“Nah, he’s one of your kids. It’s understandable that you need to be involved. I’ll be back to you soon.”
“Thanks, Archie. This will never be forgotten.”
“You’re there for me. I’m there for you. That’s how it works.”
“Appreciate it,” she said softly. After their frequent hookups when she’d been between marriages, things between them could’ve been awkward, but thankfully, that’d never happened. They’d settled into collegial friendship that was a source of great comfort to her—and to him, too, especially lately as she’d worked on the Offenbach case, which had also involved his new girlfriend, Harlowe.
As Sam tried to think of what she should work on next, her brain went blank. She didn’t have a single idea worth pursuing. She sat behind her desk and looked down at the reports that’d been prepared overnight, trying to make sense of words that floated in random order thanks to the fucking dyslexia that kicked in hard when she was overtired.
She stared at the far wall, hoping inspiration would find its way through the fog in her brain to give her some direction.
Her phone rang, and she pounced, hoping for something that would break this thing wide open as the clock inched closer to twenty-four hours without a word from Ethan.
“Holland.”
“This is Christi Trulo-Carpenter. I’m so sorry for the delay in reaching out to you. I’ve had desperately ill children since Friday night.”
“I hope they’re better now.”
“They’ve stopped actively puking, so that’s an improvement. Is there any word on Ethan?”
“Nothing yet.”
“I’m so sorry your family is going through this. I’ve only met with him twice so far, and they were mostly get-to-know-you sessions before the real work begins. So far, I haven’t picked up on anything alarming that would lead to him intentionally disappearing. He told me he found the conflict between him and his parents upsetting.”
“They’d be glad to hear that. It’s upsetting to them, too.”
“From what I’ve seen thus far, he doesn’t seem like the kind of kid to do something like this to get back at them or anything like that.”
“That’d be my take, too, although I haven’t spent enough time with him lately to be able to say that for certain. I’ve only heard my sister’s side of things, which came as a surprise to me. That isn’t the Ethan I’ve known, but he’s grown up when I wasn’t looking.”
“Kids start to chafe at parental confines in middle school, often when friends are allowed to do things they’re not. My dad told me when my kids were born that the biggest problem I’d have wouldn’t be with other kids. It would be with their parents, who’d have different rules and values than I do. I’ve already found that to be true, and my kids are in elementary school.”
“Your dad is one of the wisest people I’ve ever known, and what he said makes a lot of sense. Ethan’s friends were allowed to go out, to ride the Metro, to be independent. He wanted what they had.”
“Which is entirely normal, if difficult to navigate as a parent whose better judgment might be saying it’s too soon for such freedoms.”
“That was my sister’s position. Her husband disagreed. As she said, when they stopped presenting a united front, Ethan saw an opportunity.”
“That’s how it often happens. One parent wavers, and the door opens. Of course, once that genie is out of the bottle…”
“Right.”
“I remember when I was a freshman in high school on the swim team. We had six a.m. practices on Saturday mornings, so I arranged for one of the older kids to drive me. My parents didn’t love that idea, but it was five a.m. on a Saturday, so they allowed it. Then I wanted to go with the same kids to get pizza, and suddenly, they didn’t have a leg to stand on with not wanting me riding in cars with other kids. They said later that they failed to think it all the way through and realize that a yes at five a.m. can be seen as a yes to Friday at seven p.m.”
“Wow, that’s not something I would’ve thought of either. I’d be all in with getting out of the five a.m. wakeup on a Saturday.”
“Most parents would. It’s how we lose control of the whole operation and never see it coming.”
“This has been very helpful, Christi. I appreciate you taking the time to call when your kids are sick.”
“I’m praying for Ethan’s safe return.”
“Thanks again.”
Sam closed the phone and conveyed the gist of what she’d learned to Nick.
“That’s something about the kids in cars. I wouldn’t have seen that one coming either.”
