Chapter 11

They waited late into the night. Finally, Sergeant Riley walked into the station. He had dark circles under his eyes. He had clearly not shaved for several days. He walked up to Maddy.

“Do you know where my mom is?” Maddy could see in Sargeant Riley’s eyes that something was off.

“Come in, Maddy,” Sergeant Riley said. Then he extended a hand to Owen. “Hello there. Sergeant Mark Riley. A friend and coworker of Eleanor Connelly, Maddy’s mom.”

“Nice to meet you,” Owen said.

“Have a seat,” said the sergeant, motioning to a couple of chairs in his office. “Would you like anything to drink? Water, coffee . . . well, I guess just water or coffee.”

“No,” said Maddy.

There was a long pause while Sergeant Riley sat down behind his large desk piled with papers.

“I’m not going to be telling you anything new, Maddy. Your mom is missing. That is her car that we pulled out of the river. The good news is that there was no trace of your mom or any foul play. In fact, there are no clues at all, really.”

“Except for the words ‘Save Me’ scratched into the glass of the windshield. I would call that a really big clue!”

Sergeant Riley looked like he was about to cry. “Listen, Maddy. Your mom is like a little sister to me. I will not stop until I find her.”

“What about the cave? Did you check there?” asked Maddy.

“Cave?” asked Sergeant Riley.

“Come on, Sergeant, you know about the cave! Just because it’s sealed off doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!”

“Listen, Maddy. I am doing the best I can to get your mom back, but you need to calm down. You aren’t helping matters.”

“But there is this cave where evil lives. The missing couple’s probably there. My mom’s going to find the couple, which means she is going to be heading right for the cave.”

“Maddy, I think you need to leave the detective work to us. That’s a little far-fetched. If you hear from your mom, please call immediately.”

“But how? You can’t even keep track of a freaking squad car, let alone a human.” Maddy could feel the lump in her throat. “And that human is the only family I have.”

Maddy stood up and walked out of his office, slamming the door so hard it rattled pictures on the walls. When Maddy reached Owen’s car, she turned to him and said, “It’s up to us now. Are you in?”

“I’m all in.”