Wrecker tensed, then relaxed when he caught the scent through the door. He opened it and Bronc filled the frame, jacket unzipped, sunglasses pushed up on his forehead.
“Ready?” Bronc asked.
“Hey Bronc!” I hollered at him. I wasn’t going to let him step into my house without acknowledging me.
“Hey, kiddo.” He looked around Wrecker so he could see my face. The term of endearment took me back.
Wrecker turned. “Give me a second.”
He came to the table, leaned down, and kissed my forehead.
“Text me if anything changes,” he said. “I mean it.”
“I will,” I said.
He left with Bronc, and I listened to the sound of their boots on the gravel until it faded.
I lasted all of thirty seconds before the dread came back.
I reopened my laptop, eyes darting between the account logs and the dead camera feed. I tried another dozen tricks to hack the signal, but all I got was static.
“Fuck you, Silas,” I hissed at the screen.
Rocket whimpered and licked my ankle.
I checked the locks on every door and window. I closed the blinds, then reopened them just enough to let in a sliverof light. I paced the kitchen, the living room, the hallway, over and over until I was dizzy.
Every ten minutes I checked the driveway for strange cars. Every fifteen I checked my phone for missed calls, even though the ringer was turned up as high as it could go.
Nothing.
But the silence felt like the air before a tornado, thick and expectant.
By four in the afternoon, I had chewed my nails down to the quick. I reheated my coffee three times, but never finished a cup. Rocket followed me from room to room, whining softly whenever I sat too long in one spot.
When the phone rang with Wrecker’s call, I about jumped out of my skin.
“What happened?”
“How’d you know? Nevermind. Have you heard from Maddie?”
“Maddie? No. Haven’t seen or talked to her since last night. Why? What’s going on?”
Wrecker’s deep sigh told me something bad was going on.
“She left Pearl’s an hour and a half ago to grab some wrapping paper from the dollar store on her way up to the civic center. She never arrived.”
My heart sank. That’s it. That’s the dread I’d felt.
“Well, y’all need to find her!”
“What the fuck do you think we’re trying to do, Parker?”
“I’m sorry. I’m going to go back through this fucking video feed to see if I missed something while I was making my sandwich for dinner or something.”
“Okay, let me know if you find anything.”
“Of course. Eli, I love you.”
