“Her mom called.” Sarah’s voice cracked. Kaylee’s confused gaze met mine. “She didn’t come home last night.”
“Maybe she went to Lauren’s,” I said. Natalie and Lauren were best friends and had driven together.
“That’s what I said to Natalie’s mom, but she called Lauren first. Lauren said Natalie dropped her off just before midnight.”
I quickly took Sarah off speaker. “They live, what, three blocks from each other.”
“Exactly. There’s no sign of her car either. Lauren’s putting together a search party. I’m meeting Mark at her house in thirty minutes.”
Sarah didn’t have to say another word. Kaylee and I were joining her.
Kaylee called her parents to let them know what was up as we jogged back to my house. I carried Chase piggyback so we’d get there quicker. Relief filled me when I saw Dad’s red pickup truck sitting in the driveway.
“Dad,” I called as we stumbled into the house. “Dad! I need to leave Chase with you.”
Dad poked his head out of the kitchen. “I’m only home for a minute.”
“Go wash your hands,” I said to Chase, buying a minute or two to talk to Dad. Kaylee and I hurried into the kitchen. We found him leaning against the counter waiting for a pot of coffee to finish brewing. His large tool bag sat in the middle of the table. He didn’t wait for me to speak.
“Today’s not a good day for Chase to come with me, Madison. I’m knocking down walls, moving electricity —”
“Natalie Parker’s missing,” I interjected.
Dad shifted. “She’s the short one, right?”
“Yeah.” I told him what we knew, then added, “A group of us are getting together to look for her. We’ll take Chase with us.” My brain went into overdrive trying to come up with a way to explain the search party to a six- year-old without freaking him out and giving him nightmares.
Dad rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t want you dragging your brother all over town. Tell him to grab his hardhat and tool belt. He can hang out with me today.”
“Thanks, Dad!” I gave him a peck on the cheek and rushed to get my brother’s things together.
We called the guys to see if they could join us, but Josh couldn’t leave work and Isaac was in Amesbury with his father. We agreed to meet up later.
Gray clouds pushed in from the north, blocking the sun and causing the temperature to drop several degrees. It gave the afternoon an ominous air, as if the heavens knew a sixteen-year-old girl was missing and we didn’t hold much hope of finding her alive. I pushed my grim thoughts out of my head and forced myself to think positive. We would find Natalie healthy and safe.
Dozens of people showed up to help canvass the neighborhood. I recognized most of them from school. Kaylee and I were put in a group with Sarah and Mark. Sarah gave her cell phone number to Lauren’s mom, who acted as base. Teams were asked to check in on the hour, and she’d text the group leaders if there was any news. We were also given a picture of Natalie standing in front of her dark orange Dodge Neon. Plus, Lauren sent everyone a picture of Natalie that she’d taken at the party. In it, Natalie’s purple knit hat sat lopsided on her head and she had her arms slung over Lauren’s and Ben’s shoulders. She was beaming at the camera.
Our group was sent west, which was opposite the direction Natalie would have driven if she’d gone straight home after dropping Lauren off.
“If Natalie was last seen in front of Lauren’s house, why are they sending us this way?” Kaylee asked.
“She might have decided to stop for gas or had a craving for a slushie,” Mark replied.
“There’s a gas station about two miles from here,” I said optimistically, even though my first thought was that there was no way she would have driven out of her way to fill up her tank past curfew.
Sarah’s and Kaylee’s heads bobbed up and down in agreement, but their tight jaws gave away that they were thinking similar dismal thoughts.
“That would be so like Natalie,” Sarah said in a non-convincing tone. “Filling up the car at night so she wouldn’t have to do it before work.”
“Was she supposed to work today?” Kaylee asked. “Maybe she went in early and her parents missed her.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “The store might be doing inventory. They always make everyone come in early for inventory.”
“Her dad already checked,” Sarah said.
A minivan pulled into the driveway in front of us, and a woman carrying a bag of groceries got out. Sarah jogged up to the driver and showed her the picture of Natalie. The woman said something I couldn’t hear and shook her head. Sarah rejoined us.
“She hasn’t seen her.” Sarah sighed.
“We’ll find her,” Mark replied.
Groups were sent down each side street in the neighborhood.
“Maybe we should get the car so we can cover more ground,” I suggested.
Sarah folded her arms over her chest. “They already have people in cars checking out Natalie’s favorite hangouts. Besides, if her car broke down, she might have decided to walk home instead of waking her parents. She might have fallen and hurt herself.”
I wished my brain would stop being so negative.
We fanned out, walking in a wide line, looking for anything odd. I wasn’t sure what we’d find if we did stumble upon something. Maybe one of Natalie’s bright purple gloves or her patchwork purse. Signs of a struggle. Every now and then, I caught a glimpse through the backyards of one of the other search parties. They were doing the same thing: walking several feet apart and scanning the bushes, under pool decks, in small alcoves, anywhere a scared girl could seek shelter. We called everyone we could think of during the forty-five minute walk from Lauren’s house to the gas station. There hadn’t been any news, bad or good.
We went inside the convenience store to warm up. Kaylee and I headed for the fresh-brewed coffee, stopping everyone we passed to ask if they’d seen Natalie. Mark and Sarah showed Natalie’s picture to the sales clerks behind the counter.
With cups in hand, Kaylee and I split up so that she could talk to the kids near the slushie machine and I could ask the guy near the sports drinks.
“Excuse me, we’re looking for a friend of ours, and I was wondering if you’ve seen her.” I held my phone out waiting for the guy to look up, surprised when he turned out to be Caden.
“Hey.” He glanced at my phone. “Natalie’s missing?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. During the entire walk to the store, Sarah, Kaylee, Mark, and I had tried to be positive. Natalie could have stopped at another friend’s house and ended up spending the night. We surmised that she’d meant to call home but had forgotten. Or maybe she’d run away—although even I knew that was farfetched. Natalie wasn’t the type of person who would intentionally worry her parents sick. And I managed to keep it together until I looked into Caden’s dark eyes. I had secretly hoped Natalie had run into him after the party and he was the one who had made her lose track of time.
“Who’d she leave the party with?” Caden asked.
“Lauren. Her best friend,” I added, realizing Caden probably didn’t know who Lauren was.
“Did she talk to anyone at the party? A guy maybe?”
I twitched a shoulder. “I don’t know. I wasn’t with her the whole night.”
He shook his head, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Shit.”
“We’ll find her, though.” I forced my shoulders back to show confidence.
He let out a sigh and mumbled what almost sounded like
“What?” I asked. Damn hat must have muffled his words.
“I said I hope you’re right.”
Natalie would kill me if she ever found out I asked Caden that, but this was a matter of life and death. She’d just have to get over it.
