Something She's Not Telling Us - Darcey Bell Page 0,79
money back.”
“That makes no sense,” says Charlotte.
“None. That was when I told Ruth that she and I needed to take a break. That actually . . . well, actually . . . I just didn’t think that I could be with her anymore.”
“And then?”
“And then she stormed out of the house. And I passed out again. I think.”
“God help us,” Charlotte says.
“She’ll come back here. I’m sure of it.”
She? Why doesn’t Rocco say they? They’ll come back. Does he mean Ruth and Daisy? Or just Ruth? Can he not imagine the two of them returning safely? Does he wonder if Ruth took Daisy as revenge for him saying they needed to break up? Charlotte can tell from the catch in his voice that he isn’t sure of anything. Still it’s nice not to be alone. And it helps to cry openly, without holding back.
“You’ve got to quit drinking,” she says. “You know that.”
“I already quit,” says Rocco. “Drinking.”
“When?”
“Just now. When you texted.”
“Great. You’ve earned your twenty-minute sobriety chip.”
“Almost an hour,” says Rocco.
Has it been an hour?
“I called in sick to work,” he says. “I can get up to the country tomorrow—or as soon as this . . . thing gets settled.”
Daisy’s gone, and Rocco is calling it this thing? And he imagines that this thing will be settled by tomorrow? Charlotte almost shouts, What if it’s not settled by tomorrow? What if it’s never settled? What if they never find Daisy?
If only she hadn’t stolen Ruth’s passport. Maybe none of this would have happened. Or maybe it would have. Who knows how long Ruth has been planning this?
Where did she put Ruth’s passport? In the midst of everything, Charlotte panics about that. In her sock drawer, where Eli never looks. She’ll get rid of it tomorrow.
She checks her phone. If Eli had good news, he would call or text. Have the police shown up? Ruth was on the school pickup list! Don’t those frightening Amber Alert signs light up even when a child has been abducted by a noncustodial parent? And Ruth isn’t even a parent. She’s the crazy, violent girlfriend of the kidnap victim’s uncle.
The kidnap victim. Ruth assaulted Reyna. And now she has Daisy.
Somewhere out there. The city has never seemed so big!
Charlotte just wants to hear Eli’s voice, so she calls him. He says he has phoned the police again, who have promised to stop by—
“Stop by?”
“Let’s be glad they’re responding at all. Ruth was authorized to pick her up. Apparently the school called too. They’re covering their asses.”
Eli is trying to stay strong, for her, and Charlotte loves him for it. But the hoarseness in his voice signals sheer terror, and it makes her even more afraid.
“All right,” says Eli. “We can do this. We’ll find Daisy. I know it.”
Charlotte says, “Find the book that Daisy made in Mexico. Our Mexican Adventure. There’s a photo of Daisy and Ruth that Daisy pasted in it. You can give that to the police.”
“That might work against us,” Eli says. “A picture of them being happy together.”
“Okay, forget it,” Charlotte says.
“Probably the cops will want to know what Daisy was wearing.”
There’s a long silence.
“I’m pretty sure it was her purple jacket. But I don’t remember. I thought I did, but I don’t. How could I not remember? Oh, Eli, how could I not remember?”
Another silence. Eli says, “I don’t remember, either. I think she was wearing the purple jacket. But I’m not sure, either. It’s the stress fogging our brains—that’s why we can’t remember. Okay, let’s talk again in a little while.”
“I love you,” Charlotte says.
But Eli’s already hung up, and Charlotte turns back to her brother.
“Rocco . . . you need to think. Do you have any idea where Ruth might go? Where she goes when she feels threatened? Her fucking happy place.”
“Her grandparents’. Obviously. Right? She’s always calling their house her reset button. Her spa, her yoga retreat, her . . .”
Charlotte knew that. Of course.
“She never took you there?”
“Several times we almost went. But something always came up. She’s probably got her phone with her. But let me see if she’s got their address or phone number somewhere—”
Rocco goes into the next room.
“Don’t,” he says when Charlotte tries to follow, and she has to obey. She can’t go into Ruth’s bedroom—their bedroom—uninvited. Not unless Rocco asks. Even when her child’s been stolen, some boundaries still exist. She hears Rocco opening drawers. Something is knocked over and shatters.