were keeping her upstairs where she’d be safe. Audrey shifted her gaze between Carol and Ivan. “Bob got a call from his supervisor that Michael might be coming to hurt Mrs. Horton. His boss told him to stay in the house with us in case Michael tried to break in.”
    “He told me he was going to put another guard on duty. We didn’t see anyone outside.” Carol looked at Bob.
    Bob came out of his hiding place and stood up. “They called Tim to help me. He’s supposed to be watching the gate. I tried to reach him when your car came in, to make sure he knew who you were, but he didn’t answer. I tried him a couple of times after that with the same result. Your car with its lights unnerved me. I was prepared to shoot anybody who came into the house.”
    “How about the police? Have they come?”
    “No. We didn’t call them, figuring this was too hypothetical and that we had the