“What kind of place are you running here?”
My stepmom tried to appease him. “Take a breath, Robert. I’m sure there’s an explanation…”
Fantastic. I felt like I was sixteen years old again, explaining how the pot ended up in my possession. To this day, I didn’t know which person put that dime bag in my ceiling vent. Okay, I did. It was me. Past Autumn had been too stoned or stupid theonetime she’d tried weed to realize that marijuana had a very distinct smell and ceiling vents blew out air.
I scratched my head and took a deep breath. “We’re just busy, Dad. That has nothing to do with the running of—never mind.” I hugged each of them and tried again. I stifled my anger, knowing that if I had shown up to my stepmom’s job unannounced, she would have killed me. “Are you here to visit?”
My dad folded his arms across his chest and scanned the area. “Well, you’ve been talking about this place for years, so we figured we’d come see what all the fuss was about.”
Great timing.
I forced a smile. “That’s so… Nice of you, but this isn’t the best time, and I—”
“Is that Jamie Davis?” My stepmom cupped her hand over her brow to shield her eyes.
My god, what were the chances of this?
Crispin rushed up to me. He looked frantic.
I jumped into damage control mode. “What’s wrong?”
“My son is missing.”
“What?”
“He’s six…” The hopelessness in his eyes nearly had me breaking “His name is Josh.”
I nodded quickly. Suddenly, I forgot about my parents, about my ex-boyfriend, about everyone who wasn’t a small child. I got some details out of Crispin and turned my walkie back on.
“Attention: this is an all-hands message. Drop what you’re doing. We have a six-year-old missing. Last seen near the parking lot. His name is Josh.” I thought to the worst possible place he could be. “Sawyer, are you still near the beach?”
“Been here for ten minutes. No sign of him, but I’ll stay to make sure.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.
“This is Leo—near the ax range.”
“Oh my god, are there axes—” My dad’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head.
I didn’t explain, just shook my head no.
“Hazel, are you still at Cygnus pod?”
“Yes. I’m looking here now.”
“Jack, I need you at the loading bay. Felicia, Lamar, spread out.”
I turned to Crispin. “We’ll find him,” I promised, touching his shoulder.
“How can we help?” my stepmom asked.
I climbed on a bench. “Can I get everyone’s attention!” I shouted. “We are missing a six-year-old child.” The place went silent. “Please look for him. He’s wearing—”
Crispin jumped in. “A blue sweatshirt and green shorts. He has blond hair—”
“Wearing a blue sweatshirt and green shorts with blond hair,” I relayed into the walkie.
Dozens of adults dispersed immediately, abandoning bags and cars to find the missing child. I looked for a moment for my parents, but they were gone.
