Mrs. Angle inhaled a breath. “Anna, you told me you never talked to Eliza.”
“We don’t talk. Not really. It’s mostly texts. I just want to know she’s safe.”
“Why wouldn’t she be safe?” What did this young teenager know that all the adults around her had ignored?
“It’s not safe for her to be in touch with anyone here. That’s why she had to leave. Her parents did something that she doesn’t quite understand other than they had to move fast. Parents need to think more before they disrupt their kids’ lives.” Anna looked at her mom with a mildly accusing glare.
“Anna.” Her mom drew out the two syllables.
“She said it was stupid, so as soon as she could get a new phone, she did.” Anna shrugged her slim shoulders. “We were careful not to talk, but it was good to know she was still okay.”
“Is she living with her parents?”
“Of course.” She wrinkled her face like that was a dumb question.
Her mom looked at Todd with concern. “Who else would she be with?”
“We’re not sure.”
Anna paled and ran inside.
Todd watched her flee. “Should we follow her?”
“I don’t know. Let’s give her a moment.” Lorie Angle blinked a few times as she straightened the citronella candles on the patio table. “No one warns you how temperamental thirteen-year-old girls will be.”
Actually, he was pretty sure people did, but he didn’t correct her.
A minute later, Anna came flying back outside, a phone in her hand. “Look at the text from Eliza. I didn’t think about it when it came. Well, other than it was odd. But she says here that her parents are away.”
She pulled up a thread and handed it to him. About two weeks earlier, when Anna had asked if Eliza was okay, Eliza said maybe. Then she said her parents were away.
“Did you ask her anything about why they were away?”
“I should have but didn’t. I had a couple big tests and got distracted. What if she wanted me to ask questions and I didn’t?” The girl’s eyes filled. “I’m the world’s worst friend.”
“From my perspective, it sounds like you’ve been a good friend to her.”
“Is she going to be okay? It’s not like her to go days without reaching out. It’s like she needs someone to know she’s okay. Everyone needs a person, Officer Westmont. And I’m her person.”
He pulled lightly at her ponytail. “I’d say she’s lucky to have you. I hope she’ll be okay, but we’re trying to find her parents. She needs surgery, and we can’t find them.”
Anna gasped, then she turned to her mom. “Can we go be with her? She needs someone she knows to be with her.”
“I don’t think they’ll let you in her room, sweetie.”
“I might be able to get you in if you come.” Maybe having a friendly voice would help Eliza fight her way back to them. “But I have to warn you, she’s not going to look like you remember while she’s in the hospital.”
“Mom, can we please go?”
“Maybe in the morning.”
“She needs us now.” Anna’s lower lip trembled. “She needed me when she sent this text and didn’t know how to ask.”
Mrs. Angle looked at Todd with a question in her eyes.
“I think they’ll let you in long enough to confirm for yourselves that she’ll be okay.” Todd tried to infuse hope into his countenance. “I think a visit would help Eliza. She’s been surrounded by strangers since we found her. She must be scared.”
“Found her?” Mrs. Angle’s gaze sharpened.
