Caden narrows his eyes. “What will they do? Trample over evidence and make it impossible for us to figure out what happened?”
I blow out a breath and turn to seek out Harper. She stands in Eli’s arms, talking with Nico, who’s still inside the car. Harper isn’t a minor, but her family might try to step in if they know Jennifer is missing. They could take her away.
“We go in and if we need the police, we call them.” Jack tucks his phone away. “No one from inside has come to find out why the door is open. There’s no sound in there. Maybe Jennifer is sleeping and the door just didn’t latch.”
It’s wishful thinking. We all know this doesn’t look good given everything that’s happened, but he’s right. We need to know and the cops would block us out.
“Stay together.” I drag in a breath and step into the house. “Don’t touch anything we don’t have to.”
“Got it.” Caden steps in behind me.
It’s late afternoon and the house is dim. But there’s clearly been some sort of struggle or quick exit. One of the kitchen chairs lies on its side. We move into the house quietly. Careful not to touch anything or make a sound. We head up the steps, bypassing Harper’s room and going to the main bedroom.
I turn the knob and push the door open wide. The bed is empty and the bathroom door is open. Caden steps through, and we wait in the hallway as he explores the whole room.
Time seems to tick slowly in the space before he returns and shakes his head. We back up and check the guest bedroom. When we open Harper’s door, there’s obviously been someone in here.
Her desk chair is pushed off to the side and her clothes are thrown into a pile. Her drawers are open and emptied all over the bed. We catch each other’s eyes, but don’t say anything.
Harper can’t see this.
We head back downstairs and double check all the rooms. Besides Harper’s room and the kitchen chair, there’s not a thing that tells us what happened. But Jennifer isn’t here and her car is.
“Tell her to come in.” I flip on the light switch in the kitchen. “Cell signal still blocked?”
Jack nods.
“I’ll check the security system.” He heads back to the office.
Caden goes outside. He comes back with Eli, Nico, and Harper. Her face is pale.
“Does your mom have a spare key to her car?” I snap my fingers to catch her attention, and she focuses in on me instead of the one chair out of place.
She nods and goes to a drawer. She holds up the keys and Eli takes them from her, heading outside to see if her car starts.
“Where does she keep her purse?” I’m trying to give Harper tasks so she can’t think. She’s pale and holds herself around her waist. She turns to look at the rack by the door.
Caden goes over to check for her purse. Harper looks so fucking lost.
“Did your mom have any plans to leave today?” I step closer to her.
Caden clears his throat and shows me her mom’s purse. Fuck.
“Harper.” I capture her attention before she follows my gaze. Outside, the car starts and that’s when her knees give out. If her mom left, why not take the car? I catch her before she falls to the ground and lift her to carry her into the living room.
I sit on the couch with her in my lap. She slides her arms around me and straddles me. Her forehead touches my shoulder and her body shakes like a leaf, but I don’t feel the wetness of tears.
I rub my hand down her back.
“What do we do?” Nico asks in a whisper. We can’t even make plans because we know someone is listening.
Caden comes in with the bug detector and starts searching the house. Eli comes in and sits beside me. His hand rests on Harper’s thigh.
“No one’s is safe.” Eli meets my eyes. He means no one’s house is safe for her. My father. Eli’s mother. Caden’s parents. Nico’s father. We don’t know where Jack’s parents stand, but moving in his girlfriend probably isn’t an option.
Caden sits on my other side and puts his hand on her low back. “My place.”
He glances over at where he put a jammer. It’s near a light switch close to the stairs.
