Driftwood Bay (Hope Harbor #5) - Irene Hannon Page 0,90
gone?”
“I know she was having some difficulty adjusting to all the changes in her life, but she never said anything about leaving. Other than telling me about her life in Missouri with her grandmother, and offering a few comments about the months she spent in San Francisco with Logan, she never mentioned any other places.”
“Okay.” Lexie directed her attention to Logan. “I’ve got a call into the Springfield PD, which has a K-9 unit with trailing capabilities, and I left a message with a private citizen in the Medford area who has a well-trained bloodhound and often assists law enforcement in search-and-rescue operations. However, travel time is close to three hours in the first case, three and a half in the second.”
“That’s too long. A ton of bad stuff can happen in three hours.” A muscle twitched in his cheek.
“I know. That’s why we’re going to put together some volunteer search parties to begin scouring the area. We’ve also sent law enforcement in our vicinity the photo and description you provided, and I gave it to Marci at the Herald. She’s sending an alert to the paper’s email list and soliciting volunteers to join the search. As soon as Susan calls me back, I want to ask Mariam a few more—” She pulled her phone off her belt. “Here she is now. Excuse me.”
Lexie crossed to Mariam, while Jim did a walk-through of the house.
“Let’s go outside again for a minute.” Logan took her arm and guided her back to the porch. Once away from all the activity inside, he faced her. “I can’t believe this is happening. I knew she was unhappy, but I didn’t think she was so miserable that she felt her only recourse was to run away.” His voice rasped, and he swallowed.
“I’m sorry, Logan.” She laid her hand on his arm. “And if it helps, I didn’t get the impression she had anything like this on her mind, either. I wonder if Elisa put her up to it? There’s a heavy load of sorrow in that child’s life too. Do you have any idea where they might go?”
His eyes grew bleak. “No. I don’t know enough about how Molly thinks to even make an educated guess. How sad is that?”
“It’s not like you haven’t tried to get her to open up and bond with you.”
One side of his mouth rose in a mirthless smile. “I seem to be batting zero on that score across the board.”
Lexie joined them on the porch, saving her from having to respond. “Jim’s going to give the house and yard a thorough going-over. I’ll head back to town and get the search parties organized.”
“I’ll go with you.” Logan pulled out his keys.
“I know you want to be involved, but someone should stay here in case the girls wander back.”
“I stay.” Mariam dabbed a tissue around her lashes and joined them.
“Logan?” Lexie deferred to him.
“That’s fine. I can’t just sit around waiting for news, and Mariam’s ankle isn’t strong enough yet for her to search anyway.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s gather at the high school. We’ll set up the command post in the gym. There’s more room there to map out some grids and assign teams as people show up.”
“I’d like to be on one of them.” Jeannette wasn’t going to sit around and wait for news, either.
“The more hands the better. I’ll see you in town.” Lexie didn’t wait for a response.
“Are you certain you want to do this, Jeannette?” The twin creases above Logan’s nose deepened. “I know you’re trying to keep your distance.”
“This is an emergency. I’m suspending my rules until we find Molly and bring her home.”
He scrutinized her . . . and nodded. “I appreciate that. Would you like to ride with me?”
Yes, she would—but if she wanted to maintain the ability to preserve some distance, that wasn’t the wisest course.
“If I take my own car, we can both come and go as needed. Why don’t I meet you at the high school?”
“Okay. I’ll see you there. And thank you.” He squeezed her hand—and for one fleeting instant he seemed to be fighting the temptation to express his appreciation in a more personal way—but then he released her fingers and reentered the house.
Once she lost sight of him, she clattered down the steps and ran toward her own house.
She might not have any personal experience with runaways or missing children, but she knew one thing.