Page 115 of Ethan & Grace

Grace’s mother looked even more perplexed. “Of course. She messaged us earlier to say she was spending the evening with Kate and staying over at hers.”

“What’s going on?” a deep voice asked. Mr. Claymore appeared behind his wife. He had light-brown hair, and even at rest, deep furrows lined his brow, as if he frowned often. He looked surprised when he saw me.

“Mr. Darlington is looking for Grace. I told him she’s with Kate.”

“Yes, but Kate’s at the hotel and Grace isn’t with her.” My words came out harsh and cutting. Perhaps they even sounded rude, but in that moment, I couldn’t care less. If Grace wasn’t here or at the hotel—or with Kate, like her parents believed—where was she? “Could I see the message your daughter sent you?”

I waited while Grace’s mum fetched her phone. Mr. Claymore stayed by the door. While his wife seemed mostly baffled by my sudden appearance and my questions, I saw in his eyes the same worries that plagued me. We didn’t fill the silence of Mrs. Claymore’s absence with meaningless small talk.

Grace’s mother returned and handed me her phone. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I read Grace’s message, words I knew couldn’t be true.

Grace:

Hey! I’m at Kate’s and I’ll spend the night here.

So don’t worry about me. See you tomorrow!

My heart stopped as my thoughts raced to find an explanation. There had to be a logical reason for all this, but I couldn’t think of one.

Grace’s dad eyed me, tense, and even her mum was slowly beginning to realise something was wrong. I tried to calm myself. I was probably totally overreacting, still wound up from the emotions of last night, but I couldn’t ignore the loud warning bell going off in my head. Something wasn’t right.

I explained to Mr. and Mrs. Claymore that their daughter wasn’t with Kate and that no one seemed to know where she was. Their concern grew with my fear. We exchanged numbers and promised to let each other know as soon as we heard from Grace. Her parents would start telephoning around, and I would go and look for her.

On my way back to the Bentley, I dialled Rose’s number. I half expected her not to answer, but to my surprise, she did.

“Hello?” She sounded annoyed.

“Hey, Rose. It’s me, Ethan.”

“I know. Is this about your message?”

“No, forget the message.” I unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat. It had grown dark, which made me feel even more uneasy. By daylight, I’d been able to convince myself that Grace simply needed a little time to herself. Maybe she was at the Molly Rose alone, or out for a walk. But that faint hope vanished with the sun. “Do you know where Grace is?”

Rose was audibly taken aback. “Isn’t she with you?”

“No. We were together this morning. She left to go home around midday, but she’s not there. I’ve just been over to check,” I explained, pairing the phone with the hands-free system before starting the engine. I didn’t want to waste a second. “She messaged her parents hours ago saying she’s staying over at Kate’s, but Kate is at the hotel with Henry and has no idea where Grace is. I thought you might know something.”

“Shit,” Rose murmured. “I haven’t heard from her since Friday.”

“Could you try calling her?”

“Sure. I’ll call you right back.”

She hung up, and a deafening silence filled the car. My hands gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

Where are you, Dreamgirl?

I was making a mental list of all the places I could search for her when my phone rang.

It was only Rose.

I answered, hopeful but bracing myself.

“I can’t get hold of her,” she said without a greeting.

My fingers clenched even tighter. “Fuck!”

Rose was quiet for a moment, then said, “Do you think something’s happened to her?”