Continuing around the house, the dry ground grinding beneath her soles, Cassidy tried to think up a plan. Should she wait for Charlie to return? Bend was too big of a town to go looking for him. His papers were here, so he would be back, but when?
And would Izzy be with him?
A noise coming from the edge of the woods startled her, and she jumped back, her heart racing. Panic filled her chest and it became difficult to get a breath. Her eyes darted everywhere, searching for the threat.
“Charlie?” she called out.
A deer lifted her head from where she had been grazing twenty feet away, her ears twitching. Her perfect coloring had helped her blend seamlessly into the clump of shadowed trees. Still spooked, Cassidy took a few steps forward to get a better view of the driveway. Her car waited patiently, engine still ticking as it cooled, the hood and windshield splattered with crushed bugs, but otherwise empty. Cassidy sighed, her shoulders rolling forward in relief. Cassidy continued around the house, peeking in the garage’s side windows, noticing a snow blower, shelves of boxes, a rusty chest freezer. But no vehicle.
Completing her loop back to the driveway, Cassidy heard the sound of an engine. She squinted, finding the vehicle by tracing the line of dust in the air. Charlie’s white truck came into view, flashing in and out of the trees. She watched him spot her car as he neared, an unmistakable frown that he quickly hid by the time he pulled into the driveway.
“Dr. Kincaid, what a surprise,” he said, stepping down from his side of the truck and swinging the door shut. He flashed her his signature charismatic smile, his blue eyes crinkling at the edges. It was no secret that students developed quarter-long crushes on him, with his perpetually tanned face, lively blue eyes, and an athletic frame, though she could never remember from what sport—rugby? Water polo? She had always admired his patience with students and his enthusiasm for teaching—her weaknesses—but was glad she didn’t have students fawning over her. The idea made her want to puke.
“Why aren’t you in Hawaii?” he asked. “I thought you were headed there to save the day.”
Cassidy shook her head, stifling the retort on her tongue. “I leave Tuesday,” she replied, her voice sounding strained. “I’ve been trying to call you,” Cassidy said, switching gears. A feather of nerves scraped against her insides at what she was about to say.
He gave her a playful scorn. “Is this about the belt?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you drove all the way out here to return it,” he added, lifting an eyebrow.
“No, I . . . gave it to Martin,” she said, her smile feeling tight. “I didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”
Charlie’s face shifted, his eyes filling with confusion for just an instant. Then, a flash of something else. Fear, maybe?
“Izzy Ford is missing,” she said.
“What do you mean, ‘missing’?” he asked, tilting his head slightly, as if he couldn’t quite hear her.
Cassidy crossed her arms and leaned against the hot hood of her car. She told Charlie everything she knew about the gas station, Izzy’s abandoned backpack, and the pressure to find her.
Charlie’s face slowly paled. “She’s not here,” he said.
Cassidy squinted. “Have you seen her?”
“No,” he replied.
“You didn’t give her a ride from Biggs?”
“No,” he said, more forcefully.
“Okay,” Cassidy said. “Has she tried to contact you?” she continued, trying to determine if he might be lying. The highway at that intersection led directly here. All Izzy would have had to do is flash some skin and stick out her thumb. Or call Charlie from town for a ride.
Charlie shook his head, his trademark faded hiking boots scuffing the pavers as he scraped away a tuft of dry grass poking through a crack.
“Look, a lot of shit is going to rain down on us if I don’t find her. You know who her dad is, right?”
Charlie’s head popped up. “Yeah, I know.” His eyes looked pinched.
“I stood there at that intersection in Biggs,” Cassidy said. “There’s nothing there, Charlie. I have two ideas. One is that she came here to see you.” She paused to take in his reaction, but his face didn’t change. “Or two, she was on her way south. Sacramento, maybe, or further, I don’t know.”
“Huh,” Charlie said.
“I don’t care what you two did, if she was here,” Cassidy said, remembering the rumor Martin had told her about. She thought again of the toys in the kitchen and the sandbox.
“We didn’t do anything!” Charlie hissed. He ran his hand through his hair. “Fuck! She was here, okay?”
Cassidy’s chest cavity emptied in a sudden whoosh. “She was?”
“Yes,” Charlie growled, looking like he’d just swallowed a lemon.
“Is she still here?” Cassidy asked, peering at the windows of the truck, as if she might find Izzy’s face framed there. Or was she in the house, hiding?
“She left this morning,” Charlie said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I was just out looking for her.”
“Oh,” Cassidy said, the questions she had been planning to pepper Charlie with evaporating. “Why were you looking for her?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “She was . . . upset, last night. I was worried, I guess.”
“Upset about what?” Cassidy asked.
“She wouldn’t tell me,” Charlie replied. A sing-song ring tone chirped from his pocket. Immediately, Charlie checked the screen, then tucked the phone back into his pocket.
“Is it Izzy?” Cassidy asked.
“No!” he growled.
Cassidy huffed in frustration. “If you’ve slept with her, this whole thing is going to
