I sat back in the driver’s seat of my car.
Sweat—a river of it—still poured down my back, making my shirt stick to my skin like flypaper. I took short, sharp breaths, trying to get air into my lungs.
A witness. The dog walker. He had seen me. Rountree was going to show him my photo.
And I’d invoked a lawyer. I looked guilty as hell.
And I was.
My phone buzzed. Amanda.
Call me when you get the chance.
And then:
Call me.
And then:
Ryan, where are you?
I called, but she didn’t answer. I let the phone ring for a while, hung up, and tried again. Still no response. I checked the time on the phone. Almost nine on a Friday morning. She gave Henry a bath around nine. I pictured her up to her elbows in sudsy water with a wet, squirming infant in her hands. She wouldn’t answer.
And I’d told her to head out, to go to her parents with Henry. She might have been packing to do that. Or she might have been on her way, driving and not responding. Even with the Bluetooth in the car, Amanda refused to talk on the phone when she was driving Henry somewhere.
As Rountree had told them to, the two uniformed cops remained parked on the street, observing Blake’s house. I felt certain they were observing me, wondering why I hadn’t driven off like Rountree. I didn’t need any more trouble with them, so I started the car and drove off, out of the neighborhood and away from the prying, curious eyes of the police.
A new strip mall sat a few minutes away, occupying a space where a small warehouse once stood. It held a check-cashing place, a Chinese restaurant, a dollar store, and a fitness center. I stopped on the outer edge of the parking lot, away from all the other cars, and decided to call Sam.
Rountree had sounded like she was ready to head right over to the school and look for her. It was possible Sam wouldn’t answer, either because she was involved with her students or because she was being questioned. But she deserved a heads-up if the police hadn’t arrived yet.
Samantha answered on the fourth ring. Her voice sounded buoyant and hopeful. “Did you find him?”
She’d placed a lot of faith in me, counted on me as his close friend to deliver the goods. But I hadn’t been able to do that.
“No, not yet,” I said.
“Oh.”
The joy and hope went out of her like air from a balloon.
“Have you heard anything from him?” I asked.
“He called me this morning. Just a little while ago. He said I shouldn’t worry, that he was taking care of some things for the wedding. Things that will make everything go more smoothly. I’m trying, Ryan. I’m trying to keep my sanity as all of this goes on. I’m not a fool. I’m trusting him. But . . . it’s getting hard. Really hard.”
“He must know the cops are looking for him by now.”
“He does. He said he’ll talk to them soon.”
“He should go to them now,” I said. Then I thought, Probably. Maybe. Hopefully. “I’m a little worried about you.”
“Me? Why?”
“That Detective Rountree, she’s looking for you. I’m pretty sure she’s going to come to the school to talk to you. She may very well be pulling in the lot right now. I just wanted to give you fair warning.”
“She’s been calling me.”
“I know. I saw her at your house. I went there looking for Blake.”
“Well, I’m not at school anymore,” Sam said. “I left about ten minutes ago. I came in a little late, trying to work a normal day, but my principal told me to leave. She knows I’m getting married tomorrow, and I guess I seemed kind of distracted.”
“Then where are you? Are you going home?”
“Eventually. I have some errands to run for tomorrow. . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“Sam?”
“Ryan, do you think tomorrow’s going to happen? The wedding? If I can’t get ahold of Blake, and the police are looking for him . . . maybe we should just call it off. My God. It would all be so embarrassing if we had to stop it. But I’m trying to be reasonable. We threw this whole thing together in a rush. Maybe this is the world telling us to slow down. What do you think?”
“Where are you? Can we talk in person?”
“I’m on . . .”
I heard a rushing of wind, air through an open car window. Then the clicking of a turn signal.
“I just turned onto Bricker from Montero. You know where that is, right?”
“I’m right there. You know where that Chinese restaurant is? The one with the fortune cookie on the sign?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I’m in the lot there. Turn in, and you’ll find me.”
“Okay, okay. That’s good. We can talk, Ryan. We can make a plan for finding Blake.”