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Nora
Something about Kendall’s house made Nora’s blood run cold.
This wasn’t a good place.
This wasn’t a safe place.
Bad things happened here.
She forced her feet out of the car and prayed for the first time in years. If you get me my son back, I promise to give the rest of my life to you. Please, just let him be alive. I’ll do anything. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it swung open to reveal a man with a cigarette between his lips.
“C’na help ya?” He leaned heavily on the door frame.
She swallowed, her mouth dry as a bone. “I was hoping to speak to Kendall. Is he home?”
He looked her up and down, and she shifted her weight uncomfortably. “Who’s askin’?”
“I’m Nora, Levi’s mom?”
The man’s face registered no recognition.
“Levi is in Kendall’s class. They’re friends.”
The man looked skeptical, but he stopped leaning on the door frame and stood up straighter.
Nora was desperate for any encouragement, so she took this as some.
“Are you accusing Kendall of somethin’?”
Okay, maybe not encouraging. “No, no,” she said quickly, “not at all. I just need to talk to Levi. Thought maybe Kendall could tell me where he is.” She bit her lip, unsure if she’d said too much. “It’s kind of an emergency.”
The man hesitated and then looked over his shoulder. “Kendall!” he hollered. Then, still facing that way, he waited. When no answer came, he looked at Nora. “Wait here.” Then he slammed the door in her face.
She waited for so long that she thought he might not be coming back. She was contemplating knocking again when the door opened, and a young man stood looking at her with cold eyes.
“Good morning,” she said, even though it felt like the middle of the night to her. “I need to talk to Levi. Do you know where he is?”
Holding her gaze, Kendall slowly shook his head back and forth.
“Do you know where he was last night?”
Still shaking his head.
“Shane said that you were with him.”
He curled his upper lip. “Shane’s a liar.”
Nora knew this might be true. She also knew something else: Kendall was a liar.
“Can’t help you.” He started to shut the door, but she stuck her foot in the opening, a move that surprised her with its boldness.
Kendall almost snarled. His face looked like a snake’s. “Look—”
She didn’t let him finish. She leaned closer. “Tell me now what you know, and I won’t make it my personal mission to see you in legal trouble over this.”
Something that could have been doubt flickered across his face but then vanished. “Like I said, I haven’t seen him.” He slammed the door, and this time she yanked her foot out of the way. She didn’t know what else she could say, what else she could ask, what else she could threaten him with. She considered threatening the man instead, but he’d intimidated her, and what were the chances he’d cave if Kendall hadn’t? She turned and faced the littered lawn. She wasn’t sure what to do next.
The police. It was time to go to the police.
She went back to her car with purpose and slid behind the wheel. She wished she’d gotten Jason’s number but then dismissed that wish. He’d said he would call if he learned anything. He hadn’t called, so obviously, he hadn’t learned anything.
Still wishing she had time to stop for a hot cup of coffee, she drove straight to the very small Carver Harbor Police Department and then parked right in front of the door. She looked up at the nice building with a healthy amount of disdain. Carver Harbor wouldn’t be able to afford a police department if it weren’t for all the summer people. Not that there were a lot of summer people. There weren’t. But those who did show up were rich. She made extra money cleaning their summer homes for them before they arrived and then again after they left. She got out of the car and went inside.
A woman behind a counter looked up at her.
“I need some help,” Nora said before the woman could speak. “My son is missing.”
The woman didn’t look surprised. She stood, and Nora read her name tag. Doris. She didn’t look familiar. She turned toward a filing cabinet and stood with her back to Nora for so long that Nora almost said something. Trouble was, Nora couldn’t think of quite what to say and as she thought about it, Doris turned back toward her with a manila folder in her hand. She set it down on the counter and picked up a pen. “What’s your son’s name?” She sounded bored.
Nora wasn’t pleased. This woman wasn’t a police officer. She wanted to deal with a police officer. She answered her question, and Doris’s face registered recognition. She knew who Levi was, somehow.
“What was he wearing?”
Nora had no idea. She described his jacket. As she did so, she pulled a school photo out of her wallet, trying not to be embarrassed by the thug-like expression on her son’s face, and laid it on the counter beside the paperwork. Doris didn’t spare it a glance.
Nora tapped her finger on it, trying to get Doris to look. “This photo was taken only a few months ago.” She remembered it clearly. Levi had complained about having to have school pictures taken at all. Nora had rolled quarters to buy the cheapest package available. Buying a package at all was a little silly, as they didn’t have anyone to give copies to, but she didn’t want the people at school thinking no one loved her son enough to want photos of him.
Doris still didn’t look at the photo. “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Yesterday afternoon, before I went to work.”
Doris stopped writing.
Nora wished she had lied. He probably hadn’t been gone long enough to warrant police concern. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “Look, I know my son. He wouldn’t take off. He wouldn’t not come home. And I know who he was with, and that kid is lying about seeing him.”
Doris nodded dismissively. “We’ll keep an eye out. Write down your number”—she slid a scrap of paper across the counter— “and we’ll call you if we hear anything.”
Nora wrote her number down, her hand trembling. This wasn’t good enough. “Is there a police officer I could talk to?”
Doris looked annoyed. “Sure. Have a seat.” She pointed her chin at the wall behind Nora, and Nora turned to see a line of hard, molded chairs bolted to the floor. Comfy. She sat down and took a deep breath, watching Doris. When was she going to go get the police officer, exactly? Nora checked her phone and then tried calling Levi again. It rang and rang. She looked at Doris. She couldn’t see the woman’s hands, but she could see her face, and it was pretty clear she wasn’t on the phone. Nora stood up again, hoping that would communicate a sense of urgency, but Doris didn’t react. Now Nora could see that she was shuffling paperwork around. So she wasn’t emailing a police officer either. Nora checked her phone again. One minute had passed. She started to pace, not looking away from Doris for more than a few seconds at a time.
