Page 138 of Sterling Stone

And a little boy is missing.

“Why are you both still standing here?” The second they scramble out of my office, I realize I can’t just sit here either.

I fire off information to Fern the dispatcher as I near her, telling her I want all hands on deck. Those on traffic duty need to be on the lookout. Those not actively working on something else need to be part of the search. We have no time to lose. We’ve already lost hours.

Thankfully, there isn’t easy access to planes or trains in Sterling Falls. A bus headed out of the area picks up just outside of town, where the big box stores are starting to gather. Simon would need to take the highway to get that far.

And my only hope is he didn’t head for the busier thoroughfare.

Please be somewhere local.

Please let us find you. Or better yet, come home, little buddy.

Taxi is worried about you.

Trudy must be scared out of her mind.

I make another set of calls as I settle into my truck, heading toward Trudy’s. The simplest place to start is at the beginning.

The calls I’ve made include Knox at the fire department and Sebastian at the bakery, hoping he can spread the word to the local businesses.

Maybe Simon went downtown.

I contact Clay, although he’s on the opposite side of town from me, and Ford, who is more north. We seem to have the four directions covered. Judd is already scouting the winding roads near him, but he’s further up the mountain and deeper in the woods, and as much as I want Judd to be Simon’s safe haven, I do not want to think about him walking to Judd’s place. Too easy to get lost. Or hit by a reckless driver on the switchbacks. Or . . .

I refuse to think of the alternatives.

My profession says I must. My heart says don’t go there. Not yet.

I have Trudy at the house, Jolene with her. Taxi covering the route to school. I run off the checklist in my head.

I even call Vale, hoping she and Cort can keep a lookout in Rogue River, in case Simon made it over there somehow. Twenty minutes away by car is pretty far for an evening stroll, but we don’t know how long Simon has been gone.

When I reach Trudy’s house, I park in the drive, hopping out to look for clues. Something. Anything. Footprints in the soft shoulder that might hint about which direction he took.

Right or left, buddy. Which way did you go?

Taxi’s camper van is still gone, and I should head inside to check on Trudy, but every second is a second lost.

Jolene is in there, I remind myself, getting back in the truck.

Looking left, then right again, and picking a direction.

Hoping my instinct is correct.

45

[Taxi]

I’m beside myself. The worry. The panic. The fear. My heart races.

“Where could you be?” I say aloud, scanning the side of the road as best I can while paying attention to the road itself. I’m hardly going the speed limit, and a few annoyed drivers have given me the one-finger salute or a long horn honk.

I ignore all of them, my focus solely on finding Simon.

“Come on, buddy,” I whimper, like he can hear me. Like he knows he has everyone concerned.

Trudy . . . oh, God, I can’t even think about Trudy right now. The mess she’ll be if something has happened to Simon.