Samantha Sanderson Without a Trace

by Robin Caroll

  Sam wanted to pace, but she didn’t want to disturb Mac’s progress. She closed her eyes and laid her head back against the headboard.

  What was she missing? There had to be something.

  She pulled out her smartphone and opened the notes app, then began listing the facts as she knew them. She started with the timeline:

  — Tuesday during activity period, Tam asked Darby French to meet him before school on Wednesday, on the side of the building, because he wanted to give her something, but she says she has no idea what that was.

  — Sometime Tuesday, since Sam’s dad didn’t say, someone on Tam’s laptop went into a message board under the screen name mathhater and had a conversation with cooltutor. This might or might not have been Tam, but Sam was leaning toward it not.

  — Tuesday night, Tam got into an argument with his parents about spending the night at Luke Jensen’s. He posted about the disagreement on Facebook, but Luke said he sounded more disappointed than angry at his father.

  — Wednesday morning at seven fifty, Tam’s mother dropped him off at the school.

  — At an unknown date, someone named J.T. wrote Tam a note that said everything was set for in the morning.

  Sam reread the notes she’d typed. In her mind, Darby was off the hook. The police had already questioned her and determined she didn’t know anything. She never got whatever it was Tam wanted to give her because she was late showing up, so Sam figured she knew nothing else.

  The message board still didn’t feel like it was something Tam would do. It just wasn’t logical, and Tam was always so precise and purposeful. For him to go—

  “I’m in!” Makayla’s excitement broke through Sam’s thoughts.

  Sam bolted off the bed, sending BabyKitty to her feet with her ears laid back. Even Chewy jumped up from her bed and gave a low growl.

  “Sorry, pets.” Sam hovered behind Makayla, squeezing her shoulders. “I knew you could do it. So, does he have a private conversation with Jason Turner?”

  “Let’s see.” Makayla scrolled through all the inbox messages so fast Sam couldn’t keep up with all the names.

  “I’m not seeing one,” Makayla said.

  “Scroll slower. I don’t know how you can read any of that as fast as you’re going.”

  Makayla shook her head, but she slowed down. She went up and down through the list twice. “Nothing here.”

  Sam collapsed back onto the bed. She’d been so hopeful.

  “I’m sorry,” Makayla said. “Hey, we tried.”

  Sam sat upright. “Did he have any private messages on Wednesday?”

  “Let me check. Um. No. Well, not that he answered.” Makayla shrugged. “There are a lot of them later in the evening from people messaging him to ask if he’s okay.”

  “What about Tuesday?” Maybe there was still something useful. Sam hated to waste a hack.

  “Um. Let’s see. There’s his and Luke’s conversation about Tam not being able to go to Luke’s and Luke asking if he was okay.”

  “Hang on, let me see.” Sam scrolled slower as she read.

  “This feels like we’re spying. It feels wrong,” Makayla said.

  Sam felt that way, too, but she needed to find something—some other lead she could use to help find Tam. “There’s nothing else for Tuesday.” Disappointment tightened in her chest.

  “I’m going to go ahead and back out of his account,” Makayla said.

  Sam put her hand over her best friend’s. “Wait. Let’s check all last week’s messages, just to make sure there isn’t something else we’re unaware of.”

  “Okay, but you look. It’s making me feel like an eavesdropper.” Makayla stood and petted the cat.

  Sam didn’t take offense to the fact that she was an accomplished eavesdropper. Mom had told her that sometimes being a careful listener took a story in a new direction. The right direction.

  Tam didn’t have a lot of private conversations. One with Marcus about an upcoming story and letting Marcus know what he needed photographed, since Marcus was the paper’s photographer. Another conversation with Lin thanking him for the flower. Wait . . . flower? Sam knew she shouldn’t, knew that the conversation had nothing to do with Tam’s disappearance, but she read the conversation. Lin, a fellow cheerleader who had made homecoming court and asked Tam to escort her, sent Tam a private message almost a week ago to thank him for the flower he put in her locker. Aww, how sweet.

  “Come on, Sam. You’re just snooping now.” Makayla tapped on the footboard of the bed.

  “Hang on, just a second.” Sam closed that conversation and went back to looking. Nothing interesting jumped out at her. “Okay. How do I get out of here?”

  Makayla moved toward the keyboard, but before she could touch a key, the private message screen popped up from somebody named Anon.

  Tam?

  Makayla jumped as if her hand had been slapped. “Ohmygummybears! What do we do?”

  “I don’t know.” Sam’s hands were frozen over the keys.

  Tam? Where are you? Are you okay?

  “Sam, we’re going to be in trouble.” Makayla sounded like she wanted to cry.

  “Just hang on.” Sam held her bottom lip between her teeth. She hesitated for just one more minute before she typed a response.

  Who is this?

  “Sam!”

  “Shh. Let’s just see.”

  Tam Lee? Is that really you?

  Sam stared at the blinking cursor. She typed again.

  Who is this?

  The reply came across the screen.

  Who is this?

  “Sam, what if it’s that predator or somebody like that? We need to sign off.” Panic rose in Makayla’s voice.

  But this was the only lead Sam had.

  I asked first. Who is this?

  This isn’t Tam. Who is this?

  “Sam, please.” Makayla had tears in her eyes.

  “Just one more second.” Sam hovered over the screen name. Instead of giving the little box of info like usual, it was blacked out. Now Sam’s pulse raced in panic. “Okay. You’re right. Get us out of here.”

  “Finally.” Makayla took over the keyboard and with two clicks and one string of code, the screen went blank for a moment, then back to Sam’s desktop. Makayla let out a burst of air, then collapsed onto the bed. “Don’t. Ever. Do. That. To. Me. Again.” She sat up and stared at Sam. “Ever!” She sounded like she’d just finished one of her karate tournaments.

  “Sorry.” But Sam found herself a little out of breath as well.

  “Who do you think that was?” Makayla asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen that black out of information before. Have you?”

  Makayla shook her head. “It’s almost . . . creepy. Like someone knew we were in Tam’s account.” She shuddered. “Okay, I might not know what I want to be when I grow up, but I can assure you, a spy isn’t one of them.”

  The mental image of Makayla creeping around in her karate uniform broke the tension and made Sam laugh out loud.

  “What?” Makayla wanted to know.

  “You take karate and are awesome at it, but you are so non-confrontational it’s not even funny.”

  Makayla sat still for a moment, as if trying to decide whether to be offended or not, then joined Sam in the laughter.

  Then guilt over laughing when Tam was missing sobered Sam right up. “I just wonder.” She went to Facebook, signed into her account, and opened a search for Anon. Nothing came up. “That’s so strange.”

  “I know. It creeps me out.”

  “Yeah.” Not only did it creep her out, it really bothered her. It was as though someone knew they were in Tam’s account . . . and Sam didn’t like that. She typed in Tam’s name, brought up his page, then clicked on his list of friends.

  “What are you doing now?” Makayla asked.

  “I’m going to send Jason Turner a message.” She clicked on his name, then on “Send a message.”

  “What are you
going to say?”

  Sam shrugged. “I’m just going to ask him if he remembers Tam.” She typed, Hi, Jason. I think I might have met you at the EAST conference last year in Hot Springs. Are you going again this year? Then she hit send.

  “You didn’t mention Tam,” Makayla said.

  “No. I’m just starting a conversation. If he has nothing to do with Tam’s disappearance, he should ask about him, or at least mention him.” That was logical, right?

  “Oh. Maybe.”

  “It’s better than nothing.” Because as of right now, Sam had no other ideas.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sam!” Mom hissed.

  She rolled over in bed and put her arm over her face, covering her eyes from the light spilling in from the hallway. Sam groaned.

  “Samantha!”

  That got her attention. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “You girls need to get up and put on robes. The sheriff’s deputies are here to talk to you both.” Mom sounded more than a little angry.

  “What’s going on?” Sam blinked to read the time on the clock on her bedside table. Midnight? “Is it Tam?” Had they found him? God, please let him be okay. She couldn’t think of a single good reason to be woken up just hours after they’d gone to bed.

  “Just hurry. Both of you.” Mom snapped her fingers and pointed at Chewy. “Stay,” she commanded the dog before she shut the door behind her, plunging Sam’s bedroom into darkness once again.

  Sam jumped out of bed and woke Makayla, who resisted being awakened just as much, if not more, than Sam. In minutes, they were pulling fluffy robes over their pajamas and squirming into socks.

  “Your mom didn’t say what it was about?” Makayla whispered.

  “No, but it has to be about Tam, right?” Sam whispered back, not sure why she was whispering when it was just the two of them in her room.

  Makayla froze as she stood. “What if it’s about my parents and sister?”

  Sam’s heart stuttered. Some friend she was—that it could be Makayla’s family hadn’t even occurred to her.

  “Hurry up,” Makayla rushed her.

  The sock rolled again as Sam tried to jam her foot into it. Forget it! “Come on, let’s go.” Sam grabbed Mac’s hand and they headed into the living room.

  All three lamps were on. Mom and Dad sat side-by-side on the couch, both wearing their sweats and looks of irritation. Deputy Jameson sat in the chair across from the couch. He looked as grumpy as BabyKitty when it was time for her flea and tick treatment. Standing behind him, hovering like a creepy butler in a popular anime show, was Deputy Malone.

  Everyone turned to look at them as they walked into the room. Sam felt like she’d just stepped under a giant microscope. Makayla squeezed her hand.

  “Girls, sit down.” Dad motioned to the couch beside him.

  Sam sat next to him, Makayla on her other side.

  “The deputy here has some interesting information about Tam.” No mistaking the hint of sarcasm in her father’s voice. That wasn’t good. Dad wasn’t the sarcastic type. So when he resorted to it . . .

  Makayla let out a long breath. Sam squeezed her hand. Her family was fine.

  “We’ve been monitoring Tam Lee’s email and texts and his social media sites,” Deputy Jameson said.

  Sam’s heart went freefalling to her toes. She felt Makayla go rigid beside her.

  The deputy nodded. “By your expressions, I believe you’ve answered my question. Did one of you hack into Tam Lee’s Facebook account tonight?”

  Makayla gasped quietly under her breath. No way could Sam let her take the heat for this. Not when Sam had pushed her.

  “Yes, sir.” Sam held up her chin, meeting the deputy’s cold stare. She didn’t exactly say she’d done the hacking, she just answered the question. That wasn’t lying. Wasn’t even really misleading. If they assumed she’d done the actual hacking, that was okay. She had a feeling they didn’t care so much who actually did the deed.

  “Why would you do that?” Dad interrupted to ask.

  Sam glanced at her father, then her mother. “Because I was hoping there’d be some sort of private message exchange with someone that would give me a clue to where he is.” Her mom’s lips were nothing more than a thin line under her nose.

  “Oh, Sam.” No mistaking the disappointment in Dad’s voice. A grounding was sure to come soon, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.

  “Anyone in particular?” Deputy Malone stepped out of the shadows and stared down at Sam.

  “I, um, actually hoped to find a conversation between Tam and Jason Turner.” Sam could sense Makayla deflating beside her with every passing second.

  The two deputies looked at each other, then back at her. “Why Jason Turner?” Deputy Jameson asked.

  Sam shrugged. “Because his initials are J.T. like in the note.”

  “I see.” Deputy Jameson pinned her with a look that sent the hairs on the back of Sam’s neck to full attention. “And that’s why you didn’t respond when contacted to chat?”

  “That was you?” Makayla blurted out.

  Deputy Jameson nodded. “We’ve had Tam’s accounts under constant monitoring. As soon as someone was in his account, we began tracking it.” He glared at Sam. “Imagine my surprise when the IP trace led me here, where a detective lives.”

  Dad shifted on the couch beside Sam. Oh, yeah. No question about it, she was in the doghouse for sure.

  “So you can be assured that Tam isn’t hiding out here.” Dad’s voice was back to being calm and steady, but Sam could hear the hint of irritation in his voice.

  “I’m sure.” Deputy Jameson flipped his stare from Sam to Makayla, back to Sam, then Makayla again. “I would think the child of a detective would know that hacking into someone else’s account is illegal, as is interfering with a police investigation.”

  Sam could feel both her father and Makayla stiffening. “I’m really sorry,” Sam started. “I just felt like maybe I could help in some way.”

  “As if we are incapable of doing our jobs, and a seventh grader could do it better?” Deputy Jameson asked.

  “You hadn’t issued an AMBER Alert. You treated it more like Tam was a runaway, even though everyone told you he wasn’t.” Sam’s hands shook. She curled them into balls and set them in her lap.

  “There are many ways an investigation is run, and I’m not inclined to discuss my methods with a kid.” No mistaking the irritation in his voice now.

  “She understands that, Deputy, but you can clearly see how it looks to those outside law enforcement, not just children,” Sam’s mother said, using her interview voice.

  Sam wanted to air fist through the living room, but thought better of it. Dad was already annoyed with her and, truth be told, he had every right to be.

  “I think we’ve taken enough of your time,” Deputy Malone said.

  Sam’s parents stood.

  Deputy Malone held his hand out to Sam’s father. “Thank you for helping us clear up this matter.” He nodded at Sam’s mother.

  Deputy Jameson didn’t say anything, just turned and marched to the front door.

  Sam’s mom locked the front door behind them then faced the girls.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. Really. I just thought maybe they hadn’t thought to look through Tam’s Facebook closely because they thought he was a runaway. Well, until the message board thing came up.”

  “Mr. Sanderson, I’m the one who actually did the hacking,” Makayla said.

  “I figured, but we know who pushed you to do it.”

  “Dad, I’m just worried about my friend and trying to help figure out what happened to him.”

  “Sam.” Dad’s tone left no room for argument. “You know better. We’ll discuss your behavior and the consequences tomorrow. Right now, you girls get to bed. You have school in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

  “Goodnight, girls,” Sam’s mom called after them.r />
  Sam shut her bedroom door and tossed her robe onto the back of her desk chair. “I’m sorry, Mac.” Her dad was already mad at her, she certainly didn’t want her bestie upset with her too. She bent to pet Chewy, whose whole body was wiggling.

  “No, it’s okay. I knew it was wrong but did it anyway.” Makayla shrugged. “I’m just glad to know the pop-up chat was the police.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” Sam waited until Makayla had gotten situated before she turned off the light. “But I’m sorry for getting you involved. Dad’s going to give it to me tomorrow, that’s for sure. I’ll probably be grounded.”

  “You know what, Sam?”

  Sam yawned. “What?”

  “Well, just wait until he sees your post in the morning. That’ll really upset him.”

  Oh, boy.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Samantha!” Aubrey’s shrill voice rose above the normal sounds of the kids in the cafeteria before school on Friday.

  Sam gritted her teeth and turned to face the she-beast, as Lana liked to call her. “Yes, Aubrey?”

  “Ms. Pape and Mrs. Trees want to see you in the office. Right now.” By her gleeful tone and expression, Sam was sure they weren’t happy with her.

  “On my way.” Sam turned to Makayla. “I’ll talk to you later. Keep your ears open in case someone mentions Tam.” She rushed to the office, then stood outside for a moment to slow her breathing. She let out a long breath, then pulled open the door.

  “Ah, Sam. Mrs. Trees said to send you right back to her office,” Mrs. Darrington said.

  Sam nodded and headed down the hallway. It had to be about her article, but really, it wasn’t so bad. She hadn’t mentioned the note, nor had she mentioned anyone by name or even initials. She’d kept to the facts. Really, there wasn’t much they could get upset with her about.

  She knocked on the principal’s door, then pushed it open when Mrs. Trees said, “Come in.”

  “You wanted to see me?” Sam asked, trying to smile at Ms. Pape, who wouldn’t meet Sam’s eye.

  “Sit down, please, Sam,” Mrs. Trees said.

  It was only then that she noticed a girl sitting in a chair almost in the corner.