Page 34 of Did You See Evie

“A little after four in the morning.”

“You said you were coming close to midnight.”

“I said we’d be there after midnight,” she says. “Do you think the cars we saw there might have something to do with the disappearance?”

As hopeful as I am, it’s unlikely. If Nadia and her partner arrived at the school around four, they likely saw Mr. Lake and Coach Reynolds arriving. By that time, we were already taking turns scouring the building.

“You could always go to the police and tell them what you saw,” I tell her.

“I don’t trust the police.”

“But you trust your thief boyfriend?”

“I trust myself. I would never get involved with anyone capable of hurting a child,” she says. “You should know that much about me.”

She’s right. The Nadia I know would do anything to protect a vulnerable child. She did everything she could to protect me. But I also never imagined she would blackmail me.

“What do you think happened?” she asks.

“I don’t know. When I saw that the computer lab hadn’t been touched, I thought maybe you were after Evie all along. Or maybe she saw you doing something, and you took her.”

Nadia raises her arms. “Feel free to look around. I’m not hiding any young girls.”

“Why did you disconnect your phone?”

“Because the number I gave you is a burner,” she says. “If the job is called off, there’s no reason to still use it.”

Before I can ask another question, my phone begins to ring. When I see the number that’s calling my stomach drops.

“What is it?” Nadia asks.

“It’s Evie’s mother,” I say, exiting her apartment as I answer the phone.

EIGHTEEN

There’s chaos on the other end of the phone, a multitude of voices and distracting sounds.

“Crystal, are you there?” I say into the phone, trying to get her attention.

“Coach Cass?”

“Yes, I’m here,” I say. Even though she’s the one who called me, her attention seems elsewhere. I can’t imagine what she’s going through. “Are there any updates about Evie?”

“No.” I feel the devastation in her answer. “What happened last night?”

Even though I’ve been trying to get ahold of her since this morning, I’m not prepared to have this conversation. I’ve been dreading it for hours.

“When I last saw Evie, she was asleep alongside the other girls. We woke up in the early hours and did a quick headcount, but she wasn’t there.”

“I don’t understand,” her mother says. “Where could she go?”

“We searched the entire school before the police were even involved. She isn’t there.” I pause. “I kept hoping she’d somehow gotten in touch with you and left.”

“I’ve not seen her since Thursday night,” she says. “I was working. One of the other mothers gave her a ride to the lock-in.”

Crystal knows even less about the situation than I do. She hasn’t seen her daughter in days. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by this outcome. I know she isn’t an involved parent, but I’d been hoping for something—anything—that might lead us to where she is.

In the same instant, I realize I can’t be judgmental. Maybe her past behaviors have led me to believe Crystal is an inadequate mother, but she’s not the one who put Evie in danger. I am. She was my responsibility, and she’s gone missing on my watch.

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