The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane Page B

conference room finishing up a phone call with the police.
    “Anything?” she asked.
    Disconnecting the call, Claire shook her head. “Nothing yet.”
    “Then that frees you up to go with me.”
    “Go where?”
    “To Central Park. To the restaurant Jan Olson worked in. We’ve been so wrapped up, we didn’t get around to going there and questioning the staff.”
    Claire rose slowly from her chair, her mouth set in a firm line. “Number one, you’re not going to Central Park—that’s an open arena for people. Number two, Jan worked there fifteen years ago. Even if we find someone who’s still around from back then, I doubt anyone would remember a college girl who waitressed there that long ago.”
    “I don’t know. But we’re going to find out.” Casey wasn’t letting this one go. “Take something of Jan’s, something you feel connected to. I’ll announce our outing to the team. I don’t care if they barricade the door. We’re going.”
    A half hour and a huge shouting match later, Casey and Claire, together with Dave Brinkman—one of Patrick’s bodyguards—made their trip to Central Park. They walked all over the grounds, Claire tightly clasping Jan’s calendar in the hope of picking up some of her energy and connecting it to their location.
    Casey scanned the various areas of the park—the wide-open grassy spaces and the darker wooded sections.
    “Could this have been the park you were visualizing when you saw Jan running away?” she prompted Claire, having purposely omitted any mention of the connection between Claire’s vision and their trip to the Boathouse. She wanted anything that came from Claire to be spontaneous.
    But now was the time to push it.
    “Think,” Casey urged. “Could Jan maybe have left her job and been tracked down and chased through Central Park?”
    Claire started. Then awareness dawned in her eyes. She thought for a moment, turning up her palm in an uncertain gesture. “It’s possible. I’m not sensing anything yet.” She continued to walk, her forehead creased in concentration. Casey followed, noticing that, without realizing it, Claire was heading toward the lakeside approach to the Boathouse.
    Abruptly, Claire stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the rowboats and gondolas moving across the lake. “The water,” she murmured. “It was in the background when Jan was running. I’d forgotten. And there were butterflies. And birds. Those images are strong now—stronger than they originally were.”
    “The area around the Boathouse is known for its bird-watching,” Dave commented. “There’s even a bird registry to record observations.” A corner of his mouth lifted when Casey turned to gaze at him, her brows arched in surprise. “I’m a trivia buff,” he explained. “In fact, I can also verify the butterfly part. The last I recall, twenty-six species of butterflies have been spotted here.”
    “Wow.” Casey sent him an admiring look. “And all Patrick mentioned was that you’re a terrific bodyguard.”
    He shrugged. “I’m multitalented.”
    Claire was lost in her own world. “I’m starting to pick up on the sheer panic I sensed the other day. It’s getting stronger. But it’s still veiled—like there’s a layer of gauze over it. I can’t see through it.”
    “Maybe the attack happened farther away,” Casey suggested. “Central Park is huge.”
    “True.” Claire pressed her lips together. “I still need more.”
    “Then let’s go inside and see if any of the staff remembers her.”
    “It’s been fifteen years, Casey.” Claire reiterated her earlier point. “Isn’t that unrealistic?”
    “Without a doubt,” Casey concurred. “But that’s why we’re here. And we have to try, especially given the connection you’re sensing.”
    Claire couldn’t dispute that one. So she joined Casey and Dave as they went inside the restaurant.
    But she was right. Interviewing people, seeking out information from fifteen years ago—it was