“She’s at school. She had no idea anything was off with Celine until I rang her.”
“Okay, what about your father? Celine’s parents?”
“My dad is in the dark. I don’t know about my mum or Celine’s dad. They’re not picking up their mobiles.”
“Okay.” I pace the room. “What about her school?”
“They had no idea she was missing. For whatever reason she did this, she said nothing to anyone, even her friends.”
I swallow hard. My voice grows small. “Do you think someone might’ve hurt her?”
“No!” Sam answers quickly. His voice grows in volume. “I made sure that was theonequestion she answered.”
“Okay,” I say for the third time.
“Sam, where are you?” I hear a young girl’s voice shouting.
“I’ll be right there, poppet.” He clears his throat. “Min, you’re the one person I could think of who could offer me sound advice. My corporal said I could take all the time I needed to sort this out, but there is no way Celine can stay here. The male dorm rooms in a military barracks are the worst possible place for a young girl. What should I do?”
“I agree, she can’t stay there.” It’s clear to me that there is only one possible solution. Especially this late at night. “Bring her here. You both can stay with me as long as you need.”
“Are you sure, Min? I don’t want to cause you any extra stress.”
“Positive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t offer. This is an extenuating circumstance. Celine shouldn’t have to suffer because there are problems between us.”
“Thank you, Min. You have no idea how much of arelief it is. I considered trying to book us into a hotel, but I couldn’t find a halfway decent location at an affordable rate on such late notice.”
“I know, it’s crazy isn’t it. Rooms are like two hundred quid a night.” I start toward Liz’s former room, now the spare bedroom. There are some boxes in the corner I’ll need to move, but at least the sheets are clean. “Has she eaten? Did she bring anything with her? Like clothes?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sam?” Celine calls out.
“I’m coming!”
“Let’s assume she hasn’t eaten. If I were you, I’d feed her, then let her sleep. You guys can come over anytime. You can eat whatever is in the fridge. I’ll leave the door unlocked. If it’s after nine, and I’m at work, look under my doormat for the spare key. Now go to her.”
“I will. And thank you again. I mean it. You’re a lifesaver.”
I lower the phone from my ear, but the device hasn’t disconnected. Sam must’ve dropped it into his pocket.
“Sam? I was worried you’d left me,” Celine says.
“I’m not going anywhere, little one. You know that. We’ve talked about this.” Sam’s voice is so tender. I know I should hang up, but I’m also morbidly fascinated by how he’s going to handle this. “Are you finally up for talking? I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“No. I don’t want to.”
“You'll have to eventually, but not now. How about food? When was the last meal you’ve eaten?”
“I don’t remember. Um . . . I had lunch.”
“You need food. Now.” He sighs. “The food hall is closed. I don’t have anything in here, so I guess that means we’re going out.”
“But it’s late.”
“I know, but I can’t let you go without eating dinner. What kind of brother would I be?”
“I don’t know? A mean one?” Celine muses.
