Sam’s heart broke for them, and for Abby, Brooke and everyone who loved Ethan. The not knowing was horrible.
The SUV came to a stop at the curb outside her stepmother’s home, which was dark other than a single light in the living room window that was on a timer. Celia was away on an Alaskan cruise with her sisters and not due home for a few more days, which was a blessing of sorts. Sam wouldn’t say anything to Celia until she had to as there was no sense in upsetting her when there was nothing Celia could do from afar.
Sam punched in the code to the front door, deactivated the alarm and turned on lights before sending a quick text to Celia. Borrowing your house for the night. Will explain later.
Ah, OK, she responded a few minutes later. Was wondering why I got the alert on the alarm. My house is your house. Love you. Miss you.
Same, Sam replied before taking a seat next to a tearful Tracy on the sofa.
“Every time I come here, I expect Dad to come wheeling around the corner, asking what’s up.”
“Me, too.” She took her sister’s cold hand as Nick arrived with Brant. “Tell me what you know. How long has he been gone? Where’s he supposed to be? Who’s he with?”
Tracy pressed a tissue to her swollen eyes. “He left around four with his friend Tomas. They said they were going to meet this other kid they know.”
“What’s his name?”
“Brecken something. I don’t know him. They said they were going to get pizza and then play video games at the Wharf. Our calls to Ethan and Tomas are going to voice mail.”
“How were they getting to where they were going?”
“On the Metro.”
“By themselves?” Sam asked, surprised to hear Tracy and Mike had allowed that.
“They’ve been doing it for a while now.” Tracy glanced at Mike, who looked at the floor. “I wasn’t in favor, but I was overruled.”
“All his friends are doing it,” Mike said with a defensive edge to his voice.
Palpable—and unusual—tension beat between them. “What do we know about the friends?” Sam asked.
“Tomas is a great kid,” Mike said. “Ethan knows him from school, and they play youth football together.”
“Do you know his parents?”
“To say hello to,” Tracy said. “That’s about it.”
“So you don’t have their numbers or know where they live?”
“No, Tomas is on a different team than Ethan, so we don’t have that info,” Mike said.
“Last name?”
Tracy and Mike exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
“I can’t recall his last name, but I have his phone number if that helps,” Tracy said. “It’s on my phone.”
“What does Ethan have for money?”
“Some cash,” Mike said, “and a debit card that we keep a small balance on so he can grab food when he’s out.”
Sam took notes. “Can I get the info on that? The number on the card or the account number?”
“I’m not sure how to get that for you without my phone or computer. All my passwords are preprogrammed.”
“We’ll come back to that,” Sam said. “When was the last time you had contact with him?”
“I checked his location around four fifteen,” Mike said. “He was on the Green Line heading to Waterfront Station.”
