by David Bell
At the top of the stairs, he heard low voices. He looked into the open door of the guest room and saw Nora sitting on Sierra’s bed. His niece had the covers pulled up to her chin, a book open on her chest. Nora held Sierra’s hand, and Jason heard her say, “I think you’re right to try to get a good night’s sleep. Things will probably look better in the morning. You’re safe here, honey.”
Then Nora bent down and kissed Sierra on the forehead. She reached out with her hand and smoothed the girl’s hair down. Jason turned away.
What-ifs. What-ifs.
Chapter Twelve
When Jason woke up the next morning, he found Nora’s side of the bed empty, the covers thrown back. He checked the clock. It was just past seven, early for Nora to be up and about, even if she did have to go into work at nine. In the hallway, Jason noticed that the door to the guest room—Sierra’s room, he was starting to think of it—remained closed. He also caught a whiff of something cooking. Bacon. Eggs. His stomach grumbled.
As he approached the kitchen, the smell intensified. He heard the sizzle of the bacon and Nora’s humming as she cooked, the scrape of a spatula against the bottom of a pan. He stopped in the doorway.
“What’s the occasion?” he asked.
Nora concentrated on her work. “I told Sierra I’d make her breakfast this morning. Apparently she loves breakfast food. Bacon and eggs. I imagine she didn’t get a lot of this growing up.”
“Is there enough for everyone?”
Nora looked up and smiled. “Of course.”
Jason had told Nora about his encounter with Rose in the park as well as his suspicions concerning the death of Pogo, but they had agreed to keep it from Sierra for the time being. They didn’t think she needed anything else to worry about.
Jason took a seat at the kitchen table. Since they no longer received a morning paper, he picked up his iPad and found the news, skimming over the headlines.
“Are you going to go out looking again after you eat?” Nora asked.
“I guess so,” he said. “I’ll call in to work and take the morning off.”
“You could take the whole day.”
“I might.”
“Do you want your eggs fried? That’s what Sierra wants.”
“Sure.” Jason stared at Nora’s back. She wore an old sweatshirt of his, one he had bought in college that was now full of holes. She cracked the eggs into the pan, where they hissed. “You know,” he said . . . but then he didn’t know what to say next.
Nora kept her eyes on the pan. “Come again?”
“I was just going to say . . . it’s kind of nice having Sierra around. You know?”
“It is,” Nora said. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Why don’t you go wake her up?”
“Teenagers love being woken up.”
Jason strolled through the house, glad to have a purpose. The sun came through the front windows, streaming rays that illuminated spinning dust motes. At the top of the stairs he tapped lightly on the door to Sierra’s room. He waited, then knocked louder.
“Sierra?”
He checked the bathroom. Empty. He didn’t want to try the door to Sierra’s room. It felt like a violation of her privacy.
But then?
What else was he going to do?
The knob turned under his touch. When the door swung open, he saw the empty bed. No computer. He turned and ran down the stairs.
“Nora?” he called.
She met him in the living room. “My keys are gone,” she said. “And so is the car. She’s gone, isn’t she?”
“Where were the keys? How did she get the keys?”
“I left them by the phone. I always do.”
Jason ran to the kitchen, then looked out the window and saw the empty spot in the driveway. He turned back to Nora, who had followed along behind him.
“She’s gone,” he said. “Absolutely. I’m calling the police.”
“Should we?”
“She’s gone. She’s under eighteen. She either took our car—” Jason stopped himself. Was history simply repeating itself? Had Sierra wrapped their car around a tree somewhere?
“What else were you going to say?” Nora said. “She took our car or what?”
“She didn’t take all of her stuff,” Jason said. “Her clothes. Some of her books. They’re still up in the room. I didn’t see her computer, but I guess I’d expect her to take that.”
“Are you saying she’s just running an errand or something?”
“She’s looking for her mom. She has to be.”
“Probably.” But Nora didn’t seem at ease. She brought her hands together and rubbed the palms against each other. “But what if . . . You said Hayden is out with this criminal somewhere. And that crazy woman killed the cat. What if . . . what if they came here and took Sierra?”
“Then why is the car gone?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice rising. “I don’t understand any of this. I just know that if a child disappears, you call the authorities. You’re right. She’s probably looking for Hayden. Even if she is, that could get her in trouble. Or something worse happened. She was taken or lured out of the house.”
“What about foster care?” Jason asked. “What if she did take the car to go looking for Hayden? If the cops come . . . she could be looking at foster care, Nora. We’d have to tell them why she’s here and what Hayden might be doing.”
“I don’t care,” Nora said. “A child is missing, and we don’t know where she is or who she is with. We have to call the police.”
Jason dialed. Even though he hated the thought of dealing with the police, he knew she was right.
Chapter Thirteen
Colton arrived as the uniformed police officers left the house. Jason watched him speak to them for a few minutes, and their conversation ended with a laugh. Jason looked away.
“Colton’s here,” he said.
He and Nora had both already called in to work, using personal days in order to stay home. Jason wondered how many of those days they would need to take before all was said and done.
“Do you think we need a lawyer?” Nora asked.
“He’s not really here as a lawyer. He’s here because he knows everybody and everything in Ednaville. I figured he could help.”
When Colton reached the door, Jason let him in, and Colton wore a somber look on his face. He clapped Jason on the shoulder. “How you hanging in there, buddy?”
“Not good.” Jason introduced Colton to Nora.
She offered Colton something to drink, and he waved it off. He lowered himself onto the couch, exhaling a little air as he settled his body. He wore a tan summer-weight suit and no tie. When he sat down, his pants legs went up high enough to reveal the pale skin above his socks.
“Are you satisfied with what the police had to say?” he asked.
“I guess,” Jason said.
“I thought there’d be more fuss,” Nora said. “A missing girl.”
“She’s not missing,” Jason said. He spoke more sharply than he intended, his voice almost like a whipcrack. “I’m sorry, but she’s just looking for her mom.”
“I’m going to get some coffee.” She turned on her heel and left.
Jason turned to say something to her, but she was gone so fast he couldn’t get the words out. He started to sit in a chair across the room, but before he could, Colton waved him over to the couch. “Come here,” he said.
Jason sat on the couch.
“What are the police saying?” Colton asked.
“They’re sending out her description. And a description of the car. We don’t have a current photo of Sierra, so we couldn’t help them there.”
“If they need one, maybe they can go to Facebook or someplace like that,” Colton said.
Jason nodded. “We
told them about Hayden and Jesse Dean. And I had an encounter with Rose Holland at the park last night.”
“Rose Holland? What about her?”
“She’s looking for Hayden. Apparently, she and Jesse Dean are an item, even though he’s married, and she isn’t happy that Hayden might be spending time with her man. She looked like hell. You wouldn’t believe it. Missing teeth. Dirty. She must be strung out or something.”
“I’d heard that about her. It’s weird.”
“To make it weirder, Rose might have killed our neighbors’ cat and left it on the back porch as a warning.”
“Really? That’s sick.”
“Tell me about it. They’re going to be on the lookout for all of them. They’re even going to search up on the Bluff.”
“You know why, don’t you?” Colton asked.
“Sure. It’s because of Hayden. Because of her problems.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed a lot of people don’t even call it Thompson Bluff anymore. They all call it Heroin Hill now that the unseemly types have taken it over. Hell, when we were kids, it was a make-out spot. Maybe some kids drank or smoked a little weed. Now I wouldn’t even let my kids go up there for a hike in the middle of the day. I hear all about the things that happen in those bathrooms.”
“Everybody thinks their time was more innocent than the current time.”
“Maybe. You guys don’t have kids, so you don’t think about these things as much.”
Jason felt the harsh look he gave Colton. “What’s that mean?”
“Easy, now.” Colton leaned closer. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you something while Nora is out of the room.”
“What?”
Colton looked toward the kitchen again, and Nora was coming back, carrying a mug of coffee. Colton straightened up, leaning away from Jason.
“You men love to conspire, don’t you?” she asked.
“It’s not that,” Colton said.
“What were you going to tell me?” Jason asked.
“Well . . .” Colton appeared to be at a loss.
“If it’s about Sierra or Hayden, we both want to know,” Jason said. “Just tell us.”
Colton looked back and forth between the two of them, then nodded to himself. “Okay. When you called me earlier, I couldn’t get here right away. But I did do a little checking. I had my paralegal look into Sierra a bit.” Colton swallowed. His eyes darted between the two of them again. “She’s been in some trouble before. Not in Ednaville, but over in Redman County. Is that where the girl lives?”
“Yes.” Jason felt a cool unease move through the center of his body. “She and Hayden live there now.”
“What did she do?” Nora asked. She sounded skeptical, as though she didn’t—and wouldn’t—believe anything Colton said.
Colton shrugged in a “don’t shoot the messenger” kind of way. “She got picked up for stealing a car.”
“Jesus,” Jason said.
“No,” Nora said. “She’s a good kid. She’s smart.”
“Smart kids steal cars. You kind of have to be smart to do it these days.” Colton shifted around on the couch as he reached into his coat pocket and brought out a little notebook. He flipped it open and stared at the pages. “Here’s the interesting thing. She was picked up with a girl from Ednaville. Name of Patricia Gibbon. Know her?”
“No,” Jason said.
“Yes,” Nora said. “Sierra mentioned her yesterday. We were just talking about school and friends, and Sierra said she had a friend here in Ednaville, a girl named Tricia. They met in grade school, but don’t see much of each other anymore. I encouraged Sierra to get in touch with her. I thought she’d like to have some friends while she was here. Hell, I didn’t know the girl was trouble.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Jason said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Of course,” Colton said. “But you’re right that this girl has issues. She was the one driving the car. Both girls went through a diversionary program. Their records will be expunged when they turn eighteen. Not a big deal in the broad picture, I guess. But I thought you all should know.”
“Thanks,” Jason said. “I think.”
“I mentioned it to the police out there. This is another place they can look for Sierra. They can find this Gibbon hoodlum and ask her if she’s seen your niece. If Sierra is off on some adventure, searching for her mom or whatever else, she might decide she needs a running buddy.”
“Good point,” Nora said.
Colton put the notebook away.
“What do we do now, Colton?” Jason asked. “What can we do?”
“Sit tight. Try to distract yourself, and let the police do their work. If this girl has a level head like you say, then she’ll come back. Do you all have a good relationship with her?”
“I think we do,” Nora said.
“Then it should work out in a positive way.” He reached over and slapped Jason on the knee. “Hang in there.” Colton stood up, and the three of them walked to the door together. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.”
At the door, Colton turned back and asked, “Has someone told the girl’s father what’s going on?”
Jason and Nora looked at each other. “We don’t know how to reach him,” Jason said. “He’s in Indiana.”
“Well, at some point,” he said. “A father has a right to know.”
“He hasn’t seen his daughter in two years,” Nora said.
“He’s still her father,” Colton said. “He’s the custodial parent if her mother doesn’t . . . if Hayden isn’t available.”
When Colton was gone, Jason went upstairs to shower and dress. As he put his clothes on, Nora appeared in the bedroom doorway. “Are you going out looking now?” she asked.
“Yes. I think you should stay here in case she comes home. But keep the doors locked. Hayden has attracted quite a crowd of weirdos.”
“That’s fine. I can take care of myself. But stay in touch with me. Text or call. I don’t have a car. And I want to know that you’re doing okay.”
“Of course.” Jason pulled his shoes on, while Nora stood over him. “Is something else on your mind?” he asked.
“That Colton is an interesting guy, isn’t he?” she said. “He seems full of information.”
“He knows everybody in Ednaville.” Jason stood up. “He’s trying to help.”
Nora seemed to be thinking it over, her finger tapping against the coffee mug in her hand. She said, “Just remember to stay in touch.”
“I will. I’ll have the phone on.”
“Jason?” Nora said. “Do you think she’s okay? Sierra?”
He really considered his answer before speaking. “I’d like to think so. I’d really like to think so.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jason didn’t have far to drive. He headed south, avoiding downtown by taking State Route 33, more commonly called “the Bypass.” It brought him west, past open fields on one side and strip malls and car dealerships on the other. Then the road looped back to the east toward Ednaville again. While he drove, he called Regan on her cell phone. He thought about not calling her, of letting his attention and efforts remain fixed on his own family where they belonged. But he also worried about Regan. Hayden had mentioned her the night she dropped Sierra off, and with all the strangeness swirling around, he felt she needed a word of caution as well. So he called, and he told her about Sierra taking the car and leaving without telling them where she was going, and when he did, Regan gasped.
“Oh, God,” she said. “That poor girl. She must be so worried about Hayden to do something like that.”
“There’s more,” Jason said. “Guess where I’m headed? I’m going to Jesse Dean’s house.”
There was a long pause. “For God’s sake, why?”
“Colton Rivers saw Jesse Dean and Hayden together last night at Center Park. We told the police, too, but I can’t just sit around the house all day waiting for something to happen. I thought whoever lives in that house might be willing to talk to me. Do you know if Jesse Dean’s mother is still alive?”
“I don’t. Jason, I think you should just let the police handle this stuff. They know what they’re doing.”
Jason changed lanes, keeping the phone cradled between his ear and his shoulder. “I know. But you see . . .” Jason tried to gather his thoughts. Some things were coalescing in his brain. Fragments that had been loose and scattered were starting to join together. “I talked to you the other day about Logan, right? And now this stuff with Hayden and Sierra. Do you realize Sierra is almost the age we were the night we graduated from high school? The night Logan left?”
“You said she’s seventeen. Yes, I thought of that.”
“Well, let me ask you something, Regan. How many people am I just going to let walk out of my life without doing something about it?”
“It’s not the same as—”
“It is,” he said. “When Hayden came to our house two nights ago, I knew something was wrong. I could tell she might be in danger. Her voice wasn’t right. The tone. I can read her. Even after all this time, I can read her like a book. Why didn’t I insist on going with her? Why didn’t I just follow her out the door and see what she was getting into?”
“You can’t always be with everybody. You can’t do that for kids or adults.”
“I’m doing it this time.”
He drove on while Regan was silent. He turned off the Bypass and onto Ridge Road, cutting east, heading toward the neighborhoods south of town. The houses grew smaller in size, the yards more cluttered with broken cars and paper and toys.
“Jason,” Regan said finally, “just remember that guys like Jesse Dean probably don’t like it when people ask questions about them. I didn’t even think he lived here anymore.”
“But his family might. Somebody around here knows what he’s up to. If I can find Hayden, then I can find Sierra. Or vice versa.” He realized he sounded obstinate, a little like a stubborn child clinging to a fantastic notion for no better reason than that it brought him some comfort. “Do you ever think that if one of us had been able to talk to Logan that night on the Bluff, he may never have left? If we’d just been able to get through to him in some way? I want that chance with Sierra. And Hayden.”
