Page 48 of The Familiar Stranger

I called Maddie, who was experiencing the same. We agreed to give it another half hour and then head back to the Leland home.

As my mind swirled, thinking of where Andi was and why she hadn’t made it home, I did my best to shrug off the idea that the worst possible scenario may have come true.

I then dialed Mike to get and give updates.

I shared our lack of progress, assuring him we would put some more time in before heading back. I also reminded him that teens were known to miss curfews, and there was always a first time for everything.

But Andi’s phone on the front lawn confused the issue.

It told me she’d made it home, to the driveway anyway.

Stalker Man came to mind.

The phone felt like a brazen dramatic touch, something his narcissistic self would do.

I tried to imagine the scene that may have gone down. Andi could have left her friend’s house to walk a short way down the sidewalk to her own home—in time to make her curfew. A car pulled alongside, someone hopped out and dragged her into the running vehicle before peeling away, leaving Andi helpless in the backseat.

No, no … that wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. Andi would have screamed. She would have fought. Someone would have heard.

Then, what?

Maybe the person acted like they knew her or needed help.

Maybe it was a two-person crime, where one person walked up behind her, knocked her out, while the other person pulled up in the getaway car.

To where?

Where are you, Andi Leland?

As I became lost in my own head, I realized Mike was saying something.

“I’m sorry, Mike, could you repeat that?” I asked.

“Yeah, so … I’ve been going through Andi’s phone to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Like, maybe another friend had called and convinced her to go somewhere. I’m not seeing anything like that.”

It was a much better scenario than anything going through my mind at the moment.

“Well, maybe someone pulled up when she left her friend’s house,” I said, then added, “Another friend, I mean.”

“The phone on the lawn is odd. Doesn’t make sense. She wouldn’t leave it behind.”

There was a moment of silence between us.

“I’m going to keep on driving. Maddie will too. We agreed to meet back at the house in about—” I checked the time on my phone “—oh, about twenty minutes or so.”

When he didn’t respond, I nudged, “Mike?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I just thought of something. If she did …”

“If she did what?”

“Andi’s bird, Sloane.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but he sounded excited. “Andi has a bird? I’m not following.”

“Not abirdbird, a Birdie. We call it the Bird. It’s a personal alarm. Small thing, but it packs a punch. Strobes, outrageous siren. She always keeps it on her. Tonight, she was wearing jeans, so she would have it in her pocket. Let me check.”

I heard drawers opening and closing, his breath heavy in the phone as he searched.

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