The Shadow Box(67)

Jackie and Lydia entered the room. Gwen turned the pages, and Jackie drifted over to stand beside her, looking down at each picture. The pencil sketches were detailed, and Gwen had colored some of them.

“These are beautiful,” Jackie said. “You’re a good artist.”

“Thank you,” Gwen said shyly. She looked up at Tom. “Want to see one of the new pictures?”

“Definitely,” he said.

Gwen turned the pages until she came to a drawing of a large stone house with a turret on one side and a crenellated tower on the other. It resembled the one she had shown Tom at the hospital but with much more detail. Dark gargoyles shaped like birds lined the parapet gutters and cornice moldings. There were pine trees on both sides of the house and a garden in front.

Tom felt startled by a moment of recognition and felt that he had seen this place before. Could it have come from an illustration in a children’s book, something he had read in his childhood? And that Gwen had read in hers?

A small boy stood on the roof, his arms outstretched. A king and queen sat in regal chairs on the rocky ground on either side of the palace’s entrance. Swirls of blue filled the sky above, and fish swam through clouds.

“What are these lines in the sky?” Jackie asked. “They’re really intriguing.”

“That’s the ocean, not the sky. They’re waves,” Gwen said. “The fish are swimming all around, like birds. The birds”—she glanced up at Tom to make sure he saw the blackbird gargoyles—“are like fish. And they”—she pointed at two sturdy black-clad guards—“are the mermen.”

Lydia walked over, set the tray of glasses of iced tea on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“Is it okay if I look too?” Lydia asked.

“Yes,” Gwen said.

Tom watched the way aunt and niece gazed at each other, the way Lydia sat beside Gwen and put her arm protectively around her. Gwen leaned her head against her aunt’s shoulder for a minute, then pointed at the page.

“It’s about Charlie,” Gwen said. “It’s how we’re going to find him.”

“Oh, honey,” Lydia said, sounding helpless.

“He’s alive, Aunt Lydia,” Gwen said. “Dad doesn’t believe me. He says Charlie is at peace with Mom. But he’s out there! You have to know that with me, so we stay hopeful and keep looking.”

“Gwen, did you tell me that this castle was in a picture that you’d seen before?” Tom asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“In a book?”

“No, a photo. With men wearing monkey suits.”

Tom must have looked confused, because Lydia laughed. “That’s what Dan calls his tuxedo.”

“So,” Tom said, pointing to the black-clad mermen. “Are these guys wearing monkey suits too?”

“Yes,” she said. “They’re all going to dance. Charlie too. It’s a happy place, the sea castle. Flowers and boats and birds. That is why it’s okay he stays there until you find him.”

“Where are those pictures now?” Tom asked.

She shrugged. “Around someplace, I guess. I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“But it was here in your house?” he asked.

When Gwen didn’t answer, Jackie spoke. “You did a really good drawing of the mermen,” she said. “They look almost like seals because they’re so smooth.”

“Mnnn,” Gwen said.

“Is that because they swim in the water?” Jackie asked.

“Of course,” she said. “They love the sea.”

“How many were there?” Tom asked.

“Two,” she said. “One leaned over to get Charlie, and one called my name.” She paused. “One might have been a mermaid.”

“A woman?” Jackie said.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I want to show you one more thing,” Gwen said.

She turned a page to a drawing Tom hadn’t seen before. It depicted the interior of a castle with long draperies on tall windows, regal furniture, and a little boy wearing a crown, sitting on a jewel-encrusted throne. Beside him was a table covered with cakes. In the background was a line drawing of a hag holding a broom. She had matted hair, slit eyes, and sharp teeth; her body was hollow—unlike the boy’s. Tom wondered if she was supposed to be a ghost. Gwen had drawn a black slash behind her, as if she were emerging from darkness.

“How extraordinary,” Jackie said. “There’s so much detail. You’re a good artist, Gwen.”

“Thank you,” Gwen said.

“Jackie’s right,” Tom said. “You are really good. Gwen, would you mind if I took a photo or two of your drawings?”

“You can,” Gwen said, and Tom snapped a few shots.

Jackie pointed at the gargoyles. “They look scary.”

“They are big crows,” Gwen said. “They have hooked beaks and sharp claws, and they eat animals.”

“Gwen, who is the lady with the broom?” Jackie said.

“A bad person,” Gwen said.

“Why is she there?” Jackie asked. “She looks evil.”

“She is,” Gwen said. “Once I heard Daddy talking to someone. I don’t know who. He was on the phone with his speaker going. The other person said she ruined everything and she has to go. That they wouldn’t have to do it if she wasn’t going to tear it all apart.”