The credits rolled, the lights of the old theater went up, and none of us moved. Carol gave a sigh worthy of a suffering Greek chorus and ran a hand through her hair, calming some of the frizziness in her hair.
“Wow,” I said, more to the stale popcorn air than anyone in particular. “That was, well, nothing. It was nothing."
Seriously, I hadn’t seen a single thing in this movie that might explain why Alice might disappear after this film. I also hadn’t enjoyed a second of the disaster I’d just watched.
Beth’s hands kneaded her temples, massaging away a frown. “I keep waiting for the post-credits twist, but it’s not coming. It’s just bad acting and cheap CGI.” She slumped further in her seat, hugging her purse. “What a waste of ten bucks.”
The theater emptied out quickly. We lagged behind, picking at the few scraps of gossip and disappointment the screening had left us.
We were the only ones left when the side door popped open and a girl in a neon purple shirt shuffled in, pushing a broom thatlooked too big for her. She had dark, severe hair cropped in a wedge, and her earbuds hung around her neck. She didn’t make eye contact as she swept past us, but her nametag, stuck on with blue painter’s tape, was clear. Zoe.
Beth looked at me, lifting a brow.
I nodded.
Another person to ask. A person who might have actually seen Alice directly after the movie. We didn’t have any better leads, so we might as well, right?
She began her circuit at the front, humming and avoiding our eyes, but I wasn’t going to let her escape so easily. I waited for her to get close, then flashed what I hoped was a non-threatening smile. “Hey, Zoe. Can I ask you something?”
She stopped just short of the aisle, one hand tightening on her broom handle. “I’m supposed to finish cleaning this whole theater in, like, fifteen minutes,” she said, already inching away.
“It’s about my friend Alice…” I said, unsure if my brother’s quiet partner had even been noticed by this woman.
To my surprise, her eyes snapped to mine, pupils shrinking. She tried to play it off, but I could tell she recognized her name. “Who?”
Yeah, right.
“Alice. She comes in with my brother, Henry, pretty often. You know, kind of awkward, kind of sweet. Likes the classics?” I watched her carefully.
“I–”
“I can tell you know her. Just like everyone else we talked to here.”
Zoe set the broom against a seat, which I decided meant she was interested enough to stay a minute. “Yeah, okay, I know her. She’s cool.”
“She’s been hard to reach lately.” I kept my tone gentle. “We’re all trying to gather as much information as we can about what’s been going on with her. I know she came in a couple days ago…”
Zoe folded her arms, the scrub top twisting at her elbows. “She comes in, like, every week. Sometimes with your brother, sometimes by herself.” She shrugged, face tight.
I tried a softer tactic. “I just want to make sure she’s not in any kind of trouble.”
“Not that I would know of,” Zoe said. She picked at the sticker on her nametag. “She’s just really into movies. Like, obsessively.”
Beth was listening, but impatience was burning through her. She leaned over the seat and cut in, “Has she ever brought anyone else? Not Henry, I mean. Someone you didn’t recognize?”
Zoe’s jaw went tense. “Why? Who’s asking?” There was a defensive edge in her voice.
“We’re just curious,” I said, holding up my hands.
She started backing away, so Carol stepped into the aisle and blocked her off. Carol gave Zoe a friendly but unblinking smile. “You don’t have to be nervous. We’re just trying to help our friend. Have you seen anyone suspicious hanging around?”
Zoe’s gaze darted from me to Carol, to Beth, to Deva, and back again. Her shoulders tensed, and her hand crept toward her back pocket, like she might bolt or hit the panic button on her phone.
Deva saw it too. “We’re not cops,” she said, hands raised. “And we’re not mad at Alice. She’s just been missing a few game nights, that’s all.”
I could practically see Zoe’s brain running the math. She hesitated, then shook her head, grabbed her broom, and stepped over the chairs to escape the aisle we were in. “If you want to know where Alice is, you should ask her. Not me.” Then she speed-walked for the door.
Beth watched her go, eyes narrowing. “She’s hiding something,” she said.
