CHAPTER 19
Three days later, Frank checked his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. The knot in his stomach tightened with each passing second. Tommy’s program at The Connect Church should have ended forty-five minutes ago. Pastor John had texted that the children were being picked up by their parents, but Tommy was nowhere to be found when Frank arrived.
“He was just here,” Pastor John said with a frown. “I saw him talking to someone beside the refreshment table. He must have gone when we were cleaning up.”
Frank scanned the parking lot again, fighting to keep his rising panic in check. “Did you see who he was talking to?”
“One of the parents, I assumed.” Pastor John shook his head. “I’m sorry, Frank. Let me gather some volunteers to help look for him.”
Frank nodded absently, already pulling out his phone. His thumb hovered over Marcus’s number before he scrolled past it. If Dave was back in Sapphire Bay, Tommy could be in trouble.
No, he told himself. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Not yet.
Instead, he called Isabel.
She answered on the second ring. “Frank? Is everything all right?”
The concern in her voice nearly undid him. “Tommy’s missing,” he said, his voice rough with worry. “He was at a children’s program at the church, but when I came to pick him up...” He couldn’t finish.
“I’ll be right there,” Isabel said immediately. “Have you checked the lakefront? The playground?”
“Pastor John is organizing some people to start looking.” Frank ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll drive around town.”
“No, wait for me,” she insisted. “Two sets of eyes are better than one. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
True to her word, Isabel’s car pulled into the church parking lot four and a half minutes later. She hurried toward him, her face a picture of determination that somehow steadied him.
“Any news?” she asked.
Frank shook his head. “Nothing yet. John has volunteers checking the community center and nearby streets.”
Isabel placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “Tommy’s a smart boy. If he wandered off, he wouldn’t go far.”
Frank guided Isabel across to his truck. “He might not have had a choice.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think this is connected to the man at the diner?”
“I don’t know if Dave’s involved,” Frank admitted. “Let’s focus on finding Tommy first.”
After they’d climbed into Frank’s truck, Isabel took charge, directing him to drive slowly past Tommy’s favorite spots—the fishing dock, the ice cream shop, the area where they often launched his remote-controlled boat.
“Wait,” Isabel said suddenly as they passed the trail that led around the far side of the lake. “Tommy mentioned somethingabout a hunting blind the other day, didn’t he? When he was telling me about that adventure book he’s writing.”
Frank’s eyes widened. “The old Lewis blind. Tommy has been fascinated with it since I told him hunters use it to spot deer.” He turned the truck around, heading toward the trailhead. “It’s a bit of a hike, though. Why would he go all that way?”
Isabel lowered the visor. “He might go there if he was scared or wanted to hide.”
They stopped at the small parking lot that marked the beginning of the trail and set off briskly. Frank’s mind raced with every step. Had Tommy simply wandered off, curious about the hunting blind? Or had something—or someone—frightened him into hiding?
The trail wound through dense pine forest before opening onto a view of the lake. The hunting blind sat on top of a small rise, a weathered wooden structure that had seen better days.
“Tommy?” Frank called out, his voice echoing across the water. “Tommy, are you up there?”
A small face appeared at the window of the blind, and Frank’s knees nearly buckled with relief.
“Grandpa?” Tommy’s voice was small but clear.
Frank broke into a run, taking the rickety steps two at a time. Isabel was behind him, following more cautiously. Inside the blind, Tommy sat huddled in a corner, his knees drawn to his chest, eyes wide and frightened.
