“Oh, yes. I was going to tell you tomorrow evening when I came by.”
“What do you know?”
“It is true. There is one, but it’s still in beta and not advertised. It’s mostly referral-based.”
My heart slams against my ribs. “How does one get in?”
“I got a booking number from someone who works there,” she says slowly, suspicious.
“Send it to me.”
“Judy…are you sure? Is everything okay?”
“Yes.”
“All right, I’ll text it. Can I ask why you want to check yourself in?”
I pause. “I want to feel closer to Sadie.”
“I get it,” Alice says. “I hope you manage to get a room.”
The text arrives exactly a minute after I hang up.
I stare at the number on the small screen, put down the phone and walk back into the kitchen.
Gabriel and Scarlett look up immediately.
Gabriel narrows his eyes at me. “What happened?”
“Saul called.” Unable to hold back my excitement, I tell them what he said.
Scarlett’s hand flies to her mouth, tears flooding her eyes and immediately trickling down her cheeks. “You think—” she begins.
“I think she’s still there. I think she did not want to come home and begged them to keep her.”
Gabriel exhales sharply. “The bracelet doesn’t prove anything.”
I get it. He does not want to believe it’s true only to be let down.
“It proves enough,” I snap. “And I’m going in. I think she’s still there.”
Gabriel rubs his face. “Judy, that’s a stretch.”
“Is it?” I hold up the photo. “Why would she be wearing something only permanent residents wear? It doesn’t make sense.”
Scarlett’s eyes are glassy now. “You really think maybe…that she asked to stay? Why would they let her? She is a minor.”
I don’t know. But the words slice through me. The idea that my own daughter would ask to stay elsewhere and not come back to us is a knife in my heart. But it means she’s alive. “You both know what an angry teenager she was…so angry,” I whisper. “We were fighting before she left, remember?”
Gabriel stiffens. “Many teenagers are like that.” He sucks in a breath. “If you really think that she’s in there, that she stayed, why don’t we just call them and ask?”
“They’re hardly going to tell me over the phone. They have been silent for six months, said nothing during the investigation. Maybe she told them stuff and they think they are protecting her. I heard they sometimes house kids from broken homes.” My voice breaks a little then.
“Our home is not…” Gabriel shakes his head. “How do you want to get in there exactly?”
“There’s an adult program now,” I reply. “Alice mentioned it. I just called her and she gave me the booking number.”
Scarlett shakes her head slowly. “Judy…”
