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“I think we should do teams, and see who finishes first,” Isabelle said.
Emily ran to Jo and grabbed her hand. “Then I want to go with Aunty Jo and Uncle Matt.”
“So what are the rules?” Jo asked.
“At the first branch, we go right and you go left.”
“And no running,” Sophie said. “The adults set the pace.”
As they lined up for tickets, Jo’s phone rang, displaying a number she didn’t recognize. She considered not answering it, but visions of her ill-tempered lieutenant flashed through her mind. She tossed her empty cider cup into the nearby trash can and tapped the phone to answer. “Josette Fournier.”
“Jo, this is Chelsea Whitens. I need your help. My friend Madison is missing.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Chelsea Whitens? Was this some sort of sick joke? She must have misheard, because why the hell would David’s mistress be calling her?
Jo held up a finger to signal she needed a minute, then turned her back and strode far enough away from the group to be out of earshot. “Who did you say this is?”
“Chelsea Whitens. It’s weird I know, but please don’t hang up. We need your help.” Her voice trembled.
Jo’s hand flew up to the bridge of her nose. “How did you get my number?”
“It was on the list of emergency numbers David gave me for when the baby comes,” Chelsea said.
Waves of red-hot anger flew up the sides of Jo’s head. What the hell was David thinking? She made a mental note to punch him directly in his face as soon as he was out of sight of the girls. “Call the local police, Ch—” She cut herself off—the last thing she needed was for Sophie to hear her say that name. “Call the local police.”
“We did, but they won’t help us. They said they can’t do anything but ‘put her in the system’ because she probably just forgot about our shopping date. But she definitely didn’t and you’re the only person I know in law enforcement.”
You don’t know me.Jo’s eyes squeezed together with the effort to bite back the response. “Is Madison an adult?”
“Of course. She’s twenty. Or twenty-one.”
“Then they’re right, there’s nothing they can—”
Chelsea’s tone rose. “She’s not a flake. She’s late sometimes but she would have called us and she didn’t and she’s not picking up her phone and her mother said she hasn’t seen her or the dog since this morning when she went for a walk, and—”
“Stop,” Jo sliced through the jumble of pronouns. “Breathe. Count to ten.”
As Chelsea counted her way through a series of deep breaths, Jo glanced back over her shoulder to where Sophie was staring impatiently at her. She’d had nightmares like this—quite literally. Despite recent improvements, her relationship with her sister was fraught with hidden sibling traps and fault lines; if Sophie had even the slightest reason to think Jo was on even cordial terms with her nemesis, a black hole would open up and spaghettify their relationship in seconds flat. But at the same time, she couldn’t turn her back on a missing girl who might need help.
When Chelsea finished her count, Jo said, “Okay, start from the beginning. Why do you think Madison is missing?”
“We were all supposed to meet at one this afternoon for a shopping trip, but she didn’t show. We spent over an hour inside the boutique shopping, figuring she’d turn up. But when we finished and she still hadn’t shown up or called or texted, we called her. Her phone just went to voice mail, so we called her mother, but—”
“Aunty Jo. Come oooooooon!” Emily’s voice rang out behind her.
“Hold on.” Jo turned and made eye contact with Sophie, mouthed the word “work,” then flapped her hand toward the maze to indicate they should start without her. She shifted her eyes to Matt, and mouthed “sorry.” Matt smiled and winked, then turned and said something to the girls. They ran to him, then into the rows of corn.
“Where are you right now?” Jo asked Chelsea.
“At Know What I Bean in Oakhurst.”
Know What I Bean was a café in the fancier part of Oakhurst, surrounded by upscale boutiques. “I’m not far away. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
* * *
After hanging up, Jo sent a text to Matt and Sophie explaining that a girl had gone missing. She’d have to miss the maze, but would meet up with them for dinner after they finished.
