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The hours and then the days ticked by with no word from Chip. Come Tuesday, Sandra couldn’t stand it anymore. She texted him. “Did you question her?”
“Not yet.”
She wanted to scream. “Why not?” She resisted the urge to use all caps.
“Haven’t been able to locate her.”
“What?”
“She packed a bag and hasn’t been back to work. My guess is someone broke into her home and spooked her.”
Oops. Sandra didn’t know how to respond to that. “Sorry.” She hit send and then had another thought. “Did you find another gun?”
“We don’t have a search warrant.”
“Want me to go have another look?”
“NO!” All caps.
She considered doing it anyway. She looked at the clock. She had a meeting at church, and then she had to pick the kids up from school, then run Peter and Joanna to their soccer practices, then pick them up, and then get Joanna to dance. Somewhere in there, she should probably get some dinner on the table. Did she have time to run to Township Six North of Weld? Probably not. She vowed to go in the morning.
“She might come to dance class tonight. I think dance is important to her.”
“We’ll be there.”
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SANDRA GOT OUT OF THE van at Synergy and looked around the parking lot, expecting to see a stakeout vehicle.
She saw nothing of the sort.
Disappointed, she took Joanna’s hand and let herself be led into the building. The lobby was full of girls zipping around to and fro, yet Joyelle broke through the storm to reach Sandra. “What happened to April?” she asked, her voice laden with accusation.
“I have no idea.”
Joanna broke off to go inspect the snack table.
“The police questioned me! Apparently she’s missing?”
Sandra wasn’t sure missing was the right word. “They told me she packed a bag. I’m assuming she took a trip?” Kind of a lame statement, but she was trying not to offend Joyelle.
“Took a trip?!” Joyelle was offended.
One of Joanna’s classmates threw her arms around Joyelle, who bent to embrace the girl. “Hi, honey. How was your week?” Joyelle gave the child her undivided attention, but as soon as the update was over, Joyelle’s face grew serious as her eyes flicked back to Sandra’s. “Took a trip where?”
Sandra looked around. Some of the moms were staring at them. “Could we go in the studio for a second?”
Joyelle nodded and led the way. Once they were out of the crowd, Sandra asked Joyelle if she knew about the death of Shawna Pevzner. She did not. Sandra filled her in. Joyelle gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. She stopped defending April.
“I’m not saying April is evil. But I do think she killed Jazmyn.”
“Donna,” Joyelle said tonelessly.
“Yes. I think she killed Donna Smith because Donna Smith killed her mother.”
Joyelle nodded and turned toward the front of the room. Sandra stepped out of the studio and back into the fray of the lobby.
“Is Miss Joyelle okay, Mama?”
“Yes. She’s just sad because people have died.”
Joanna nodded thoughtfully. “It’s always sad when people die.”
“Yes, honey. It is.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead and then bent to help her tie the thick ribbons of her tap shoes. She straightened up and watched her daughter bounce into the studio, feeling a good dose of pride at the sight.
She tried to get comfortable and settled in to play some more Egg Wars, but she kept getting killed because she was thinking about April, not the tasks of the game. Had April simply gone back to Michigan? Was there anything to go back to there? If April fled the state, she might never be found, and even if she was, Sandra wouldn’t be the one to find her. This thought made Sandra sad.
As Joanna’s class time drew near its end, Sandra eyed the door nervously. It would be insane for April to show up for dance class, and yet, Sandra hoped she would. She heard the roar of an approaching motorcycle, and then Jess breezed through the door. Astrid followed close behind. Then came the pregnant woman—Sandra still didn’t know her name, but goodness was she pregnant! The door stayed shut for several minutes and then Mandi arrived. Then came Tiffany with her Bluetooth. But no April.
The young girls came out excitedly chatting about their class. Sandra half-listened to Joanna’s account and then, after giving her a hug and surrendering her cell phone to her, got up to go into class. It was past time. Then the door opened again, and in came Gertrude.
Sandra wandered over to the door and looked out for the stakeout, and there they were, as obvious as daylight: Chip and Slaughter in a suspiciously clean black SUV. If April had planned on dance class, she would change her mind at the sight of that.
