“Ms. Albright?” the uniformed officer asked.
Nodding, she practically yanked him through the door. “Yes, yes. I’m Sydney Albright and my niece Haley is missing. She told me she was sleeping at a friend’s house when she left here yesterday afternoon, but she wasn’t. That was never the plan. No one knows where she is!”
“Yes, ma’am, I understand. I’m Officer Don Lehman. Do you have a picture of your niece?”
Running around, she pulled all the pictures of Haley she could find from the shelves and carried them into the kitchen, dumping them on the counter. “Will these work?”
He nodded and started looking through them. “Which is the most recent?” Sydney pointed to one and then spent the next thirty minutes answering more questions than she thought necessary. He excused himself and went back out to his cruiser to get his iPad and all she could do was pace.
More than anything, she wished someone was there with her. All of her friends had kids of their own; they would understand. Maybe while Officer Lehman was outside, she could send out a group text and hope someone would come over.
Phone in hand, she was about to start typing when he returned.
“Okay, I just issued a BOLO report and…”
“What’s a BOLO report?”
“A ‘Be on the Lookout’ report. Haley’s picture will be circulated within the department and we’ll start patrolling the area. Is there anyone you’d like to call and have them come stay with you?”
“Um…”
“Also, you should keep the phone free. We may need to call or Haley may try to call.”
Somehow she doubted that last one, but she simply nodded.
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Unfortunately, all you can do is wait. With any luck, we’ll find someone who’s seen her and have her home soon.”
Swallowing hard, Sydney forced herself to ask the question she was terrified of. “And what if nobody’s seen her?”
His expression was grim. “Magnolia’s a small town, Ms. Albright. I’m sure somebody’s seen her.” With that, he handed her his business card and promised to be in touch.
As soon as the front door was closed, she sank to the floor and immediately texted all of her friends. Their responses were immediate and filled with promises that they were coming over and she did her best to hold it together until someone got there. With her knees to her chest, she rocked and she cried. There was no way she could lose Haley. It would kill her—absolutely destroy her. It didn’t seem possible that she could be looking at it as a reality—not so soon after losing Tracy and Daren.
So she prayed. She stayed on the floor and prayed harder than she ever had in her life. At some point, the front door opened, and she looked up and hoped it was Haley coming home.
But it wasn’t.
Instead, it was her girls—the ones who had always been there for her. And she’d never been more thankful to be back in Magnolia than she was right now.
13
“We need to let that concrete set and make sure the posts are secure before we move forward with the rest of the foundation. For now, let’s work on getting the rest of the wood pre-cut so tomorrow we can hit the ground running. Sound good?” Kyle wiped the sweat off his forehead as his crew all nodded in agreement and went to start setting up the tools they were going to need.
Taking a moment, he turned and looked out at the Sound and how peaceful it was on the water today. There weren’t a lot of boats out, but that was probably because it was a weekday and the weather was turning cooler. Although, he wouldn’t mind going out on the boat for a little while by himself to clear his head.
“Kyle!”
Turning, he saw Hunter jogging toward him. His brother never showed up on his job sites, so that could only mean one thing…
Running to meet him halfway, he asked, “What happened? Is it Dad? Is he hurt?”
Reaching out, Hunter braced a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Dad’s fine,” he said a little breathlessly.
“But…?”
“Haley’s missing.”
Kyle felt like he went completely numb.
“The entire town is out looking for her, but…I thought you should know and hear it from me rather than be blindsided.”
“What…I mean…when…?”
“She told Sydney she was going to sleep at a friend’s last night and then…didn’t. And according to the friend, they never had plans for a sleepover.”
Stepping back, he raked a hand through his hair and knew he had to do something. He needed to go to Sydney’s and make sure she was okay! Looking around, he quickly jogged over to his crew and explained that there was a family emergency and he had to go. He didn’t bother with his tools; he just called out instructions as he made his way to his truck with his brother hot on his heels.
“Kyle, wait!” At the truck, Hunter stopped him from climbing in. “What’s the plan here? Where are you going?”
“I need to go to Syd’s and make sure she’s okay! She’s got to be freaking out, and she’s alone and…”
“Okay, first, you need to relax. She’s not alone. She’s got a houseful of people with her.”
“How the hell do you know?”
“Because Violet’s over there and she let me know. Apparently a bunch of Sydney’s friends are there along with Pastor Steve and some friends of Mr. and Mrs. Albright. I don’t think you showing up there is going to help anything.”
“Then why come here, Hunter?” he demanded, more than a little frustrated with him.
“Because if you stop anywhere on your way home, you’re going to hear about it! I thought maybe you’d want to join the search!”
He took a few calming breaths and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. And…of course. Of course I want to join the search.” Pacing a few feet away, Kyle told himself he needed to relax a little and think. If he went into this with a head full of steam, he wasn’t going to be helpful to anyone. Letting out one last long breath, he faced Hunter. “Where do we start?”
“No one’s seen or heard from her in almost twenty-four hours.”
Kyle’s heart sank. He knew that wasn’t a good number.
With a curt nod, he asked, “Is there some sort of thread on social media where we can see updates or tips or anything?”
“That would be more of Scarlett’s kind of thing, but I have no idea if anyone’s started it. I’ll text her real quick and see what she knows.” He paused and tapped out the text before looking at Kyle again. “You’ve spent a lot of time with Haley. Is there anywhere you can think of that she’d go?”
“The gym, the Y, her friends' houses…she can’t drive, so…”
“She was on her bike,” Hunter added. “I can’t imagine her getting on the interstate or anything, so hopefully she’s still local.”
“Can they track her phone?”
“As far as I know, they haven’t been able to.”
Groaning, hands in his hair again, he looked at his brother helplessly. “None of these are good signs, Hunter. If anything happens to Haley…” He trailed off because he couldn’t even imagine what that would do to Sydney.