Page 77 of Big Witch Energy

“I didn’t call her names,” Riley insisted. “I just reminded her that the first twenty-four hours after someone goes missing are the most important.”

“And then you threw the F word at her,” Alice reminded her gently.

“I did tell her to ‘fucking Google it,’ which was rude,” Riley admitted, scrubbing a hand over her face. “I lost my temper, and I will apologize. Look, Dutch, I’m worried. It’s not like Caroline not to answer her phone. Her mom hasn’t heard from her since yesterday, and there was a carton of ice cream melting on the counter in her cottage. Caroline Wilton does not waste ice cream, period.”

“I don’t know if that’s enough to build a missing persons case on, sweetheart,” Dutch told her.

“What do you mean, ‘missing’?” Ben barked.

Dutch jumped, turning to find Ben staring at him. He blushed under his salt-and-pepper scruff. “Ben, I’m sure that’s not what’s going on. You know Caroline’s been at loose ends since the accident…”

Ben blanched. Alice looked panicked.

“No,” Riley snapped. “Caroline wouldn’t just disappear. She’s not picking up her phone. She’s not with Ben, or her parents, or her brothers.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t answer your calls, but we were inside talking to Celia. Riley’s really worried, Ben. We can’t feel her,” Alice said quietly, glancing at Dutch. “Her…energy. It’s like it’s not on the island, and that’s not good.”

Dutch gave Riley an indulgent smile. “It’s nice that you girls are so close. Caroline’s gone a long time without good friends.”

Edison jogged up the sidewalk to greet them. “Any word yet?”

Riley and Alice shook their heads. Edison put his arms around Riley. “It’s going to be OK. No need to panic just yet.”

“Oh, we are well past that,” Alice told him, grimacing.

“Just give me a minute,” Ben said. He opened his phone and texted Mina, asking her to dial Caroline’s number. When Mina responded with a series of question marks, he added: She’s not picking up for the rest of us, but she’ll probably pick up for you.

A few minutes later, Mina texted back: No pickup. Should I worry?

Ben looked up to Riley. “No luck.”

Riley shook her head. “If she’s not picking up for the kids, she’s not picking up for anybody.”

“Oh no, now I feel bad taking up Celia’s time with my stupid boat thing, especially when she’s so busy with all the tourist nonsense going on this weekend,” Dutch said, frowning. “It is a little weird that Caroline is MIA at the same time someone takes off with my boat,” Dutch mused. He turned to Ben. “I just put it in the water for the summer and was heading over this morning to tune it up. Damned thing was missing.”

A little line formed between Riley’s eyebrows, something Ben had come to recognize as her “wheels turning” expression. “Does that happen a lot here? People stealing boats?”

“Not necessarily,” Dutch said. “Sometimes it’s just kids being stupid. Sometimes it’s tourists being stupid. A lot of it is stupidity. I have a GPS tracker installed on it. Once Celia reports it to the mainlander police, they should be able to track it pretty easy.”

“Really?” Riley marveled. “Can you tell when the boat was moved?”

“Oh, yeah,” Dutch pulled out his cell phone and his reading glasses, perching them at the end of his nose while he peered down at the screen. He opened an app on his phone showing a map of Lake Huron. “It was part of the package when I bought it. Never thought I would have to use it. Says here, it moved last night around eleven o’clock, and it’s stayed in the same place all day. Smart-ass kids left it near a campground, I bet. I just hope it’s in one piece when Celia sends the state troopers out for it.”

Ben watched as Dutch dragged his finger across the screen to an area across the lake, a state park known for picturesque but isolated campground sites.

“Thanks, Dutch,” Riley said, standing on her tippy-toes and kissing his beard-roughened cheek. “Let me know if you hear anything from Caroline, OK?”

“Sure, Riley. Don’t worry. It’s not like she left the island,” Dutch scoffed.

Suddenly, Ben was angry. As if there was no way Caroline could get hurt just because she was on the island. The whole island just took her for granted because she couldn’t go anywhere. Why did they just accept that?

Riley’s phone beeped with a text. She sighed in relief. “Caroline texted me.”

“Oh, good,” Dutch said, patting Riley’s shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna go home and wait for my boat, like a runaway horse.” Dutch ambled off.

Riley’s expression darkened as she flipped through the screen on her phone. She turned the screen to Edison, Alice, and Ben. It was a photo of Caroline, her bound hands close to her face. She was bleeding from the back of her head. And she appeared to be unconscious, or at least, asleep.

The text accompanying it read: Do you miss me? If you ever want to see me again, pack up the locks and get ready to trade. Location to follow. Call the police, I’m dead. He will know. You’re being watched right now. You have everything to lose, he doesn’t.

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