But no. Olivia Mercer is still missing.
I want to go home and hide under the covers, but we need groceries. Unfortunately, the grocery store near the school will be teeming with parents, wanting nothing more than to gossip about poor Olivia’s disappearance. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even want to think about it.
There’s another grocery store that recently opened up about twenty minutes away. I won’t run into any parents there. It’s worth burning the extra gas. Maybe driving will clear my head.
I bring up the GPS in the car to lead me to the grocery store. But as I start to type in the name of the store, the GPS brings up a list of recent searches, including one address that is unfamiliar to me. The last search on the list is 41 Green St.
When was I searching for that address? Who lives there?
On a whim, I click on it. The British-accented voice of my GPS instructs me to drive straight and then make a right at the next light. I follow the directions, making a right at the light, followed by a left, and another right onto Green Street. I drive down the street, watching the numbers on the right side, which are the odd numbered houses. I’m looking out for number 41.
It’s not hard to find. It’s the house that has all the police officers and reporters in front. This house is clearly of interest today.
I don’t even need to check the mailbox, but I look anyway, just to torture myself. The black letters written on the gray box are like a punch in the gut:
MERCER
I turn the corner and pull over onto an empty street. I sit in my parked car for fifteen minutes, my hands shaking too badly to drive. Liam went out last night. He obviously took my car. And he drove here. To the home of the girl who is now missing. Possibly dead.
I reach into my purse and pull out my phone, but my hands are shaking so much that I nearly drop it. I barely manage to press the button for Jason’s phone number. Thank God, he picks up. Jason gets very involved with his work, and we have an agreement that I’ll only bother him for level two or worse emergencies. I think this counts.
“Erika?”
“Hey.” My voice cracks and I clear my throat. “Jason, we need to talk.”
“Jesus, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“There’s a girl from the high school that’s missing.” I suppress a sob. “She wasn’t in her bed this morning when her parents came into the room. And Liam… I think when he went out last night, he took my car and went to see her. Her address is in the car GPS. And now she’s missing. She’s gone, Jason. Vanished!”
“Wait…” Jason is quiet for a moment. “You’re saying he took the car out himself—without me?” His voice rises a notch. “That’s not okay! He only has a learner’s permit.”
“That is what you’re getting out of this? Jason, do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I… I guess not…？”
I take a deep breath. “This girl is missing. Somebody took her, and Liam might be the last person to see her alive.”
“So he should call the police and tell them what he knows so they can find out who did this.”
My hands are still shaking, but now it’s with anger. How could Jason be this dense? Maybe he’s not around much, but he knows the stories about Liam as well as I do. And no, he doesn’t believe there’s anything wrong with our son. But he has to realize how this looks.
“Wait.” Jason’s voice breaks into my thoughts. “Are you saying you think Liam has something to do with her disappearance?”
“Yes, that’s obviously what I’m saying!”
“Jesus Christ, Erika. Are you serious? You really think Liam would…？”
“You know what I think.”
“He wouldn’t. This is our kid we’re talking about.”
“Right.”
I hear shuffling on the other line. “Do you want me to come home?”
I let out a sigh. “No. There’s nothing for you to do. Not yet, anyway.”
“Liam did not do this,” Jason says with more conviction than I feel. “She probably just ran away and will turn up in a day or two.”
God, I hope he’s right. Because the alternative is too horrible to imagine.
Chapter 24
Erika
When I get home, there’s a white Lincoln Continental in our driveway. I recognize it immediately as my mother’s car. She’s the last person I feel like talking to right now, but it looks like she’s already used her key to get inside and is likely brewing herself a nice hot cup of coffee.