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Dinner is a noisy affair, and thankfully, everyone leaves me alone after that, giving me enough time to observe the dynamic. It seems much like the triplets—Ty, Jessica, and Cassie—have been with the Standishes for a while. Miller is quiet and only responds when asked a direct question. I can tell that Martha thinks he’s wonderful, even though she does try to convince him to take his piercings out. James eats his meal and contributes now and then to the conversation, but otherwise he’s happy to let the others carry it.
The reminiscence comes to a screaming halt when Ty chuckles about something Slater used to do. The loaded glances exchanged by the teenagers at the table has me champing at the bit to ask a question, but I don’t have to.
“Who’s Slater?” Miller asks casually before taking a sip of water from the cup in front of him.
Martha crosses herself before replying. “Slater was one of our foster kids. He got a job offer for an apprenticeship at a tattoo place down in Brunswick, but he never made it there. He went missing, and the police haven’t been able to find him.”
She exchanges a loaded glance with James, and he sighs, putting his knife and fork down. Leaning back in his chair, he crosses his arms. “I guess we should probably have a conversation with Mackenzie and Miller, because he’s only been here a couple of weeks too. The rest of you kids have heard this, but it’s not going to hurt for you to hear it again. Slater isn’t the only one of our foster kids who have gone missing. In the last year, we had another four kids age out and get great jobs or scholarship offers. We were so proud of them, and we thought what we were trying to achieve here was working. Kids who had difficult childhoods were getting their lives straightened out and achieving things they had only dreamed of.”
“Yes, Rory had received a scholarship to the University of Georgia. He wanted to study agriculture, buy a farm, and raise goats. Fletcher was obsessed with those Japanese comics and gaming. He was going to do graphic design and art at the Savannah College of Art and Design.” Martha sounds proud, but it’s tinged with sadness.
“Sybil had been scouted by a modeling agency,” Martha continues, “and she was moving into a shared home in New York. They already had jobs lined up for her. Lastly, there’s Lydia. We have a friend who has a club in Savannah, and she asked us if we could organize an interview for her. She wanted to earn some money while she was figuring out what she would like to do. She talked about how traveling and gaining some bar experience would be beneficial to her.”
Martha sighs. “We were thrilled, of course, for all of our kids, and we put them on buses and happily waved goodbye. For a while, we weren’t worried that we hadn’t heard from them. They were moving on with their lives, and they were making new friends and creating new routines, but when I invited them back for Thanksgiving and didn’t get a response from any of them, then we got worried.”
James takes over again. “Turns out that none of them ever made it to their destination. At some point between us dropping them at the bus station and where they were going, they just disappeared.”
Martha sniffles and dabs at her eyes with her napkin.
“Missing?” Miller sounds incredulous.
I glance around the table, and the kids look haunted. Even bitchy Jessica looks sad, so I don’t doubt that this is not news to them.
“Yes, we alerted the police, but they have no leads. The reason I’m telling you this is because I want you all to be careful. It’s why we’re so strict on curfews and needing to know your whereabouts. We don’t want anything to happen to any of you.” James is somber but firm.
“No, I don’t think I could live with myself if any more of my kids were to go missing.” Martha sniffles as she stands up and takes her empty plate over to the sink.
A small pang of doubt worms its way into my conscience. Would they be so upset and determined to keep their other kids safe if they were involved? Or are they just that good at pretending?
Dinner wraps up after that, and everyone disperses. Jessica disappears back upstairs as I help Martha clear the table, but she quickly reappears with her coat and bag.
“Sophie is picking me up, and we’re going to work on our history assignment together,” she tells Martha, who beams at her.
“That’s great. I’m so glad you are friends. She’s such a good girl. You should introduce Mackenzie to her,” she suggests, and I can see that Jessica doesn’t think it’s a good idea by the way she screws her nose up when Martha turns her back. “Sophie is my niece, and she’s the head cheerleader and president of the yearbook committee. I bet she’ll even get nominated for prom queen.” She sounds like a real overachiever.
I smile noncommittally as I wipe up the dining table.
A horn honks outside, and Jessica dashes out of the house. Martha pulls back the curtain on the window and waves before dropping it again. “Thanks for your help, Mackenzie. You didn’t have to do it on your first day, but I appreciate it. Why don’t you watch some TV with James and the boys?” she suggests, but what I really need to do is check out my escape options from my room.
“I’m kind of tired. I might get ready for bed and read for a little while,” I tell her quietly. “What time does the bus leave in the morning?”
“Of course, it’s been a long day. You need to be at the stop at the end of the road at seven, so I wake everyone at six.”
I thank her for the lovely meal and walk through the living area to get to the stairs. James and the younger boys are watching a football game, but there’s no sign of Miller or the other three girls.
“Hey, Mackenzie, you want to watch the game with us?” Ty’s friendly grin is welcoming, and he gestures to a spot between him and Will on the couch.
“No thank you, I think I’m going to get an early night. Maybe next time.” I wave at them, and they all wish me good night. I practically feel eyes on me all the way up the stairs, but I don’t want to turn around to see who it is. My money is on James. My spidey senses are tingling, and they are screaming that man is no good.
Once I’m back in my room, I check my bottom drawer and find everything is as I left it, so I guess Jessica hasn’t snooped yet. Once I’m reassured, I head over to the window. It’s going to be the only other place to get out, but it’s inconvenient because it sits between the two beds. There’s no screen on the window as I lift it up, but it screeches in the frame and gets stuck halfway. Fuck! I poke my head out of the little gap and gaze around. There’s actually nowhere for me to go anyway. I thought there might be a bit of roof to climb out on, but it’s a straight side of the building. As I look up, I see that the window of the loft has a tree right next to it, which would be easy enough to climb down. There’s a light on in the attic, so I decide to go and check it out.
Pulling the window closed, I head back to the door I’m assuming is Miller’s. That must be why she told me I couldn’t go up there, but there’s no one around, and I guess now is as good a time as any to touch base with him. I won’t have to wait to get started if we can exchange some information, but I wonder if he’s going to be a dick or not.
I look at the door of the other girls’ room, but it’s firmly closed, and I can hear them chatting behind it, so I quickly turn the handle and slip quietly into the doorway, pulling it closed behind me. The set of stairs that leads upward is dark, but I run my hand against the wall and feel my way up them. Surprisingly, they are quiet compared to the others in the house, and I find myself at the top of them in no time.
There is another doorway with an open door that leads into the attic, and when I peer around it to check if Miller is in here, I just about swallow my tongue. He’s stretched out on his bed, naked except for a tight set of boxer briefs, ones that match the pair I now have, but they fit him much better than mine fit me. The fabric is tight against what looks like a generous package, but I can’t see because his hand is shoved down there, and he’s slowly stroking it.
Chapter 10
