“I didn’t know your father was here,” Ellie says in a whisper.
“Hi, Brenda, Ellie,” my father says formally when he reaches us. “Good to see you.”
“Hey, Reed,” Brenda says, but Ellie looks away without a word.
“Let’s go check out that trail,” Sam says, hooking her phone back to her belt. She looks toward the vans that line the street and the unfinished houses full of carpenters and handymen. “We need to speak to some of these guys, too.”
“A lot of them only speak Spanish,” Ellie says. “I’m fluent. Want me to see if they know anything?”
“Great.” Sam and Ellie quickly exchange names and phone numbers, then Sam looks at me as Ellie heads back down the street. “Where is the trail?” she asks.
“This way,” Daddy says. He’s already walking toward the side of the house, heading for the deck and the trail. “We should split up,” he calls to us over his shoulder. “I’ll take the path on the right.”
“It’s a circular trail,” I explain to Sam.
She nods toward Brenda. “You go with him,” she says, pointing to where my father disappeared around the corner of the house. She looks at me. “You come with me.”
Sam walks the trail much more slowly than I think we should, but I can tell that she’s searching the woods and undergrowth with an eagle eye. “She might have gotten lost out here,” she says. “Woods are disorienting, and this trail has some spots that might be confusing to a small child.”
“You’re right,” I say, and I begin doing what she’s doing—searching the woods as we walk, not just the trail itself. In the distance I hear my father and Brenda calling for Rainie, an echo to my own calls.
We finally reach “Little Hell Lake” and I change my call to a shout, my panic growing as I look across the tangled brush toward that murky water. But there’s no sign of Rainie. My phone rings. I stop walking and quickly pull it from my pocket, answering it without even looking at who the call is from.
“Kayla?” a woman asks.
“Yes?”
“This is Amanda from the Curtain Shop. I just—”
“I can’t talk right now, Amanda. I’ll—”
“I’m just confused about these faxes we got from you,” she says. “Why did you send them?”
“Someone there said you lost my orders and I had to resend them. But I can’t talk—”
“I’m the only person who makes customer calls,” she says, “and your order is well underway. There was no need to—”
“You’re kidding.” I stand stock-still. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Who did you speak with?”
“I’ll call you later,” I say, hanging up. I look at Sam. “I think someone called me earlier just to keep me doing busywork so she had time to take Rainie.” I hear the fear in my voice. I feel so helpless.
Sam’s phone rings before I even finish my sentence. She looks at the screen. “Your friend,” she says, pressing the speaker button so I’ll be able to hear. “Anything?” she asks Ellie.
“One of the workers saw a woman walking through the woods near the side of the house a while ago,” Ellie says. “He said it wasn’t the woman who lives there. It wasn’t Kayla. He wasn’t very close to her, but he’s pretty sure she was talking on a phone.”
I lean close to the Sam’s phone. “Did he say what she looked like?” I ask.
“Yes,” Ellie says. “He said that’s why he noticed her. She had long bright red hair.”
“Oh no,” I say, but at that very moment I hear my father’s voice.
“She’s here!” he shouts.
“We’ve got her!” Brenda calls.
“They have her!” I shout toward the phone, then start running down the rest of the trail, through the creepy circle, to the tree house, Sam close on my heels. I can see motion inside the tree house and I hear the distinctive crying of my little girl. I circle the tree to find my father carefully lowering himself down the steps, Rainie in his arms. I step forward, reaching for my daughter, a wide smile on my face. I don’t want Rainie to see me looking as frantic as I feel.
“The lady went away,” Rainie whimpers, once she’s in my arms. Her lower lip trembles. Her face is dirty and tear-streaked.
“What lady, honey?” I ask.
“She had funny glasses.” She rests her head against my shoulder. She’s too big for me to hold this way, but I’m not ready to let her go.