Inside in the lobby of the movie theater, Sarabeth stood with her parents, and Izzy with hers. Everyone turned to Gard as he approached.
“Still no sign of her?” he demanded.
Everyone shook their heads.
“She was fine,” Izzy said quietly. “Nothing was out of the ordinary. She just didn’t come back.” There were tears in the girl’s eyes, and she leaned into her dad when he put his arm around her shoulders.
“I talked to the theater manager,” a tall man standing next to Sarabeth said in low tones. Presumably Sarabeth’s stepfather. “He was going to go see what kind of security footage they had.”
“Good,” Gard said in that firm, cop voice. “Do you know where he went?”
“I’ll show you.”
The two men walked off.
“She wouldn’t have left her purse if she meant to run away,” Izzy said, her voice an octave higher than usual. “She wouldn’t have. She specifically gave it to me to hold.” Izzy looked up at her dad like she was looking for reassurance.
“And nothing…happened?” Lia asked. “She didn’t mention anything upsetting her?” It was hard to believe Sammy would scareeveryone, especially her friends, by just up and disappearing. But if she was upset about something, maybe she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Maybe she’d just…taken a walk.
Still, leaving that damn phone behind? Why would she do that?She wouldn’t.
“No. She was in a good mood,” Sarabeth said. “I swear, everything wasnormal. She would have told us if it wasn’t. Not just…ditched us. With her purse.”
“Do you still have her purse?”
Izzy held it out and Lia looked through it. Wallet. ChapStick. Phone. Lia pulled the phone out and tapped the screen. The background was a picture of Sarabeth, Izzy, and Sammy—probably taken at the sleepover.
Lia wanted to cry at how sweet and happy they all looked, but she blinked back tears. Lia didn’t know her passcode, but no doubt Gard did. She started to walk in the direction he’d gone with Sarabeth’s stepdad, but they were already returning.
Gard held up a hand in a greeting and Lia looked behind her. A woman and a man were striding toward them. They didn’t wear uniforms, but Lia had a feeling they were cops just the same.
“Thomas.” Sarabeth threw her arms around the man, who gave her a reassuring pat on the back.
The woman approached Gard while this Thomas talked to the girls.
“I figured it would be quicker if we just came straight out rather than the extra step of a deputy. Hart’s got connections to the Thompsons and the Hudsons,” she said, gesturing at the man talking to the girls. “So he wanted to come in case anything needed smoothing over on that front.”
“Thanks, Laurel. I’ve got a kid trying to pull together the security footage to show us, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He put in a call to the day manager for help.”
“Good start,” Laurel said with a nod.
Lia didn’t want to interrupt, but she was still holding Sammy’s phone. She held it out. “Gard. Maybe you should look through her phone.”
He nodded, taking the phone and typing in the code without a second thought. He swore almost immediately and tipped the screen so Lia could see too. It was a text conversation between Sammy and…Mom. Dani.
While Gard explained the conversation to the detective, Lia read through the exchange.
I know you’re mad at me, but I want to see you.
No.
Pls, Sammy. PLEASE.
I’m @ movies w my friends. Leave me alone.
Meet me outside the theater. Out back. Just give me 5 mins. Pls.
Fine.
