Jade’s voice was hoarse, not from giving her testimony but from shouting into every bathroom stall, storage closet, and hiding place in Glennallen Bible Church. Initially she ignored the terrified feeling in the base of her gut. Dez was just throwing a silent fit somewhere to protest being sent downstairs with old Mrs. Spencer and the “babies.” Either that or she was playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek.
It was what Jade had to believe, and instead of focusing on her fears, she rehearsed all the ways she’d lecture her daughter.
Jade had just finished checking the men’s room when Aisha trudged up the stairs, shaking her head. “I checked the nursery rooms and the cleaning closet downstairs. Do you think she went out to the car?”
“I looked there already.” Jade glanced around. She didn’t want Aisha to see the fear in her eyes. There had to be somewhere they hadn’t searched yet. A five-year-old didn’t just disappear, especially not on one of the darkest nights of the year. It wasn’t even Dez’s bedtime, but the sky had been black as midnight for hours already.
Mrs. Spencer hurried toward them. “I just went over everything with Jerry, since he’s the go-to guy on maintenance here,” she said. “Neither of us could think of any other places in the church that haven’t been checked.”
Aisha stared at the exit. “People are starting to leave. If we’re going to ask for help, we better do it before they’re all gone.”
At first, Jade had been content searching the church with Aisha and Mrs. Spencer, but if not even the maintenance man could find her daughter, it might be time to recruit more volunteers. She gave a resigned nod, and Aisha scurried to the doorway.
Mrs. Spencer reached out her hand and rubbed Jade’s back. “Are you all right, dear?”
Jade nodded. Dez was bright, precocious, and far too intelligent for her own good, with enough common sense to stay indoors when it was negative twenty degrees and pitch-black outside. She also knew how to get on Jade’s nerves. “I’m sure she’s just hiding out or something.” Even as she said the words, she sensed how uncertain they sounded. She tried to force more confidence into her voice. “She does stuff like this all the time.”
“I’ll go check downstairs again,” Mrs. Spencer finally announced. Jade imagined the possible ways she’d punish her daughter once they finally found her. Did Dez have any idea how many people she had worried?
Aisha hurried up with Ben behind her. Of course, she would have turned first to Mr. Trooper. This time, however, Jade couldn’t afford to be haughty.
“I hear your daughter’s missing?”
Jade forced herself to meet his gaze. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s nothing. She likes to be dramatic. But it’s so cold outside …” She let her voice trail off.
“How long has it been since anyone saw her?”
Jade wanted to laugh off his question, but she couldn’t. “She came upstairs right before the service started. She wanted to sit with me, and I sent her back downstairs. So the nursery worker thought she was up here, and I assumed she was down there …” Jade wanted to kick herself. What kind of a mother would take a full hour to realize her daughter was missing? If Dez was outside, she could already be suffering from hypothermia.
Aisha offered her a sympathetic side hug. Ben, however, was far more formal. “You’ve searched everywhere in the church? You’re convinced she’s not in here?”
Jade shrugged. “We had three of us looking, and then we got the maintenance man to help. So as far as I know we’ve checked everywhere.”
Aisha kept her arm around Jade’s waist, and Jade felt like her tiny friend was the one supporting her. They both looked to Ben, who pulled out a small radio.
“It’s cold enough outside and dark enough that I don’t want to mess around. I’m gonna call this in.” He turned to Aisha. “Why don’t you run outside and ask anyone who’s able to stay to stick around. We’re going to need all the manpower we can get.”
Jade couldn’t stand the thought of standing by like some helpless damsel. “I’ll go with you.”
Ben shook his head. “No, you stay. I need you here to pass information on to dispatch. Then you’re going to tell me everything you know about that letter.”