It had been twenty-four hours, and Karen was still missing. The only bright spot Kristy could find was that now Watson could legally declare her as missing. Kristy grew even more worried as the hours ticked by with no message on her pager, and finally she went home, cutting her last class of the day.
"Kristy!" Her mother said in surprise. "What are you doing home already? Shouldn't you be in statistics right now?" Kristy had to admit, she was a little surprised herself. She certainly hadn't expected to find her mother at home. Normally her Mom was working till six, and either she or Dave took care of their little sister Emily when she got home from school. Today, however, Elizabeth was seated on the loveseat, coffee mug in hand.
"Yeah, but it was some sadistic person who decided to put math classes in the middle of the afternoon anyway. Shouldn't you be at work right now?" she countered, tossing her books on the sofa.
"I'm probably home for the same reason you are." Standing, Elizabeth walked over to Kristy and gave her a tight hug.
"Watson hasn't heard anything yet?" Kristy's dark brown eyes looked fearful.
"No, Kristy, I'm sorry. He's called the police, and they're keeping a watch out for her. He's also checked with the parents of all her friends. There's not much more we can do except sit and wait." Squeezing her shoulders, Elizabeth stood up. "I think I'm going to go over there and see if I can help. Karen's mom, Lisa, is probably panicked, and her stepfather and Watson are both out at the police." Her mom walked across the room to grab her purse and her jacket.
"Hold on, I'll come with you." Kristy jumped up and grabbed her own purse. "Maybe Andrew needs me." She thought sadly of the little blond who was so dependent on his older sister. After the first divorce their parents went through, Andrew withdrew, and followed Karen everywhere. Now that Watson was divorced again, Karen was the one who had distanced herself, and Andrew wasn't quite sure what to do.
"I think your other brother and sister might need you right now." Her mother pointed out. Kristy slowly put her purse down and nodded.
"That's true. I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking." Sitting on the loveseat where her mother had sat, Kristy got settled to wait for Dave and Emily to come home. Dave would be the first, since the high school got out an hour earlier than the elementary school, and Stoneybrook Middle got out last. She curled up with her statistics book and tried to make up for missing the class.