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“It takes her a long time to let people in. I had to push her to make friends in high school, and she lost touch with the two she had when they went off to college.” She paused to draw in a breath. “Between work and school, she doesn’t have much time for friends. Since she got pregnant, she’s felt like people are judging her. It was a load off my mind when she met those nice girls at the baby classes.”
“Do you know of anybody who has a problem with her, anything like that?”
Susan flinched like she’d been slapped. “Everybody loves Madison.”
Whether that was true or not, Susan certainly believed it. “Where else does she go to study, or spend time? Cafés, anything like that?”
“We don’t have extra money to throw away. She usually just studies here.” A sudden hope lit up Susan’s face. “Or on campus? She likes the library there. That’s probably it, right?”
Jo stood, biting back the urge to give false assurances. “I’ve seen many cases where a missing person lost track of time or needed some space to themselves. I’ll check the campus and let you know what I find.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
* * *
Jo hurried back to her car. The light was fading quickly, and her nieces would be finishing up the maze soon. Sophie would make sure of it, because she wouldn’t risk Emily especially becoming frightened of the shadows that would transform the maze once the sun went down.
But the conversation with Susan had alarmed her—it was odd that Madison wouldn’t return her mother’s call when she’d sacrificed so much for her—and she couldn’t just walk away. If she hurried, she could fit one more stop in, and the campus was on her way.
The administrative building of Phelpston Community College intrigued her—one half was a traditional, ivy-league red-brick architecture, while the other was three-tiered floor-to-ceiling glass that exposed everyone and everything inside. A long-forgotten memory of the hamster condo she had as a girl in New Orleans flashed back; after watching Gomez, her hamster, repeatedly bury himself under the wood chips that lined the spaces, she’d taped a piece of binder paper over one of the sections so he could have privacy.
She was in luck, barely—only ten more minutes until the offices closed. She hurried into the vast lobby and crossed to the main information desk, where two honey-blonde middle-aged white women were chatting about their plans for the next day.
“Can I help you?” one asked, her smile broad and welcoming.
Jo produced her badge, explained why she was there. “Can you direct me to the library? Also, it would help me know where to look if I could get a list of the classes Madison’s taking. Maybe she’s studying somewhere nearby them.”
The woman’s face dropped. “You said Madison Coelho?”
Jo pulled Madison’s picture up on her phone and slid it toward the woman. “You know her?”
“Of course, one of our all-time best students. And always so sweet.” She nodded down at the picture, then met Jo’s eyes. “You think something happened to her?”
“I’m doing a check for her mother and friends.”
The second woman chimed in. “I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t be much help.”
Jo had anticipated that—technically the school wouldn’t be allowed to release information about a student without permission or a warrant. “I understand, I don’t want you to violate your privacy policy. But maybe you can just direct me to some areas besides the library she’s likely to be?”
The woman’s brow creased. “Oh, no, I don’t mean that. I mean, you’re right, I couldn’t give you her schedule information. But what I mean is, you won’t find her here. She’s not enrolled in classes this quarter.”
CHAPTERSIX
Jo stared dumbly at the administrator’s face, a chill stabbing down her arms and legs. “You’re sure? Both Madison’s friends and her mother seemed certain she’s currently taking classes. Maybe it was last quarter she took off?”
The woman shifted to a computer terminal and tapped something into the keyboard. She scanned the screen, then shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. She’s not currently enrolled.”
“But she did like to study in the library. Maybe she stopped by for some reason?” Administrator Two said.
“Can she get in if she’s not enrolled?” Jo asked.
“Our library is open to the public, that’s part of our mission. You just can’t check out books unless you’re enrolled,” Admin One said.
Jo thanked them, then checked the library. But neither the librarians nor any of the students camped out inside had seen Madison anytime recently.
As Jo strode back to her car, she tried to fit this new troubling piece into the puzzle. Madison wouldn’t be the first girl who seemed uncomplicated on the surface only to be hiding a swamp of secrets underneath. Maybe Madison hadn’t been able to handle everything, but couldn’t bear disappointing her mother further by telling her she’d stopped taking classes? But then why lie to her friends? No matter what, the development was ominous given Madison was missing.
Jo’s phone buzzed as she climbed back into the Volt. When she checked, she found a text from Matt:Is everything okay? We’re done with the maze and are heading over to Pizza Palace.
