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“I’m not. Her mom married my dad when we were in high school. That’s it. No relation.”
While part of me is proud that Ellery and I managed to keep our relationship under the radar that summer we were together, to the point none of the locals knew I was part of the Butler extended family, the other part of me is curious why Jenica never mentioned anything about Ellery and me to her brother. It is exactly the kind of gossip the Cherry Covers liked to have for ammunition against those from Elmhurst and the fact she hadn’t tells me just how close Jenica and Ellery really were.
“Can I offer you or anyone else a beer?” I hike a thumb over my shoulder. “We have a keg on tap.”
“I’m good.” Travis holds up his hand. “I’m on the rides tonight. They don’t like it when we drink and operate. Liability and shit. Plus, sitting in that booth in the center of the Graviton is trippy as it is. I don’t need anything messing with my head more than the lights already do.”
“Gravitron?” I repeat. “That’s the ride you’re running?”
“Yup.” He nods. “All summer.”
Clearly he didn’t see Ellery and I that night. Then again, we’d mastered the ride’s dark parts.
“Mind if I give you one of these?” the guy standing next to Travis asks me.
I reach for the piece of paper in his hand and look down. On the top is the word MISSING in block lettering, followed by a picture of a girl, and below, details like her height, weight, eye color, and the date she was last seen. She looks no older thanEllery and it sends a chill down my spine.
“Who is this?” I look up.
“My sister. She was last seen on the boardwalk at the beginning of the summer. The ticket operator for the merry go round near the entrance said he saw her head out around midnight after her shift, but no one has seen her since.”
“Shit.” Jake shakes his head as I hand him the paper.
“We’re putting these up anywhere we can,” he continues. “Some of the Elmhurst fucks have been tearing them down.”
“Seriously?” Jake narrows his eyes. “Why would they do that?”
“Cause they’re assholes,” he quips. “It seems the more we post, the more they tear down. I don’t care,” he shrugs. “I’ll post them every day if I have to.”
“Give us a stack,” Jake sticks his hand out. “We’ll help you put them up.”
He looks at Travis, stunned by the offer, then turns to Jake. “For real?”
“Hell yeah,” Jake nods. “If you give us a stack, we can make sure they line this side of the beach and don’t come down.”
“Shit. Yeah man. That would be great. Thanks. I’m Caleb, by the way.”
“It’s no problem. Nice to meet you, Caleb.”
Jake and Caleb shake hands, and then he turns to me and we do the same.
After one of the guys hands a stack of fliers to Jake, Caleb runs a hand through his hair and takes a breath. I can see now how tired he looks. It’s the kind of fatigue that’s rooted in worry.
“Any idea who has been taking them down?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Travis answers, rubbing a thumb across his chin. “Kids from Elmhurst.”
“Really?” My brows push up to my hairline. “Why?”
“Because they’re assholes. They did the same thing lastsummer when the first girl went missing,” Caleb adds. “Don’t want anything like a missing girl, ruining their little utopia.”
“First?” I look at Jake, his pupils about as wide as mine. “You mean there’s been more than one?” I ask, turning back to Caleb.
“Four,” he confirms. “My sister is the fifth.”
What the hell? Girls from Cherry Cove have gone missing for the past year and Ellery’s mom, come to think of it, my dad for that matter, has been letting her run around as if nothing has happened?
“Do they have any leads?” I ask.
