~3am, Alex's house~
Karen rolled over in bed and slowly floated to consciousness as the sound of the
truck's engine faded away into the distance. Glancing at the digital clock beside
the bed, she wondered vaguely what it was that had woken her, then remembered
that two of her daughter's friends were sleeping over. She let out an annoyed sigh
– she was never at her best when woken from a sound sleep – and sat up in bed,
swinging her feet onto the floor.
Why do I always have to tell them to go back to bed? she asked herself. Can't
they be asleep by midnight?
Being careful not to disturb Wayne, who slept peacefully on in the other half of
the bed, Karen crept to the door and opened it, walking down the hallway, past the
kitchen, and into the living room. Peering through the glass doors into the room
where the girls' sleeping bags were, she noticed they had left a light on, and went
out onto the porch to shut it off. Passing the bed, however, she noticed that the
girls weren't in it. She frowned, her annoyance increasing. Not only were they not
asleep, they were hiding!
Leaving the light on, Karen walked back into the living room, then into the
kitchen, without encountering anybody. She walked back up the hall to Alex's
room and knocked softly on the door, then opened it when there was no answer
and flicked on the light. There was no one there, either. It occurred to her that
maybe they had decided to watch a movie, so she opened the door to the basement
and went to the foot of the stairs, but all was dark and still, as devoid of people as
the rest of the house seemed to be.
Frowning, her annoyance beginning to change to worry, Karen went back
upstairs and checked every place she could think of. She even opened the door to
the back yard and called for them, but her daughter and her friends were nowhere
to be found.
"Karen?" asked a sleepy voice as she ducked back inside. "What is it?" She
whirled around, but it was just Wayne, looking like he hadn't woken up before
getting out of bed.
"Where's Alex?" she asked anxiously. "I can't find her."
"You lost our daughter?" he joked sleepily. "How'd you do that? Did she go out
with the garbage?"
"Wayne, I'm not kidding!" Karen said sharply. "I don't know where they are!
Amy and Kat were over tonight, remember?" Wayne seemed to shake off some of
his stupor, waking up to the situation.
"Is Nick still here?" he asked. Karen clapped her hand over her mouth, then
quickly headed for Alex's younger brother's room. Opening the door, she saw
Nick fast asleep with his blanket pulled over his head, and breathed a sigh of
relief. Her relief was short-lived, however, as she realized he was the only kid in
the house. "He's here," she reported quietly to her husband, who nodded.
"Good," he said. "But where are the girls? Have you searched the whole house?"
"I looked everywhere," Karen replied, her worry growing by the second.
"They're not here."
"We have to call the police," Wayne said decisively. "Something could have
happened to them – in fact, something must have happened, because why else
would they not be here at this hour?" Karen shivered at the thought, and headed
back to her bedroom to get dressed as Wayne went to the phone in the kitchen.
Returning to the kitchen in a sweatsuit and socks, she searched for a flashlight as
Wayne sat down at the table, running a hand over his hair. He mumbled to
himself as Karen tugged on her sneakers and checked to make sure the flashlight
she had found was working, then went to the door.
"You stay here and wait for the police," she said. "I'm going to look outside."
Wayne looked up.
"Be careful," he warned.
"I'm not going far," Karen replied. "But I have to do something, I can't just sit
here and wait." Wayne nodded and Karen left.
* * *
The police arrived at the front door a few minutes later, with Karen not far
behind. By the look on her face, Wayne could tell she hadn't found anything. As
the two of them sat on one side of the table, talking to two officers on the other
side, Nick emerged from his room, blinking. When he saw the police, his mouth
dropped open, and he hurried into the kitchen.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"This would be Nick, I presume?" asked one of the officers. Nick and Karen
both nodded.
"Your sister is missing," Wayne told Nick, "Along with Amy and Kat." Nick's
eyes grew wide.
"Missing?" he repeated. "Like, they just up and left? What'd they do that for?"
"I only wish I knew," replied Wayne.
"Well, where'd they go?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Karen said. She turned to the officers,
who had risen from their seats at the table. "Is there anything else you need?" she
asked. "Anything we can do to help?"
"Do you have a recent picture of Alex?" one of them asked. "And perhaps even
a shot of the other two girls?"
"We also need the phone numbers of the other girls' parents," added the second
officer. "We have to inform them of the situation."
Karen nodded and started scribbling names and numbers on a piece of paper,
saying to Nick as she did so, "Would you get that school photo out of my wallet?
The one of Alex. And there's a picture on the fridge of her and Kat together."
Nick retrieved the pictures and handed them to one of the officers, whose badge
read Sergeant Thompson.
"Thank you," the officer said, inspecting the photos.
"That one's Alex," said Nick, pointing to the cheerfully smiling face framed by
short brown curls. "And that one's Kat," he said, indicating the girl with a sly grin
and long straight hair, lighter than Alex's. The officer nodded and inspected the
pictures closely, then handed them to his partner, who did the same.
"You don't have a picture of Amy?" Thompson asked. "If you don't, we can get
one from her parents, but it would be best to have her picture as soon as possible."
"Nick, would you get that yellow scrapbook out of Alex's room?" Karen asked.
Nick rolled his eyes as if to say, I have to go in there? He complied when his dad
glared at him, however, and came back a moment later with the book. Karen
handed her piece of paper with the names and numbers to the officers, then started
paging through the book. Wayne paced nervously while everyone waited for
Karen to find what she was looking for. Officer Thompson studied Karen's note,
Wayne watched the clock, and Nick stared at the other officer, whose name was
Flahey.
Finally Karen stood up and said, "Here's one. It's not very good, but at least
she's there." She pulled a photo out of the book and handed it to Flahey, pointing
out Amy in the small crowd. The policemen thanked them and left, saying that
they would talk to them further in the morning.
* * *
After his parents had gone to bed, Nick lay awake, staring at the ceiling and
thinking – an activity Alex wouldn't have believed he was capable of. Earlier that
night, it must have been around midnight, he thought he had heard a few noises in
the living room. It hadn't seemed strange at the time, since his sister and her
friends were never completely silent, but now he wondered. What he heard had
sounded a bit like that little squeaky noise their front door made, followed a
moment later by very soft voices outside. They had been so soft he nearly hadn't
heard them, but he had heard them, and that was the point.
Nick continued to ponder, waiting to be sure his parents had fallen asleep.
Judging from those noises, it almost seemed like the three girls had left willingly.
But if that was the case, why hadn't they come back? Maybe they had been
kidnapped. The thought interested Nick – that would certainly be exciting. He
grinned into the darkness, simultaneously deciding that his parents had had long
enough to fall asleep.
Sitting up in bed, he grabbed a sweatshirt, a flashlight, and the compass he had
taken to camp three weeks before. He wouldn't have long, he noted, as it was
almost four a.m. and it would be light soon – but Nick would use what time he
had. He crept silently to the kitchen, left a short note in case his parents woke up,
and slipped out the front door into the night.
Karen rolled over in bed and slowly floated to consciousness as the sound of the
truck's engine faded away into the distance. Glancing at the digital clock beside
the bed, she wondered vaguely what it was that had woken her, then remembered
that two of her daughter's friends were sleeping over. She let out an annoyed sigh
– she was never at her best when woken from a sound sleep – and sat up in bed,
swinging her feet onto the floor.
Why do I always have to tell them to go back to bed? she asked herself. Can't
they be asleep by midnight?
Being careful not to disturb Wayne, who slept peacefully on in the other half of
the bed, Karen crept to the door and opened it, walking down the hallway, past the
kitchen, and into the living room. Peering through the glass doors into the room
where the girls' sleeping bags were, she noticed they had left a light on, and went
out onto the porch to shut it off. Passing the bed, however, she noticed that the
girls weren't in it. She frowned, her annoyance increasing. Not only were they not
asleep, they were hiding!
Leaving the light on, Karen walked back into the living room, then into the
kitchen, without encountering anybody. She walked back up the hall to Alex's
room and knocked softly on the door, then opened it when there was no answer
and flicked on the light. There was no one there, either. It occurred to her that
maybe they had decided to watch a movie, so she opened the door to the basement
and went to the foot of the stairs, but all was dark and still, as devoid of people as
the rest of the house seemed to be.
Frowning, her annoyance beginning to change to worry, Karen went back
upstairs and checked every place she could think of. She even opened the door to
the back yard and called for them, but her daughter and her friends were nowhere
to be found.
"Karen?" asked a sleepy voice as she ducked back inside. "What is it?" She
whirled around, but it was just Wayne, looking like he hadn't woken up before
getting out of bed.
"Where's Alex?" she asked anxiously. "I can't find her."
"You lost our daughter?" he joked sleepily. "How'd you do that? Did she go out
with the garbage?"
"Wayne, I'm not kidding!" Karen said sharply. "I don't know where they are!
Amy and Kat were over tonight, remember?" Wayne seemed to shake off some of
his stupor, waking up to the situation.
"Is Nick still here?" he asked. Karen clapped her hand over her mouth, then
quickly headed for Alex's younger brother's room. Opening the door, she saw
Nick fast asleep with his blanket pulled over his head, and breathed a sigh of
relief. Her relief was short-lived, however, as she realized he was the only kid in
the house. "He's here," she reported quietly to her husband, who nodded.
"Good," he said. "But where are the girls? Have you searched the whole house?"
"I looked everywhere," Karen replied, her worry growing by the second.
"They're not here."
"We have to call the police," Wayne said decisively. "Something could have
happened to them – in fact, something must have happened, because why else
would they not be here at this hour?" Karen shivered at the thought, and headed
back to her bedroom to get dressed as Wayne went to the phone in the kitchen.
Returning to the kitchen in a sweatsuit and socks, she searched for a flashlight as
Wayne sat down at the table, running a hand over his hair. He mumbled to
himself as Karen tugged on her sneakers and checked to make sure the flashlight
she had found was working, then went to the door.
"You stay here and wait for the police," she said. "I'm going to look outside."
Wayne looked up.
"Be careful," he warned.
"I'm not going far," Karen replied. "But I have to do something, I can't just sit
here and wait." Wayne nodded and Karen left.
* * *
The police arrived at the front door a few minutes later, with Karen not far
behind. By the look on her face, Wayne could tell she hadn't found anything. As
the two of them sat on one side of the table, talking to two officers on the other
side, Nick emerged from his room, blinking. When he saw the police, his mouth
dropped open, and he hurried into the kitchen.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"This would be Nick, I presume?" asked one of the officers. Nick and Karen
both nodded.
"Your sister is missing," Wayne told Nick, "Along with Amy and Kat." Nick's
eyes grew wide.
"Missing?" he repeated. "Like, they just up and left? What'd they do that for?"
"I only wish I knew," replied Wayne.
"Well, where'd they go?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Karen said. She turned to the officers,
who had risen from their seats at the table. "Is there anything else you need?" she
asked. "Anything we can do to help?"
"Do you have a recent picture of Alex?" one of them asked. "And perhaps even
a shot of the other two girls?"
"We also need the phone numbers of the other girls' parents," added the second
officer. "We have to inform them of the situation."
Karen nodded and started scribbling names and numbers on a piece of paper,
saying to Nick as she did so, "Would you get that school photo out of my wallet?
The one of Alex. And there's a picture on the fridge of her and Kat together."
Nick retrieved the pictures and handed them to one of the officers, whose badge
read Sergeant Thompson.
"Thank you," the officer said, inspecting the photos.
"That one's Alex," said Nick, pointing to the cheerfully smiling face framed by
short brown curls. "And that one's Kat," he said, indicating the girl with a sly grin
and long straight hair, lighter than Alex's. The officer nodded and inspected the
pictures closely, then handed them to his partner, who did the same.
"You don't have a picture of Amy?" Thompson asked. "If you don't, we can get
one from her parents, but it would be best to have her picture as soon as possible."
"Nick, would you get that yellow scrapbook out of Alex's room?" Karen asked.
Nick rolled his eyes as if to say, I have to go in there? He complied when his dad
glared at him, however, and came back a moment later with the book. Karen
handed her piece of paper with the names and numbers to the officers, then started
paging through the book. Wayne paced nervously while everyone waited for
Karen to find what she was looking for. Officer Thompson studied Karen's note,
Wayne watched the clock, and Nick stared at the other officer, whose name was
Flahey.
Finally Karen stood up and said, "Here's one. It's not very good, but at least
she's there." She pulled a photo out of the book and handed it to Flahey, pointing
out Amy in the small crowd. The policemen thanked them and left, saying that
they would talk to them further in the morning.
* * *
After his parents had gone to bed, Nick lay awake, staring at the ceiling and
thinking – an activity Alex wouldn't have believed he was capable of. Earlier that
night, it must have been around midnight, he thought he had heard a few noises in
the living room. It hadn't seemed strange at the time, since his sister and her
friends were never completely silent, but now he wondered. What he heard had
sounded a bit like that little squeaky noise their front door made, followed a
moment later by very soft voices outside. They had been so soft he nearly hadn't
heard them, but he had heard them, and that was the point.
Nick continued to ponder, waiting to be sure his parents had fallen asleep.
Judging from those noises, it almost seemed like the three girls had left willingly.
But if that was the case, why hadn't they come back? Maybe they had been
kidnapped. The thought interested Nick – that would certainly be exciting. He
grinned into the darkness, simultaneously deciding that his parents had had long
enough to fall asleep.
Sitting up in bed, he grabbed a sweatshirt, a flashlight, and the compass he had
taken to camp three weeks before. He wouldn't have long, he noted, as it was
almost four a.m. and it would be light soon – but Nick would use what time he
had. He crept silently to the kitchen, left a short note in case his parents woke up,
and slipped out the front door into the night.