“You’re probably right,” Callie said. And then to reiterate, asked again, “So no one’s seen Ben around the school, then?”
“Not anyone I asked.”
“Okay, thanks, Alyse.”
“No problem. Be sure and stop by the field this afternoon, if you can,” Alyse said. “The dance team needs you.”
“I’ll try.”
Callie ended the conversation and looked to Spencer. “Now what?”
“We check your house. Maybe Ben was genuinely sick and is asleep.”
They left together. Thankfully, Callie had a car. As soon as they arrived, they rushed into the house and up the stairs to Ben’s room, which was empty. A quick search through the rest of the house showed no signs of Callie’s twin.
Standing in the middle of the family room, Callie looked to Spencer. “Now I’m concerned. Where could he be?”
Her phone dinged, indicating she’d received a text. Callie snatched her phone. It was from Alyse.
Genny said Ben came to the school and then must have left. No one has seen him since.
“We need to go to the school,” Callie said.
“We can’t. In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve been suspended.”
“But this is important.”
“I agree. Before we do, I think we should check out anywhere he would go.”
Callie automatically shook her head. “There’s no place. School and football are Ben’s life.”
“What about when we were kids? He liked…”
“Eagle Rock,” Callie finished for him. As kids they’d spent countless hours at the small creek that led to the beach and the huge rock that had named the area. Spencer remembered watching the salmon fighting their way up the creek to their spawning grounds. The sight of those fish had fascinated him and Ben.
The drive took only a few minutes. Although they looked all around and called his name several times, Ben was nowhere to be seen.
“Where to now?” Spencer asked, ready to head out. Standing at the edge of the creek bed, Callie remained still.
“Callie,” he said, urging her to come.
Holding up her hand, she stopped him. “Ben was here,” she whispered, her face somber and intent. “I can feel it. Laugh if you want, but I know my brother came here. Something is wrong, Spencer. Something is very wrong.”
Chapter 23
As planned, Cade stopped by the cottage to pick up Hope for the game. Her day had been hectic, as was common on days the football team played. It’d been even more so this Friday, as rumors about Ben Rhodes had been speeding through the school faster than a flu bug. Because he was such an important member of the football team, to have him home sick had created quite a buzz.
Then she’d heard someone claimed to have seen Ben at the school arguing with Scott Pender. If that was the case, then it was unlikely he’d stayed away because he was sick. Speculation ran rampant. One of her students claimed they’d overheard Ben and Scott in a verbal confrontation about the fire that destroyed Spencer’s car. Another said the argument had nothing to do with that but over the fact that Scott wanted all the glory.
Another rumor claimed a scout for one of the college teams would be attending the game. Scholarships to major universities hung in the balance. It could be the scouts were coming to look at more than the players. With one state championship under Coach Simmons’s belt, and another likely, it could be an opportunity for Coach was in the works as well.
With the information Hope had given Dean Wilcox and Coach Simmons, Hope was surprised Scott hadn’t been suspended from the team. She suspected that without proof, the accusation that Scott was involved in selling drugs was considered conjecture and speculation. Because Callie was on suspension, she hadn’t been questioned yet. Any action against Scott would likely need to wait until the following week.
What surprised Hope was Coach. With all that hung in the balance, he didn’t appear overly concerned about Ben’s absence. As soon as classes were dismissed for the day, the team had assembled to go over the game plan the same way they did before every game.
“You about ready to head out?” Cade asked.
“In a minute. I’ll need to stop by the school before the game.” With everything that had been going on, Hope had inadvertently left her phone behind.
“Sure, no problem.”
It wasn’t until then that Hope noticed how quiet Cade had been ever since he’d arrived. “Everything okay?” she asked, reaching for her jacket. Evenings were chilly these days, and sitting in the stands with the wind made it all the colder. She knew he and Silas were back on good terms and things seemed to be going well at work.