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“I’m not here to visit. I was just wondering if Rosy’s working today?”
The woman looks up at me, and her forehead furrows. Her stare is cutting, even though she’s petite and somewhere in her sixties, with her silver-streaked auburn hair loose and wild.
Her hands thread together, and her head tilts. “Why are you looking for my Rosy?”
Clearing my throat, I step in and offer my hand to her. “I’m Noah, a neighbour and friend.”
We haven’t talked about our relationship status yet, and I’m unsure if she would appreciate me telling people. Right now, I’m unsure what relationship we may have after she was so hurt and angry at us. I only hope she’ll give us a chance to make it right.
My hand lingers between us as she continues to watch me.
“Anita. But you still haven’t answered my question, Noah,” she says, finally clasping my hand.
“My friends and I have been looking for her. We haven’t seen or heard from her since Thursday evening. I was hoping she’d be here, so we would know she’s okay.”
Anita’s lips purse, and she looks away, not answering me straight away.
Eventually she sighs. “Rosy didn’t turn up today. Usually she messages when she arrives, and she didn’t this morning. After a while, I called, but she didn’t pick up, so I came down. She hasn’t been here. Everything was still locked up from when I left last night.”
At each word, my hope slowly withers away. There’s no way she wouldn’t show up here. No matter what she feels about us, the animals would always come first.
“That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for,” I exhale.
“Not the one I wanted to give either. Rosy’s been here a while, and she’s never been unreliable. Always shows up and has never taken a sick day.”
“It’s unlike her, and it’s why we’re worried. When we find her, I can let you know?”
“No, I want updates whether you do or don’t. You need anything, you tell me,” Anita announces, then pulls out a card and offers it to me. “The emergency number on the bottom is mine. I carry it on me always.”
I take the card, promising her I’ll do just that. I leave and get back into my car. My head thuds heavily into my seat.
Still no sign of Rosy, and now we’ve worried Anita too. I’ve never felt so useless, and it grates painfully, along with the now-familiar surge of guilt from messing this all up so badly.
I open the group chat to see if any of the others have had better success. Bry remained home, in case she came back. Nate had taken the gym, and Max was trying her workplace. It’s a longshot, being a Saturday, but he mentioned that Rosy told him that her boss sometimes worked weekends.
Nate
No sign of her at the gym. Staff won’t tell me when she was last here. Do we know a hacker?
Me
We can’t just hack into their systems, Nate. She’s not at the farm either, and Anita said she hasn’t heard from her. Have you found anything at her office, @Maxi?
Nate
I disagree.
Pinching my brows, I work to curb the frustration. He’s like a bulldozer at times and doesn’t see that we can’t steamroll into things. Rosy wouldn’t want any of us to face jail time.
Me
We’ll search everywhere we can today, keep trying her phone and knocking. @Maxi?
We can figure out something tomorrow if we still haven’t heard from her. I can contact Felix and see if he can send someone to get access to her flat. We’ve not seen Steph either, so maybe they went somewhere together.
The idea fits. It makes sense that she needed some time, so her friend whisked her away. Even though it fits, it still doesn’t feel right. I’m hoping I’m just feeding off Nate’s paranoia, and by tomorrow she’ll be home.
Nate
