Vanished (6 page)

When she came to a stop, she fought back tears and thanked God that nothing seemed broken. She didn’t see blood anywhere. Her bike rim was bent, though, and her ankle was already swelling tight inside her boot. She crawled to her feet and winced at the throbbing pain.

Hopping on one foot, she dragged her wobbly bike over to the side of the road. Now what?

Just then the TV van came into view. Lindy drove around the ice and stopped just beyond Jeri. She backed up slowly and opened the passenger-side window. “Looks like you hit a patch of black ice.”

“I thought the road was just wet.”

“Need a ride?”

“That’d be great.” She struggled to her feet, her ankle throbbing.

Lindy hopped out and opened the passenger door. “Here, you get in. I’ll put your bike in the back.”

“Thanks.”
And thank you, Lord, for having her stop.
Lindy would take her to Jake. Jeri was glad. She had a few questions for him. His story didn’t match Lindy’s – and Jeri suspected it was Jake who had lied.

Friday, 2:19 p.m. to 3:08 p.m.

When they arrived at the center of the Two-Mile Stretch, Jeri spotted Jake talking to the police chief. Maybe the ransom had been paid, and they were rescuing the girls right now! She hopped out of the van and gasped at the jolt of pain when she landed. She spotted Abby and hobbled over to her as Lindy got the camera rolling.

“Police Chief Reynolds,” Jake said, “please update us on the situation.”

The officer cleared his throat. “From the beginning, we set up roadblocks on major highways and smaller back roads. Helicopters have flown over the area, using searchlights throughout the night. The weather conditions hampered the air search at times. Visibility improved, though, enough to see the lake from the air. So far, nothing indicates that the van is in the lake or surrounding area.”

“Has that changed your plan of action?”

“We are presently reevaluating the evidence, yes. Even though no one on Main Street actually saw the van, I think it may, in fact, have made it through the Two-Mile Stretch and kept going. We plan to broaden our search.”

“Isn’t that a bit late?” Jake’s voice was sharp. “Nearly twenty-four hours have passed since the students disappeared. Couldn’t an abductor have escaped from the country by now?”

The police chief’s eyes flashed. “I won’t speculate on what might have happened.” His clipped words were gritty, like broken glass. “We only deal with facts. When more become available, you’ll hear about it.” He pivoted abruptly and stomped off.

The camera swung toward Jake. “That was Police Chief Reynolds. Ground and air searches reveal that the van is apparently not in the area. Although he can’t speculate, it is accepted fact that the driver, Keith Reeves, is the only one who could have voluntarily driven the van to some unknown location. There are four possibilities.
One,
Mr. Reeves could be suffering from amnesia or stroke, though that’s highly unlikely.
Two,
it could be a voluntary disappearance. People sometimes leave home to escape burdensome responsibilities.”

Jeri gritted her teeth. She hoped that Mrs. Reeves wasn’t watching this.

“Three,
this could be a kidnapping, with ransom as the purpose. Although an earlier ransom note was a hoax, a genuine note could still come.”

A hoax? What happened?

“And
four
–and this would be a true nightmare–we could have a multiple murderer who’s dumped all the bodies in some obscure location.”

Jeri thought she might faint. Why did he have to say that? The possibility had flitted around the fuzzy edges of her brain, but now he’d actually put it into words.

“This is Jake Philips, coming to you live from Landmark Hills, Virginia.”

After Lindy shut off the camera, Jeri stormed up to Jake. “Why did you say that about Mr. Reeves? He’s innocent! Hal at the gas station said Mr. Reeves was fixing the van’s engine yesterday. It could be broken down somewhere. He
couldn’t
have kidnapped those girls or murdered them! You don’t know him.”

“True.” Jake patted her shoulder kindly and then clipped his cell phone to his ear. “Therefore, I’m not prejudiced.”

She grabbed his sleeve. “You don’t understand. Mrs. Reeves probably heard you hint that he’s a murderer.”

“You take things too personally. A reporter has to be objective.”

“I know, but you’re making it sound worse than it is.” Abby stepped forward then and linked arms with Jeri.

Jake shrugged. “Ratings, my dear. People won’t tune in to hear me say there’s nothing new to report.”

Jeri stared at the reporter. That was true, but weren’t reporters just supposed to report
facts?
Things that had really happened? That reminded her … “What was that about the ransom?”

Abby spoke up then. “It was on the news an hour ago. The note was fake. The police traced it to the boys’ school.” She squeezed her arm. “Actually, the police want to talk to you about it.”

“Me?”

“A boy named Taylor wrote it, and he blamed you.”

“I don’t even know any Taylor!”

“Jonathan passed on your email alert to him. That email was traced back to you.”

“I still don’t get it.” Jeri’s shoulders sagged. “How did that Taylor get Heather’s parents’ email address to send a ransom note?”

“They said he found the address on Mr. Langley’s business website.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Well, I can!” snapped a familiar voice.

Jeri whipped around to face the livid headmistress. Her words cut through the cold air like a knife. “You’ve done nothing but cause additional trouble–for the school, for the parents, for everyone involved!
You
invited that reporter, who is sensationalizing everything. The phony ransom note was written by someone who got
your
email alert. Do you have any idea how that ransom note raised the parents’ hopes, only to have them dashed again? Because of it, Heather’s father is now threatening to withdraw his financial support for our scholarship program. He provides three scholarships, including
yours …”
She paused and then pointed to Abby. “And hers.”

Each accusation was a bruising hammer blow. If only Jeri could disappear. She felt sick that she’d made things worse for people: Mrs. Reeves, the disappointed parents, and now Abby. She’d tried so hard to help! The pressure inside her chest wall felt like she might explode. What could she say? The Head was right. All her efforts to help had backfired.

Head Long stalked away. Jeri stared at the ground, fighting back tears.

Abby patted her back. “She didn’t mean it. She’s just worried. Heather’s dad is on her case constantly. No wonder Heather wants to run away to Florida.”

Jeri frowned. “Huh?”

“Yup. Florida. She has a friend there.” Abby lowered her voice. “And something else. Mr. Reeves isn’t the only one in that van who can drive. Heather can.”

“No way!” Jeri declared.

“You know her roommate, Shauni? This morning she showed me a letter she found in Heather’s desk. Heather wrote it to a friend in Florida. She talked about some partying they did there last summer and about learning to drive. She said she couldn’t wait to live with her!”

“For real? But why leave school now?”

Abby’s breath made tiny puffs of white. “Because Heather was copying Shauni’s papers and tests. Shauni warned her to stop cheating, but she wouldn’t. Shauni planned to report her on Monday, and Heather knew it.”

Jeri felt a tiny fluttering of hope. “Has Shauni told the police? Or Heather’s parents?”

“No. She said Mrs. Langley was worried enough already, and Heather’s dad is a hothead. Shauni didn’t want to mess with him.”

Jeri hoped she never saw him again herself. “The police should be told though. Parents would rather think a runaway kid stole the van. I don’t think she’d hurt anyone.”

“Probably just dump them somewhere in the boonies … unless she crashed the van first.”

Standing on tiptoe, Jeri spotted Police Chief Reynolds. Grabbing Abby’s arm, they pushed through the crowd to his side. She scanned the area, just in case, but Jake was climbing into his TV van. And the Head was clear down by the last parked car talking to two teachers. Should be safe.

“Need something?” the officer asked.

Jeri quickly told him what she’d learned about Heather. “I bet she’s not dangerous at all. Don’t you think the parents and Mrs. Reeves would feel better if they knew this?”

“Maybe, but I’d need to see that letter.”

“Um, I don’t have it.”

“But you read it?”

“Well, not exactly. I – ”

“Come back when you have some proof.”

Jeri glanced at Abby, who stepped forward reluctantly. “Here it is.” Her hand shook. “Heather’s roommate was afraid to tell Heather’s parents the truth about her.”

“Because it’s a forgery!” thundered Heather’s father directly behind them.

Jeri jumped, and both girls whipped around.

His face was almost purple, and his eyes full of red veins. “Heather can’t drive.” He stuck his face just inches from Abby’s. “What kind of frame-up is this?”

Abby’s hand quivered, making the letter shake. Jeri stepped between them and pulled Abby behind her. Her own knees felt wobbly, but he couldn’t hassle Abby like that.

“Let’s move back, Mr. Langley,” the police chief said. “I know you’re upset. We all are.” He took the man’s arm and forced him to step back. “I’ll look into this. If it’s not your daughter’s handwriting, we’ll know soon enough.”

Heather’s mom stepped forward from behind her husband. “It looks like Heather’s handwriting,” she said quietly. “And it’s true. Heather can drive. She took my car keys at Christmas and went joyriding.”

“No! You never told me this!” Heather’s dad spluttered.

Not hard to figure out why!
Jeri thought.

Heather’s dad turned to the police chief and bellowed, “If you go after my daughter, I’ll sue your police force and the school and your whole hick town!”

His yelling drew a crowd, including Lindy with her camera.

Heather’s father pointed at Jeri. “I’ll sue that girl’s parents too! She slandered my daughter! I demand to have her expelled!”

“This mess isn’t Jeri’s fault,” Abby’s voice squeaked. “You can’t single her out.”

“Who are you?” he barked.

“Abby Wright.” Her tiny voice dissipated like mist.

Heather’s father gave her a mean, slanty-eyed grin. “The girl from England?”

Surprise written on her face, Abby nodded.

“I thought so,” he said with satisfaction. “Fine. I won’t single your friend out.” His mustache twitched. “I provide three scholarships for sixth-grade girls. You’re one of them.” He leaned closer. “Correction. You
were
one of them.”

“Lance, no!” his wife said, grabbing his arm. He shook her off.

By now the commotion had drawn a large crowd. The Head, whose nostrils were pinched so tight they disappeared, took Jeri’s arm and led her away from the crowd. Then she turned. “That’s the last straw. Stop talking to the parents. Stop giving interviews. Stop ‘helping.’ “ She bent down and stared into Jeri’s eyes.
“Leave the area now.”

Jeri was too shaken to reply. From out of nowhere, Ms. Carter appeared and put an arm around her. “I’ll find other things for her to do,” she assured the headmistress. “Come along.” They walked several yards away before she

whispered, “I’m sorry. Everyone’s nerves are stretched so tight. Miss Barbara can take you back to the dorm.”

“Okay.”

“Can you do me a favor when you get there?” asked Ms. Carter.

Jeri nodded, staring at her boots. Her ankle was throbbing worse, and her toes had gone numb.

“Tell Houston I cancelled our trail ride for this afternoon. I tried the Equestrian Center, but he’s not by the phone. Look for him in one of the corrals.”

“I will.”

Ms. Carter pulled Jeri close. “You didn’t cause this crisis, and you can’t control what other people say and do.” She leaned back and looked Jeri in the eye. “I know you. You have a good, caring heart.”

A lump formed in Jeri’s throat, and tears threatened to spill over. She blinked them back. “Can I get my bike? The wheel’s bent.”

“I’ll help you. I’m sure it’ll fit in Miss Barbara’s trunk.”

Five minutes later Jeri was huddled inside the assistant’s car, the heater blowing blasts of cold air. She’d never felt so defeated and unwanted and misunderstood and disliked in her life.

Friday, 3:09 p.m. to 7:18 p.m.

Miss Barbara removed Jeri’s bent bike from her trunk, and Jeri limped into Hampton House. The assistant grabbed a granola bar before returning to the Stretch. When Jeri walked into her room, she noticed that her answering machine was blinking. She pressed the button. Her mom’s voice filled the room, and Jeri nearly sobbed. If only she’d been here to get the call!

“Hi, Honey. Sorry I missed you. I expect you’re still out searching. I’m praying constantly for you all.” Jeri frowned. Her mom’s voice sounded odd. “I was told today that my company reduced my territory. That’s a pay cut, but I know the Lord will provide. Let’s pray for a
full
scholarship for you for next year. I’m not sure I’ll be able to pay even half the tuition. We’ll talk later, Sweetie. Love you!”

Jeri sank to her bed. She couldn’t believe it. The very day she alienates Mr. Langley–the man behind her scholarship–is the day her mom says Jeri needs even more financial help.

Rubbing her neck, she listened to the wind whistle through the pines outside. She couldn’t sit there and do nothing! Time was running out fast to find Mr. Reeves and the girls alive. She could at least deliver Ms. Carter’s message to Houston. She pulled on heavier wool socks, then her hiking boots. Her boot pressed hard against her swollen ankle. Grabbing her coat, striped scarf, and dry mittens, she limped down the stairs. Outside, she made her way north across the snowy campus toward the Equestrian Center.

As she came around a storage shed for lawn mowers and snowblowers, she spotted a familiar dark coat and blue-and-red striped stocking cap ahead. “Jake!”