“What?” I asked, looking at both of them. “I’m serious. I want you to know that you can talk to me about those things. Because they are going to happen. I want you to ask questions.”
“Mom, we haven’t even kissed!” Emily said, her face bright red.
“Has he tried?” Jake asked, leaning forward. “Has he tried to kiss you?”
“No,” she said, completely exasperated. “No. And oh my God, I never should have come up here.”
“And rule number three,” I said, ignoring her. “No going to his house unless there’s an adult there.”
“I don’t even know if I’m ever going there.”
“So now we’re prepared in case that does happen,” I told her. “Are we clear?”
“Yes,” she said. “Are those all the rules?”
“For now,” I said. “Until I come up with more.”
She pushed off the bed. “Great. Goodnight.” She sighed deeply.
We told her goodnight and watched her go.
Jake turned to me. “Contraceptive options? Seriously?”
“What? I want her to be prepared.”
“She’s not having sex with Randy,” he said.
“Andy.”
“Whatever.”
FOURTEEN
“Hey, Daisy,” Officer Ted said to me, smiling. “It’s been awhile.”
The next morning, I was at the Good Egg Bakery on Main, perusing the donuts and rolls and other assorted goodies. I’d decided I was going to work on the play program at home that morning and in order to do so, I was going to need some donut-provided energy and inspiration. Plus, I didn’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen making breakfast and then cleaning it up. I’d settled on a variety of maple donuts for the kids and a cinnamon roll for myself when Officer Ted tapped me on the shoulder.
It had been awhile. I was fairly certain that the last time I’d seen him was when we’d called the Moose River Police Department to let them know we’d found a dead body in our basement. He’d been matter of fact about coming to take the report, as if he saw things like things like that all the time. He was one of the few who hadn’t jumped to conclusions about the body and I’d always appreciated him for that.
“Hi, Ted,” I said. “How are you?”
He took off his uniform cap and nodded. “Good, good. Busy, but good. Things have calmed down at your house?”
I chuckled. “Considerably so, yes.”
“Heard about you and the computers over at the school,” he said, his eyes scanning the sugary confections behind the glass case. “That was pretty good work.”
My face warmed. “More luck than anything. That and being in the right place at the right time. Or wrong place.”
He hitched up his belt, his uniform stretched tight over his large belly. “Well, sure, but good to know it got itself fixed.” His eyes widened. “Raspberry filled. Those are new.”
The girl behind the counter boxed up my donuts and roll and tapped the keys on the register. I pulled cash from my wallet and handed it to her, and she gave me back my change and the box. I thanked her and she nodded without enthusiasm.
“Have you heard anything about Amanda Pendleton?” I asked, turning my attention back to Ted.
His eyes were still riveted on the case of sweets. “Oh, I’ve heard plenty about Miss Pendleton.”
“Any idea where she is?”
He shook his head. “Not as of yet. It’s all a little...muddled.”
“Muddled?”
He pointed at the case. “Lemme get two of them raspberry filled, two of the chocolate raised and two of the bear claws. And a big coffee, too.”
“Are you taking those back to the station to share?” I asked. “That’s nice of you.”
His fat cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, I probably should, shouldn’t I?” He motioned at the case with his stubby finger. “Can you just double everything for me, please?”
The girl nodded as she grabbed the wax paper and started pulling them all out.
Officer Ted took a deep breath. “Muddled because, well, she turned eighteen last month and that makes her an adult. And,” he lowered his voice and glanced around, “this all happened once before, too.”
“It did?” I raised my eyebrows. “You mean she disappeared?”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a worn billfold. “I probably shouldn’t talk about it,” he said, his voice trailing off.
The girl behind the counter set the pink box of donuts on the counter. “She ran away.”
I looked at her. “What?”
“Amanda,” she said. “She ran away.” Her nails tapped on the cash register. “My brother played hockey with her cousin’s ex-boyfriend’s next door neighbor. People talk.”
Apparently so.
Officer Ted handed her a twenty-dollar bill and looked at me. “She did, in fact, have a bit of a skirmish with her parents awhile back. Took off for a weekend. Found her at a family friend’s farm over in Wisconsin. Ended up not being a big deal, but...well, there’s a history, I guess you might say.”
“Is her family worried this time?” I asked.
The girl handed Officer Ted back his change and he dropped it all in the glass tip jar. “Well, sure. They aren’t quite sure what’s going on.” He fitted his cap back on top of his bald pate and nodded at the girl behind the register. “Thanks.”
She sat down on a wooden stool and picked up the paperback book she’d been reading before I got there. “Anytime.”
He pushed the door open for me and I stepped past him into the chilly morning air. The last of the leaves glowed golden in the early morning sun.
He let the door shut behind him before he said anything else. “Sorry. Didn’t want to say too much. She’s right. People talk in Moose River.”
“I know and I’m sorry,” I told him. “It’s not really any of my business anyway. It’s just been something we’ve been around this week because the girls are in the play with her.”
He waved his free hand in the air. “No, no. Wasn’t talking about you, Daisy. I knew why you were asking and that you aren’t one of the town criers. Didn’t mean to act like you were.”
“You didn’t.”
“Shoot, you’re almost an unofficial department employee at this point,” he said, smiling. “You’re solving stuff without us.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, more embarrassed than flattered.
“Anyway,” he said. “Yes, her family is worried.”
“So it’s official then? She’s missing? And I’m only asking because I feel like no one’s been too concerned around the play, almost like it was no big deal.”
He rubbed at his chin, holding the pink box of donuts under his other arm. “Her family filed a report. There is some concern. But since she’s an adult and she’s done it before, I can’t say that it’s at the top of anyone’s list.” He made a face. “I mean, we haven’t seen evidence of anything bad and for all we know, she might be at that farm in Wisconsin right now.”
“So you aren’t looking for her?”
He shrugged. “I don’t wanna say we aren’t looking for her, but we’re a small department, you know? We can only do so much. Looking for someone who might just be tired of her family just doesn’t hit the top of the list, unfortunately.”
I understood that. They were a small department. Manpower was at a premium. But I’d think that if her family was really worried about her, they might be pressuring them to do more.
“I’d be freaking out if it were my daughter,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “I would, too, Daisy. They’re younger and don’t have a history. We’d approach that one a lot different.” He adjusted his cap. “Hopefully, she’ll turn up and we’ll learn it was all a big misunderstanding. That’s the best case scenario.”
“What’s the worst?” I asked.
He rubbed at his chin again and looked me square in the eye. “That she stays gone.”
FIFTEEN
“I have a crisis,” Brenda said.