Dark Visions by Jonas Saul Page A

dressed and I'll
be back before you know it."
    "Where're you going?"
    The doorbell interrupted them.
    "Stay here. I'll get it," Caleb said.
    He rushed to the door. When he looked
through the peephole he saw two men. They looked like cops. Clean
cut, one sporting a goatee. Both wore suits. One man was watching
the street; the other was looking at the peephole.
    Caleb opened the door and offered a
greeting. He lifted his hand to ward off the rising sun from going
directly into his eyes.
    Goatee flipped through a notepad and asked,
"Are you Caleb Roberts?"
    Caleb nodded. "Yes. Can I help you?"
    Were they coming to tell him that Sarah was
found dead? He shook his head to banish the thought.
    They identified themselves as police
officers.
    "Would your daughter Sarah be home?"
    "Not right now. Is something wrong? Is there
anything I can help you with?"
    Goatee looked at his partner and then back
to Caleb, who watched this as best he could with the sun glaring at
him.
    "There was an incident downtown in the
Entertainment District. A man was killed in a hit and run. There
were witnesses who put your daughter at the scene. If you know
where Sarah is, it's in her best interest to meet with us so we can
straighten this out."
    "A man was killed?" Caleb asked, stunned.
Maybe that's why she didn't come home. She was in a jail cell. But
then these guys would know that. "Well, there must be a mistake
because my daughter slept at a friend's house last night. I've got
the text to prove it on my cell phone."
    Caleb felt his hand shaking as he held it up
to block the sun. What had Sarah gotten herself into? Could she
have actually killed a man?
    "Can we come in?"
    Goatee took a step forward.
    Caleb blocked his way. "Right now wouldn't
be the best time."
    "And why would that be Mr. Roberts?"
    "It's my wife. She's not feeling well."
    He'd decided earlier there would be no
police on this. If anything, they'd just bungle shit up. Especially
not after the two phone calls he got this morning. Caleb had left a
message for Dolan last night after Amelia had fallen asleep. This
morning he got his return call. Dolan wasn't going to help with
locating Sarah, even though that's what he does. Caleb had checked
him out; he finds missing children and he has a good success
rate.
    The other call told him not to involve the
police, or Sarah would die.
    Today, the police would not be a part of his
daughter's welfare. Caleb had other plans.
    "I'm afraid that finding your daughter is a
priority and we would rather do that with your cooperation. So I
need to ask; are you hiding Sarah?"
    "Look, I understand I may appear a little
apprehensive. It's just; she's such a shy, introverted girl that I
can't really believe all of your witnesses. What they said she's
done is extremely unlikely. I'll talk to my wife. We'll make some
calls. Leave me a number where I can reach you and when we talk to
our daughter, I'll get to the bottom of this and then we'll call
you."
    Goatee spoke first. "It's not that simple.
There's more to this than a car accident."
    "What else is there?"
    "We found a notebook at the scene."
    Goatee turned and put his hand out. His
partner placed the notebook in his hand.
    "Do you recognize this? Is it Sarah's
notebook?"
    Caleb nodded. He'd recognize it
anywhere.
    "We scanned through it and found references
to kidnappings, accidents and crime scenes; information that only
people investigating those crime scenes would know. In some cases,
Mr. Roberts, she appears to know what's going to happen and when,
based on the dated entries. She's either psychic or she plans the
accidents and then tries to save people. We don't know what to
believe."
    Caleb couldn't control the waver in his
voice. "What are you saying?"
    "There are references to Kim Wepps who was
kidnapped and held for ten days. We believe your daughter has some
involvement in these kidnappings. Remember, this notebook was found
at a murder scene where witnesses put your daughter at and now we
have