“Why?”
“I’m looking for someone with that name, but I’m hoping the one I’m looking for isn’t the criminal.”
He was quiet for another moment, and then his serious expression softened. He joined me on the sofa and began to laugh. “If you wanted to come and see me, you could have come up with a better excuse.”
My lips parted in surprise, and I backed away from him. “You think I’m teasing?”
“You must be. What in the world would you need with Annie Barker? She’s one of the most wanted women in America. Even if you were serious, and we needed to find her, it would be almost impossible. No one can find her. That’s why she’s wanted.”
“I’m hoping that the Annie Barker I needisn’tthe criminal,” I reminded him. “That’s why I want your help. I’ve never been more serious in my life, Lewis.”
His face sobered, and he frowned. “Why do you need to speak to someone named Annie Barker?”
I could no longer sit, so I stood and walked to the window. The apartment had a view of the side lawn and the apartment building next door. “I can’t tell you. But I promise I have a good reason.”
He joined me near the window. “If you truly want my help, I need to know why you want to talk to her.”
“You wouldn’t believe me, even if I told you.”
He crossed his arms and said, “Try me.”
Unlike Marcus, I had known Lewis for years, but I still didn’t know if he’d believe me.
“Please don’t laugh,” I said.
Lewis took a step closer to me, his voice lowered. He put his hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“I’m desperate, Lewis, and you’re the only person who might help.”
He took my hand, much like he had yesterday, and drew me to the sofa where he sat beside me. And like yesterday, he didn’t let it go. “What is it, Carrie?”
I had to tell him the truth or there was no way he’d help me. Before yesterday, I wasn’t sure I could have told Lewis about my second life, but telling Marcus had made it easier.
“You’re going to think I’m insane, but I promise this is true.” I took a deep breath. “I have two lives, Lewis. This one—and one in 1727.” I explained to him how it worked and how I woke up each day in a different life. I told him about my mother and what I had learned from Mary about her name in 1927.
I told him everything—but I didn’t tell him about Marcus, or how much I had come to care for a pirate.
Lewis never looked away from me as I spoke. I could see confusion and even doubt in his gaze, but he listened intently, probably like he did when he was questioning a witness. He didn’t laugh or chastise or scoff.
“If it’s true,” he said slowly, “how is it possible?”
“I’m not sure. It’s always been this way, ever since I can remember.”
“You’re telling me that the entire time we were growing up, you were living two lives at the same time?”
“Yes.”
“What do your parents say?”
Until then, I hadn’t realized he was still holding my hand. I drew it away and began to fiddle with the fold in my skirt. “I triedtelling them when I was little, but they accused me of lying, and I was told to keep quiet.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But do you truly think you were cursed by a grandmother in Salem?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I need to find the right Annie Barker. She is the only person who might answer my questions.”
“What if you were able to find her—which would be almost impossible if sheisthe criminal—and she has no more information than you?”
I didn’t even want to think about that possibility. “It’s a risk I must take. I need to know who I am—or what I am.” I was quiet for a moment and then said, “Do you believe me, Lewis?”
