Penny grabbed hold of Barbara’s arm as she slipped across the icy sidewalk. “Be careful.”
“I’m trying. Why don’t men answer their phones? It’s not a big deal. All they have to do is take it with them and leave it on.” She growled low in her throat. “No one’s answering the gym phone, either.”
“She can’t be too far away.” But the farther they walked, the more concerned Katie became.
Barbara held her cell phone up to her ear. “Hi. It’s Barbara Terry. Can you find Ethan Preston for me? It’s an emergency…He isn’t? What about Theo Montgomery. He was supposed to be at the gym tonight, too.”
It seemed to take forever before Barbara spoke again. “Okay. Thanks for looking.” She dropped her cell phone into her pocket and sighed. “They must have decided to do something else. They never arrived at the gym.”
Penny’s face turned white. “Where’s Charlie going?” He’d veered off the sidewalk and was heading toward an old abandoned garage. “If he’s following Diana, why would she have gone this way?”
Katie walked faster. “I don’t know, but it’s too cold to be out here for long.” All kinds of horrible images were swirling through her head and none of them ended well.
Stopping in front of the garage doors, Katie yelled through a smashed wooden panel. “Diana! Are you here?”
Barbara and Penny waited beside her, listening intently for any reply.
When they heard nothing, Katie knelt beside Charlie. “Where’s Diana?”
Their lovable, slightly ditsy Golden Lab licked her face, then trotted around the side of the building. Everyone followed him.
Katie prayed he hadn’t forgotten what they were doing out here. Turning on her cell phone’s flashlight, she scanned the backyard. “Diana!”
“Over here.”
Barbara rushed toward a high mound of snow backed up against the building. “Diana?”
“In here.”
Katie had never been so glad to hear her voice. She hurried after Barbara, skidding to a stop at the entrance to what looked like a small shed. Diana was inside, sitting on the ground with her back against the wall and her legs in front of her. Tucked against her chest and wrapped in her jacket, was a child.
Penny was already on the phone, calling the emergency services.
Barbara took off her gloves and jacket and helped Diana put them on. “What happened?”
“I was walking Charlie and heard someone crying.”
Katie knelt on the other side of Diana and touched the child’s face. Familiar, sleepy blue eyes, stared back at her. “Adele?”
A slight nod of the child’s head made Katie’s breath catch. “Are you hurt, honey?”
The five-year-old shook her head.
“She’s cold but okay,” Diana said through chattering teeth. “I fell over a pipe that was covered in snow. I’ve twisted my ankle.”
Penny came into the shed. “The paramedics are at least half an hour away. Zac’s on call at the medical clinic, so they’re sending him. He should be here soon.”
Katie unzipped the emergency kit and wrapped a survival blanket around Diana and Adele. “We’d better have a look at your ankle.”
“It’s the left one. I can’t put any weight on it. Even when I try to move it’s painful.”
Carefully, Barbara and Katie lifted the leg of her wet jeans.
Barbara’s gaze shot to Katie.
The swelling and bruising looked a lot worse than any sprain Katie had seen. “It doesn’t look too bad,” she lied. “Zac will be here soon to look after you.”
Barbara cleared her throat. “I’ll make another call to see how far away he is.”
