He watched Immy type out a message on his phone and then grab the car keys. ‘Come on, we can cover more areas quicker in the car. I’ll drive.’
He nodded numbly.
‘I’ll call the police,’ Margaret said.
He wasn’t sure if phoning the police was the right thing to do or not. He couldn’t think straight to make decisions like that.
‘Stay here in case she comes back,’ Xander snapped then quickly followed Immy down the stairs and round the back to his car. She got in and quickly adjusted the seat so she could reach the pedals.
‘I should drive, you’re not insured on this car.’
‘I think that’s the least of our worries, and you’re not in any fit state to drive right now.’
He didn’t argue with that. His body was fuelled with adrenaline, going into full fight or flight.
She pulled the car out the car park before he could argue and took off, presumably in the direction she’d seen Etta go. As she drove down Cherry Lane, Max came running out of one of the bars he worked in and waved them down.
Immy quickly stopped and Xander cursed that they were wasting time.
‘I’ll check the beach, she loves making sandcastles. If she’s not there I’ll try the park,’ Max said.
‘Thank you,’ Xander said.
Max took off at a run and Immy carried on driving. Xander saw Logan’s car cross in front of them at the junction and could see Logan leaning out the window and looking around every bush, tree, bench or anything else that Etta could be hiding under.
‘She went this way,’ Immy said, turning the car. It feltlike she was driving too damn slowly and he wanted to tell her to hurry up. He knew they were more likely to spot Etta if they were going slowly than speeding down the street, but it didn’t feel like their efforts were enough. ‘Any idea where she might be heading, any favourite spots?’
‘I don’t know.’ Goddamn it, why couldn’t he think straight? He needed some clarity. ‘She loves Logan’s house because he has a pool, but I’ve just seen his car. He’s out looking for her, so if she goes there, there won’t be anyone there to meet her.’
‘OK, well we’ll head over there. Unless you have any better ideas?’
He shook his head and gave her directions to Logan’s house. A police car raced past, sirens blaring, going in the opposite direction. Was that for Etta? Were they heading to his house?
He saw Archer running through the streets wearing only his shorts as he called for Etta. God this was such a mess. Xander should have been there when Etta found out the truth. He should have found out straightaway and then they could have faced it together, not leave her in this in-between state where she didn’t know if he was or her dad or not. That was more confusing and unsettling for her.
He wound down the window and started calling for her. If she was out here hiding somewhere, she needed to know he was looking for her. He scanned the sides of the roads, and all the side roads they passed for any sign of her. How could she just vanish? She was fast, he knewthat, but it had only been a few minutes since Immy had last seen her. Where could she have gone? A million worst-case scenarios ran through his head.
Would the police want to speak to him, would it be better if he was at home? But Xander couldn’t even think about not being out here looking for her.
He saw a duck randomly walking down the street and his heart leapt.
‘The duck pond! She loves feeding the ducks.’
‘OK, do you want me to go to Logan’s house first or go straight to the duck pond?’
His eyes scanned the streets as he thought. ‘Go to the duck pond.’
Immy immediately turned down another street and then did another turn heading back towards the main town.
He spotted the little duck pond up ahead and looked around everywhere he could see, but there was no movement, no flash of her little red coat or blonde hair. She wasn’t here. He called out for her anyway but there wasn’t a sound in response.
‘Do you want me to go to Logan’s house?’
‘I don’t know, I’m fresh out of ideas. She’s scared and upset, where would she go that she would feel safe?’
Immy shook her head and then suddenly an idea clearly sparked in her mind.
‘I know where she is.’ Immy turned the car around and quickly sped off down the street. ‘We were out the other day in town, remember when we went to get sandwiches? While we were waiting, we went to theEaster tree and she said that her and her friend liked to sit underneath it. She made me crawl under the tree and it’s hollow inside so you can pretty much stand up inside it. We stood under there and it’s really pretty because you can see all the Easter decorations all the way up the inside of the tree. Anyway, she said she liked it because it was so quiet in there. It blocked out all the noise from the outside and she said it made her feel safe.’
