Splintered (25 page)

“That’s not good enough.”

“I’m going to finish getting the details I need for the missing persons report,” Officer Cameron said. “Then, if further information comes to light that indicates foul play, the report will be sent to our Crimes Against Persons Division, and they’ll take over the case.”

“What happened to calling in the FBI, getting dogs out to search, triangulating her phone, or whatever it is you people do? Anything other than creating a file that will sit on a desk collecting dust somewhere?”

“Ma’am, the FBI is only called in on cases where there’s been an abduction across state lines. Dogs are only called in on disappearance cases with a known search area. Again, your daughter’s case will be investigated if evidence comes to light—”

“Yes, I know. If evidence comes to light that there’s been foul play.”

“As I understand, your daughter’s been having trouble at school. With being bullied, is that correct?”

“How do you—” Lily didn’t need to hear the answer. In fact, she didn’t even need to finish her question. Everyone on the force probably knew about Maddy’s made-up abduction case.

“She’s received lots of media attention lately,” he said. “It must be difficult what with her father’s lack of attention. Have you stopped to think that it might’ve all been too much, that your daughter might have run away?”

“No! My daughter would never run away. You don’t know her like I do. She’d be terrified of going out on her own. I don’t care how much we’ve fought this week, she would never run away.”

The officer’s wrinkled brow told Lily all she needed to know. He’d already pegged Maddy as a troublemaker, unworthy of additional man hours being wasted searching for her. Nothing Lily could say would change his mind. She finally gave in and dutifully finished answering his questions.

When each line of his report was filled out to his satisfaction, Officer Cameron handed her his business card. “Please call me when Maddy resurfaces, or if you find additional information that would be helpful to the case.”

Although his words said “please call me,” his pinched-up mouth relayed a different message: “leave me out of your family drama, you nut bag.” Lily was tired of his self-righteous, know-it-all attitude. “See here, Officer—”

Lily’s phone beeped, indicating an incoming text message.

Maddy!

She grabbed her phone out of her back pocket. It was only Tom. Her stomach dropped. The sensation of tumbling off a cliff seized her. She looked over at Officer Cameron and shook her head. He quietly made his exit.

Why is Tom texting me?

She looked at the time. It was 7:43 pm. He should have already been here by now. She had to tell him about Maddy. He would help her call the hospitals. He’d help find their daughter. Then Lily read the message. something came up. cant make it tonight. will call maddy tomorrow.

Standing in front of the Eastins’ front door, Emma hesitated with her hand raised. Lily had called in the middle of the night, waking her from a fitful sleep, frantically babbling. From the scant details she’d been able to make out, it’d sounded like Maddy had finally had enough and had taken off.

Emma took a deep breath and knocked. She would put away whatever feelings she had for Lily and focus on finding Maddy. When the door opened, Lily grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside. At Emma’s quizzical look, Lily looked down at her hands, and then let go of Emma’s arm. She started pacing and tapping her fingers against her legs.

“Thanks for coming,” Lily said. “I’m sorry I woke you, but I didn’t know what else to do. That damn cop wouldn’t believe me. He said Maddy ran away, but she wouldn’t have. You know that—”

Emma grabbed Lily by the shoulders. “Slow down, Lily. Come over to the couch and let’s start from the beginning.”

“Right, sorry. It’s just . . . I don’t understand how Officer Cameron could think Maddy ran away. She was in a great mood this morning. She was excited about seeing Tom, didn’t even make one complaint about going to school. She said . . .” Lily brought a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a sob.

“Said what?” Emma put a kind hand on Lily’s shoulder.

“Maddy told me she loved me.” Lily broke down crying.

Emma leaned over, stretching for a box of tissues sitting on the corner of an end table. She set it in between them, pulled one out, and handed it to Lily.

Lily balled it up in her fist, ignoring the tears running down her face. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve heard her say those words?”

“Do you think Maddy said it because she knew it was the last time she was going to see you? Did she say it as a kind of good-bye?”

“No! She was just happy. Truly happy, for the first time in a long time.”

Emma thought back to the previous evening at the mall.

Was there anything Maddy said to indicate she might have been contemplating running away from home?

Emma racked her brain, reviewing each word had Maddy spoken, looking for underlying meanings. No, she was sure Maddy hadn’t been planning anything.

Lily blew her nose and dropped the dirty tissue on the couch beside her. She grabbed another from the box and started wringing it in her hands.

“Do you remember that time when Maddy was six, and she got lost at Busch Gardens? She and I were playing in the kids’ area when she ran off ahead. Maddy turned a different way than I did, and the crowd seemed to swallow her up. Security had to be called to help find her. She was eventually discovered hiding in some bushes. Remember how she had nightmares on and off for a year afterward? From that day on, she’s never left my side when we’re out in public. I know Maddy’s a teenager now, but the terror of being lost has been sewn into the fabric of who she is. I don’t care how much we’ve fought in the past. There is no way she would run away.”

“Where does that leave us?”

Lily’s legs bounced, shaking the entire couch.

“I thought when Maddy ditched school again, she might have gotten hurt somewhere. I called all the hospitals already. No one’s been admitted under her name or with a similar description. She has no friends that she’d go to, and she’s not with her father. He was supposed to come over tonight, as you know, but he cancelled last minute with a cowardly text. That only leaves one option.” Lily put her face in her hands, emotion steamrolling her again.

Could it be true? Could someone have taken Maddy?

It seemed highly unlikely. The stats about stranger abductions were low, Emma knew, even if it did seem like the news was chock-full of crazies kidnapping kids. The vast majority of missing children were taken by family members—three out of every four times.

Could Maddy be that lone one-in-four statistic? Lord knows Florida seems to have a high number of wackos per capita.

Still teary-eyed, Lily collected the dirty tissues and walked over to the trash can in the kitchen. Emma looked around the living room. It was the first time she’d stepped foot in the house, always having opted to wait for Maddy in the car.

This place is a real step down from their old house. Actually, more like a giant leap.

Their previous residence was colorful and vibrant. Lily loved mixing shades of color you’d normally think would be garish, but with her skillful hand, they blended beautifully. Living in this dismal house would sap anyone of joy.

Emma looked up when she heard the faint noise of pills knocking against a container. Lily stood in the kitchen, opening an orange prescription bottle. She dumped a pill into the palm of her hand.

Emma darted toward her. “What is that?”

“Nothing.”

Emma closed her hand around Lily’s. “Really?” She grabbed the prescription bottle out of Lily’s hand and read the label. “Adderall? Are you crazy? This is a type of amphetamine used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.”

Emma knew there had been an upswing in abuse by university students who swore by it. They said it helped improve concentration and kept them awake longer in order to study more.

“I know what it is, Emma.”

“Then you should also know the side effects—cardiovascular problems, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, and increased anxiety, to name just a few. Do you really need a drug to enhance your anxiety?”

“Don’t you dare judge me! You don’t know how things have been around here. How I’ve had to fight not only my body but my mind to get off this damn couch every morning and make it in to work. It feels like I’m wrapped in a heavy, wet blanket. I’m so exhausted, I can barely budge. The Adderall is the only thing that helps relieve my constant fatigue.”

“You promised you’d never misuse drugs again.” Emma pushed away the memory of finding a sixteen-year-old Lily unconscious after taking too many of her mom’s Valium.

“Yeah, well, you promised to always be my friend. Looks like neither of us kept up our end of the bargain.”

Emma pried Lily’s fist open, and removed the little blue pill from her palm. She returned it to the bottle, noticing the prescription was written to for a Mary Klass. “Where did you even get these?”

Lily turned her head, unable to look Emma in the eye.

“Don’t bother explaining. I don’t want to know.”

Emma shoved the bottle of Adderall into the front pocket of her jeans. She knew if Lily took them for energy, she must also have a hidden stash of sleeping pills. Lily would need something to help her come down from that high. She’d never willingly give up their location, so Emma decided to find them on her own. Allowing them to stay in the house would be like leaving a loaded shotgun behind. With the increased stress Lily was under and the depression that would hit after the Adderall left her system, Emma couldn’t allow Lily access to any amount of medication. The temptation might prove to be too great.

“What are you doing?” Lily tried to snatch her purse back from Emma’s grasp.

She turned to block Lily. “You can’t be trusted with them. I’m going to find every single pill in this house.”

“You have no right. Leave. Now.”

Emma pointed to the couch. “Sit down.”

Lily glared at her, but reluctantly moved over to the couch. “You should be out looking for Maddy, not digging through my stuff.”

Emma ignored the comment and began searching the living room.

Emma looked up from the desk drawer she’d been sifting through. She’d been so focused on the task at hand, she hadn’t noticed Lily leave the room. She found her standing in front of an open hall closet.

“What are you doing?” Emma asked.

Lily jumped. She yanked her hand out of the stack of folded towels and swung around to face her. “Nothing.”

Emma shoved Lily aside. She felt between each towel until her fingers touched plastic. An empty bottle of Ambien. “Where are the sleeping pills?”

“I’m out.”

Emma put her hands on her hips, her head cocked to the side. “Really?” She stuck her hand down the front pocket of Lily’s jeans and felt a small lump of tablets.

Lily shifted her weight, trying to get away from her. “Stop it.”

“Dammit, Lily. Give me the pills. I won’t let you bail on your daughter. Maddy’s going to need her mother when she gets home.”

“She’s gone, Emma. She’s never coming home.” Lily gave up the struggle, dropping her chin to her chest. “What am I going to do without her?”

“I’m going to find Maddy, and I’m going to bring her home to you.”

Lily looked up at her. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

Emma held out her open palm.

Lily reached into her pocket and grabbed the handful of pills. She dropped them into Emma’s hand. Emma patted Lily’s pockets to make sure they were empty.

Emma left Lily lying on Maddy’s bed so she could finish searching the house. When Emma was done, she found Lily snuggled up with her daughter’s red hoodie, fat tears rolling down her face.

Emma quietly backed out of the room, but before she could shut the door, Lily said, “Please don’t leave.”

Emma stopped. Her shoulders fell. She couldn’t fathom what Lily must be going through. Emma knew she had to be strong, had to be the one to keep it together so that Lily wouldn’t completely fall apart. Ignoring her own splintering heart, she nodded and sat at Maddy’s desk. She turned on the computer and waited for it to boot up.

Stay busy. Focus on finding Maddy.

Emma knew that was the only way she would get through this.

With every beat of her heart, Maddy could feel the movement of time marching forward, but it could no longer be measured. She had no idea what time it was or even what day, trapped in the tiny room.

Has the sun set? Or was it the middle of the afternoon?

A large piece of plywood covered what she assumed was a window. The eternal buzzing of the fluorescent light above her ensured a constant feeling that it was daytime. Another piece of wood covered the light switch, blocking her from turning it off. To what end, she had no idea.

Her ankle ached. The rusty chain dug into her skin. She’d tried to slide it farther up her leg, but it was locked so tightly in place, the links wouldn’t move. Yet even that pain was no match for the throbbing between her legs.

At least when that bastard was on top of me, I was able to transport myself into the world of my books and block out what he was doing. Mostly.

Yet, with every new degradation doled out, her mind would pop back into the present momentarily. She remembered coming back once to find two wolves staring at her. She freaked until she realized she was staring at a tattoo on Hank’s chest. The larger alpha wolf had a cold, hard stare. His fangs were bared like he was ready to pounce and rip Maddy’s throat out at any minute. The second, smaller wolf nuzzled into the larger wolf’s neck.

I thought school was hell. That my life couldn’t get any worse. How wrong I turned out to be.

Maddy rubbed her neck, trying to find relief, but every swallow pained her. Not only from the choking but also because she hadn’t had anything to drink since before she left for the bus stop that morning. At least the duct tape no longer covered her mouth. Hank had told her before he left that he was testing her to see if she could remain quiet while he was gone. When he explained what he’d do to her if she ignored his directive, Maddy knew that nothing could get her to talk.