It had gone just as Nathan had hoped. She had seen the pictures and been curious. She had asked all the right questions. Now he wasn't sure if she knew what to make of all the new information.
"No. I-I can remember things. I can't remember the things you're talking about, but I can remember other things. When I was seven, they forced everyone to take part in this stupid Christmas play. I was just in the choir, but I somehow managed to fall off the stage and break my leg. I was in a cast for weeks. How can I remember that if what you said was true?"
"You have another woman's memories. There's another Lyssa Terro out there who made those memories."
"Can we find her?"
"We can try. I've already sent out an APB."
"How do you know there's another me?"
"I met Audrey's. Audrey met Lucy's." She nodded slowly and sat back in her chair. Her eyes went to the ceiling. He knew anyone would have a hard time believing him, but she seemed to be accepting what he was saying, even if she didn't understand it or like it.
"Okay. Send out the APB, I guess. We should probably get back on our murder case."
"Probably," he said while handing her the case file. "Have you ever heard of the troubles?" He knew he needed to stop dropping all these big answers on her at once. It had to be overwhelming. He knew every bit of work they did on this case without her knowing about the troubles would be useless, so he had to tell her.
"I think you mentioned them before. You said I bring them with me, but you didn't say what they are."
"Okay, well some people in Haven can do special things, like bring everything they build to life or affect the weather. Some people call them the cursed. We call them troubled. Mine is that I can't feel anything. Another example might be burning people from the inside out whenever you touch them." She sighed. She looked like she should take a break.
"Actually, I think I'll take the rest of the day off. I need time to," she hesitated while thinking of the right word, "um, process." He met her gaze for a second and saw that he really had overwhelmed her. He could understand that, but a part of him remembered Audrey coming to work despite finding out that she was Lucy and not sleeping for days. Even after that, she hadn't left without protest. Now, Lyssa left the building at her suggestion and walked out to her car.
It amazed him how vivid his memories were, especially after 27 years. In a way, she had been the most important thing in his life since he had first met her. Even after she was gone, he had based his life around her. There was no doubt in his mind that he had spent every moment of that time waiting for her. He could have built a life for himself. He never disguised what he was giving up.
There had never been a question of whether it was really Audrey before. He had met Sarah and believed since then that, no matter what memories she had, she was always Audrey if you looked close enough. Now he knew that there was a difference. Lyssa was someone separate from Audrey, just as Audrey had been separate from Lucy and Sarah. When he had seen Sarah in the past, he had thought he would never see Audrey again. He had been settling for a girl who was almost exactly like her. The same thing was happening again. He knew this time he was past trying to disguise what she was to himself, though.
Lyssa was confused. That was the only word for what she was feeling. A man she had just met had told her that her entire life was a lie. Maybe he was the crazy one. Yeah, that was it. She was just being played. She should've known better than to trust him.
But she knew that wasn't right. She had known since she had first seen him that she could trust him. It was her first instinct, like there was something inside her that told her he was a good person. The atmosphere in the station had been suffocating, though. He was worried about her, like he had expected her to be perfectly okay and she hadn't gone along with his perfect plan. How could she already be okay? Her life was lived by another woman, and she stole it. So she left. She just needed a little break. Tomorrow, she would be back on the job like he wanted her to be. Tomorrow, she could pretend to be okay.
It wasn't tomorrow yet, though. Right now, she didn't have to be strong. She could just be her. Or at least she could be what she had previously viewed as herself.
Where could a decent bar be hiding? Forget decent, there were no bars at all in this part of town. She remembered Nathan saying something about the Grey Gull, a bar he and Audrey had frequented with their friend Duke, who had disappeared with Audrey. He had said that had been abandoned since they had disappeared, though, so obviously she was out of luck there. She knew there had to be another bar around somewhere, but she couldn't find one for the life of her. Maybe it would be better to drink alone at the bed and breakfast Nathan had mentioned like he had expected her to already have plans. She supposed she had to stay now. She could probably find some beer at the supermarket. It would be cheaper anyway. She would continue surveying the town for a little while before she settled on store-bought beer, she decided.
She pulled over. If nothing was real, there was a call she had to make while she was still sober.
"Howard?" The hand holding her phone shook. She tried to maintain a tighter grip.
"Terro? That was faster than I expected." She wasn't sure what to do next. She had just been talking to him earlier; what had she expected?
"Who is Audrey Parker?" She was slightly afraid of his answer.
"Audrey Parker? I don't think I know anyone by that name."
"Stop lying." She didn't know what she wanted from him. Maybe she just needed a simple answer.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"One of the locals. What about Lucy Ripley? Sarah Vernon?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She hung up.
Liar. He was just another idiot. She wanted confirmation. She needed more than one perspective before she could consider it a done deal. She didn't know what she really wanted. Right now, she would settle for beer.
Duke lay in the clearing looking at the spot where Connor had been a couple seconds ago. He breathed out slowly. It was over. He struggled to his feet. James would probably be able to help him with the ropes that kept his wrists together.
It was Connor's world. That was what he had said, and with the weird disappearance power, Duke felt inclined to believe him. Now the question was how to get back to his own.
Then he saw her, but it wasn't her. Not Audrey. He saw Lucy. He leapt up and sprinted awkwardly toward her. She looked up at him.
"Duke?"
"Lucy. I can't remember you very well. Why did you give me the necklace?" She looked as out of place on this tree-covered path as he was.
"I needed you to show the next me. Audrey. She had to learn more about me."
"How can you even recognize me? I think I've changed a bit since then."
"I don't know. Things are...clearer here." Now that she said it, Duke knew it was true. Except for Connor. He was foggy as ever.
"Have you ever met a guy, 17 or so, who calls himself Connor?" She gave him a knowing look.
"I don't like him."
"Well, he just kidnapped me, tied me up, and vanished into thin air, so I'm inclined to agree." She seemed to just notice his wrists.
"Here, let me help." She came and, instead of taking them off by force, untied them methodically. It only took her a few minutes to unfasten the ropes from his wrists. He shook his hands to regain feeling.
"Thanks." He studied her for a moment before continuing, "so what is this place? Who's Connor?"
"This place...it's where he keeps us after we've been used. You aren't supposed to be here. Wait, does you being here mean that James is, too?" He could see the hope on her face. He wondered how long ago the last time she'd seen James alive had been.
"Yes. I can take you to him. Is Audrey here?" Maybe she wasn't gone. Maybe she could be saved. Duke had tried to keep the thought out of his head since he had watched her fall asleep, but now that it was a true possibility, he could feel a weight being lifted off his shoulders. It was like he could breathe for the first time since he had watched them take her away. Lucy looked the same way.
"Good." She smiled to herself. "Yes, Audrey's here. I don't know exactly where, but she can't be too hard to find. She came on schedule, and there's not really anywhere else to escape to. Can I see James now?"
"Yeah. Here, he's this way, or, I mean, he was when I last saw him." She nodded and started off ahead of him. He followed, excited by the idea that he might get to see Audrey again.