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Whenever I tried talking to Will about it, he said we had to give it time, that Zoë would come round to the idea. But after two months, I could no longer bear it. It was time to bring out the big guns.
I chatted to Will and to Allie and the next time I saw Zoë, I asked how she’d feel about getting a bunny. We had a doe at the inn that had given birth a few weeks back and the little bunnies were terribly cute but also terribly in the way. We’d given almost all away, but I told Zoë we could keep one of them for her. They had their own little hutch at the inn, in the garden, and Zoë could come visit her and feed her and hang out with her.
She was delighted, of course, and I was almost giddy with relief when I saw how well my plan worked.
Will and Zoë were going to visit me at the inn the following weekend. I had my own place at the back of the house, a room with a couch, which was where I slept when Will and Zoë came over.
Then, late on Friday, as I was beginning to await their arrival, I got a call from Will.
“Zoë’s gone!” he said, his voice panicky.
“What do you mean, gone?!”
“I arrived from work and Sarah was here, but not Zoë. She said when she’d gone to school to collect her, she’d been told Zoë’s mother had picked her up!”
“Jade?!”
“Must be! But she is not on the list of approved people to fetch her! I don’t know how they could have let her take Zoë!”
He was beside himself.
“Sarah said she thought it had been arranged with Jade and that she may have forgotten all about it! I’ve called Jade but she isn’t picking up and I’ve been round to see Mac but he isn’t home either, I don’t know what to do!”
“Maybe call the cops?”
“I have! They want me to come in and make a statement!”
“I’ll come right away,” I said.
“No, you stay there,” he sounded tired, frazzled. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”
I called Jonas and explained what had happened.
He told me to go and said he’d handle the inn. We were full and there was a problem with the stove in the kitchen. He said he’d handle it and I was grateful to be off.
When I arrived at the apartment later that night, Will was in a right state.
“You came!”
He hugged me tightly.
“I’ve called everyone I can think of, no one knows where Jade or Zoë could be.”
He ran his fingers through his hair.
“Jade doesn’t have a car, so that makes it harder for the police to track them down.”
I made us some hot chocolate.
“Did Jade know about the weekend?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, about Zoë getting a bunny and coming to stay at the inn for two nights?”
“I don’t know,” Will couldn’t really focus. “Maybe.”
“How has Jade been, lately?”
