“Maybe. There’s not much more I can do tonight. We’ll start fresh in the morning.”
Sam’s regular cell phone rang with a call from her other sister, Angela. “Ang is calling. I need to grab that. I’ll keep you posted on what I’m doing.”
“I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
“That helps. Thanks. See you soon.”
Sam juggled phones to take the call from Ang. “Hey.”
“What the fuck is going on, Sam? One of my friends just saw a report on the news that Ethan is missing and asked me about it.”
“We were hoping he’d be home before we had to worry you and everyone else.”
“So he’s really missing?”
“Since around four this afternoon.”
“That’s like almost nine hours!”
“Yes, I know. We’re doing everything we can to find him.”
“Tracy and Mike must be out of their minds.”
“They are. Brooke is here with Nate, and she’s been a big help.” Sam walked back into the living room. “Brooke, will you please send a recent photo of Ethan to Uncle Nick?” Everyone in their family had the number for the BlackBerry so they could reach him if needed.
“Right away.”
“Thanks, hon.”
“What’s Nick doing?” Tracy asked.
“The press put two and two together from the be-on-the-lookout alert we put out and connected Ethan to us. Nick is making a statement and will ask for help from the public.”
“So it’s blowing up into a massive story, then,” Mike said when he appeared from somewhere.
Sam gave him a helpless look that she hoped conveyed a world of apology for their high profiles elevating Ethan’s disappearance into a national story.
“What can I do?” Angela asked.
“Nothing, for right now. I’ll let you know if there’s any news. I’m sorry we didn’t call you before now, but you have enough to deal with over there.” Since her husband Spencer’s sudden death, her pregnant sister was now a single parent to a seven-year-old son and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
“I’d still want to know my nephew is missing, Sam.”
“Understood. I’m sorry. It’s been stressful.”
“Do you think… I mean… Did someone take him? Because he’s related to you and Nick?”
“The thought has crossed our minds, but we’re working a number of different angles. The Secret Service assures us that if there’d been any threats against Ethan or any of our close people, they’d probably know about them. They’re assisting in the investigation, and the FBI is helping, too.”
“Sweet Jesus, Sam, the FBI is involved?”
“We’re covering all the bases.”
“Are you scared?”
“Yeah.”
She whimpered. “Sam…”
